Festival success creates need for changeWant to go?

SANDPOINT - For the longest time, The Festival at Sandpoint was the Bonner County town's little secret. As stellar artist lineups became the norm and visitors began to take rave reviews home, however, the word got out.

In recent years, the entertainment industry has tagged the summer concert event with a flattering nickname - The Best Fest in the West.

All of this positive attention has caused The Festival to take stock of what's important to audience members, the organization and the community that supports it. In response, the group has arrived at the conclusion that, even with its rousing success story, the event needs to stay rooted in the things that made it so attractive in the first place. Among those are a charming, lakeside venue, a relaxed environment, reasonable audience capacity and close proximity to the stage.

According to executive director Dyno Wahl, it's a balancing act that's going to involve some new ways of doing things.

"The Festival is no longer a regional secret," she said, adding that 52 percent of ticket buyers now come from out of state. "We're the victim of our own success and we're experiencing some growing pains because of that."

Longtime local fans might see the differences most clearly, though concert-goers from elsewhere likely will continue to view The Festival at Sandpoint as one of the most mellow and inviting venues around, compared to what they're used to.

As far as what stays the same, the shows will continue to be held at the much beloved War Memorial Field location. Parking, too, will remain unchanged, with ticket holders finding space for their vehicles on surrounding streets.

In addition, the line policy will stay intact this season, with numbers given out in three different blocks throughout the morning and early afternoon and the actual line forming an hour before gates open. Up to 300 numbers will be distributed, securing those places in line. As in past years, the Sandpoint Police Department will enforce the "no overnight camping" policy in the adjoining park.

The things that have changed fall into the categories of audience safety and satisfaction, Wahl pointed out. Put another way, the big changes involve how people get into the venue and what they'll find once they get there.

"At the gate, people will be going in one-at-a-time and there will be no more 'running of the bulls,'" she said, referring to the historic practice of sprinting as close to the stage as possible to grab prime seating. "The 'no running' rule is going to be strictly enforced and the people who break it will be sent back in line.

"Now, instead of a competition for who's the best runner," she went on, noting that people have gone so far as to hire SHS track stars to do the job for them, "we will have a competition for who can walk the fastest."

"It's going to be a lot less crazy," the executive director said. "People who've gone to The Festival for a long time have known that something needed to change."

The days of throwing down multiple blankets or spreading out one, massive tarp- practices that have created pre-show friction for years - are over as of this season. Ground cover will be limited to a single 8-by-8-foot blanket and anything larger will be required to meet those dimensions.

"People don't need to worry that we're going to cut grandma's quilt," Wahl said. "But we will have them fold it until it's the right size."

Anyone who has watched Festival volunteers be either ignored or treated rudely when trying to enforce existing policies might wonder how these hardworking folks will be able to implement the new requirements. The answer comes with another change on the field, this time involving the help of employees from the firm, Crowd Management Services. A staple at most large concerts, these professionals will be on hand to make sure the seating area stays orderly and safe.

To that end, CMS staff also will be charged with keeping the aisles clear. One thing they won't be doing is trying to keep the audience seated, Wahl shared.

"When Huey Lewis starts playing 'The Power of Love,' we know people are going to stand up," she said. "The whole chair-and-cooler, picnic atmosphere will still be present before and between the shows, but we're not going to try to make people sit down when the performers are on stage."

For the Dance Concert on Aug. 14, the dance area will be moved front and center, directly below the performers.

Any concerns about how all of this affects visibility should be at least partly addressed by two more changes for 2014. For one thing, The Festival tent will be pushed back 15 feet, allowing the seating area to be pulled in at the sides for better overall viewing.

"And we're making the stage a foot higher, from 48 inches to 60 inches," said Wahl, adding that the new stage will be twice as high as the 30-inch platform she inherited when stepping into the executive director post about 16 years ago.

Further improving line of sight from the audience perspective will be the relocation of patron seating from the middle of the field to a set of risers surrounding veteran sound technician, George Relles.

"Our patrons are going to have great views and the same, excellent front-of-house sound that George is hearing," Wahl said.

Taking good care of the patrons makes a lot of sense, since this group picks brings financial stability to the event. Where ticket sales cover roughly 70 percent of costs for The Festival at Sandpoint, patrons pick up most of the balance.

Perhaps the largest deciding factor in the new way of doing things has been Memorial Field itself - a venue that is limited to a capacity of 3,500 people, including staff, volunteers and vendors on the field.

"Our capacity is what it is," Wahl said. "We don't want to get bigger, we want to do what we do better to make sure that everyone is having a good time and that we're providing a safe environment.

"The big caveat for this whole thing is that these changes are our response to the growing pains we've experienced and the feedback we've received," she added. "They are a combined solution based on the input from our audiences, our production crew, staff and board members.

"Things never got to the critical level, but we felt it was looming. We want to stay at Memorial Field forever, so we have to be cognizant of not stressing that venue."

For more information, tickets and the 2014 season lineup, visit The Festival at Sandpoint online at: www.festivalatsandpoint.com.

What: Annual summer music concert series

When: Thursday, Aug. 7 to Sunday, Aug. 17

Where: Memorial Field, Sandpoint

Tickets: www.festivalatsandpoint.com

Who's playing?:

* Aug. 7: The Head & The Heart - $39.95

* Aug. 8: Huey Lewis & The News - $59.95

* Aug. 9: Nickel Creek - $54.95

* Aug. 10: Family Concert - $6

* Aug. 14: Trombone Short - $39.95

* Aug. 15: Ray LaMontagne - $64.95

* Aug. 16: Montgomery Gentry - $54.95

* Aug. 17: Grand Finale - $39.95