By: Kerry McNeil

Summer Camp 2011—May 27th-29th (Three Sisters Park — Chillicothe, Illinois)

www.summercampfestival.com

The first Summer Camp Music Festival kicked off in 2001 with about 1,000 in attendance at Three Sisters Park. Since then, festival attendance has grown exponentially, bringing in an average of more than 10,000 attendees, effectively doubling the population of Chillicothe for the weekend each year.

This year’s headlining acts make it clear why Summer Camp brings in the crowds: moe., Umphrey's McGee, STS9, Bassnectar, Girl Talk, Lotus, and Skrillex are just a few of the acts to look forward to at Summer Camp 2011.

With more than 65 bands across 5 stages over the span of 3 days, it is easy to see why Summer Camp has become a summer festival destination for many concert-goers and their families.

Summer Camp maintains a family-friendly atmosphere, allowing kids under 6 to get in for free and kids from 6-12 to get in for half price at the gate. There are also many kid-friendly activities in the Kids Camp area of the festival. The annual shindig encourages many green initiatives and even offers prizes for those who take part—asking its patrons to have fun while staying ‘green.’

Tickets:

Three-day festival tickets are available on the Summer Camp website for $165, including camping.  Three Sisters Park will again open its campground one day early ONLY to 3-day camping ticket holders. There will be an additional charge of $25 for camping on Thursday night. There will be lots of music and fun for those who choose to come out early. Tickets increase to $180 on 4/20.

For those who want to go to Summer Camp and don’t have the money in hand, a ticket layaway system is offered via their website to break the cost of the ticket into three installments.

Four different versions of VIP ticket packages will also be available: VIP ($175), VIP Deluxe ($275), VIP Super Deluxe ($400), and VIP Rockstar ($1,000). Each VIP package has it’s own set of perks, including a Thursday Pre-Party pass, VIP camping, VIP parking, access to the VIP bar, and many more privileges depending on the extent of the package. For more information on what exactly each upgrade is, check out the VIP page HERE.  VIP tickets to the Summer Camp Music Festival are upgrades to the 3-day camping ticket. VIP Upgrade tickets are not valid unless presented at the festival gates along with a 3-day camping ticket.

Tickets for special Late Night events hosted by Summer Camp will also be available on the website as a separate ticket due to limited capacity in the Red Barn area. A presale for individual tickets for shows in the Red Barn will begin April 23rd with a two ticket limit per order at $25 each. The Late Night events for this year will be moe. on Friday, Lotus and Big Gigantic on Saturday, and STS9 with EOTO on Sunday.

Besides the Late Night events in the Red Barn, there will also be three separate late night events through out the weekend including Late Night Campfire Jams (on the Campfire Stage), the Late Night 312 Vibe Tent, and Late Night Acoustic Sessions at the Soulshine Tent. The 312 Vibe Tent will host different DJs and electronic acts each night, while the Soulshine Tent will host acoustic acts by singers/songwriters.

Appearing in the Late Night 312 Vibe Tent in 2011 will be:
Mimosa
BoomBox
Babylon System
Wyllys
Team Bayside High
DJ Thiebault
Milk N Cookies
SuperDre
Kaboom Fantastik
The Polish Ambassador
Chalice Dubs Masquerade featuring DJ Solo, Positive Vibr8ions and more!

Camping/Lodging:

The 3-day ticket price includes camping for Friday, Saturday and Sunday night.  RV tickets for Summer Camp are either $75 for a spot without electricity or $150 for spots with electricity. Summer Camp 2011 RV park available HERE. Be careful, though, and choose your spot wisely—once you have parked your RV, you will not be allowed to move it in and out of the park.

General parking will cost per car upon entrance to the park. NO VEHICLES ARE ALLOWED ON THE CAMPGROUNDS, unless you get an RV spot. As long as you pay to park your car in the parking lot and have a parking pass you can come and go as you please. If you lose your parking pass or wristbands you will have to pay again (no exceptions). If you buy an RV spot you must keep your RV in the park until the event is over; you will NOT be allowed to come and go with your RV. If you have an RV spot and you want to leave, you may leave but not return without paying again if there is still space available.

Peoria is the closest town with hotels.

Stages & Vendors:

65 plus bands/DJ's, 6 stages, over 3 days of music.

Summer Camp offers over 25 varieties of vendors with foods like pizza, sandwiches, vegetables/fruits, breakfast items, and more.  There will also be fully stocked bars at the festival with soda, water, beer, and mixed drinks.

In an effort to support the greening initiatives of the Summer Camp Music Festival, all vendors will be required to serve food on bio-degradable plates, bowls, cups and utensils. Any food vendors found serving on any non bio-degradable products will be subject to fines and/or forfeiture of their vending rights at the Summer Camp Music Festival.

Facilities:

Summer Camp will have shower/bathroom facilities for both general and VIP ticket holders. For general ticket holders, the showers will cost a small fee in the general camping area, just north of the RV area and they will close at 9pm.

For VIP ticket holders, the showers are free and the trailers will be open 24 hours a day.  

Activities:

A variety of musician workshops and community activism workshops will be offered during the Summer Camp festival.

Join the fun at kids Camp with all sorts of games and activities like jewelry making, face painting, water fun, arts and crafts, and hair wraps. Special guests will include 56 Hope Road w/ music from Mr. Dave & an amazing drum workshop with Greg. the awesome juggler, Dean Franzen. Ruthee the balloon artist from the unique twist, water wars from fun-on-the-run, and all your friendly hosts.  So c’mon by and make some music, paint your face, juggle some water balloons and have a blast!

Natural Surroundings:

Three Sisters Park in Chillicothe, IL is home to 400 acres of open fields and wooded areas. The expansive park has been home to the Summer Camp Music Festival since it began in 2001 and its spacious terrain is perfect for a festival of over 10,000 attendees.  Temperatures tend to be in the 70s in Chillicothe in the summer, so expect it to be warm, but bring some extra clothing, as it might get chilly at night.

Sustainability/Social Awareness:

Summer Camp Music Festival is proud to be a GREEN festival. They are taking the necessary steps to reduce their carbon footprint, support local business and reduce, reuse, and recycle. 

Each year at Summer Camp, volunteers help collect and sort the trash that is created over the four festival days. The trash is sorted into three groups, recyclables, compostables, and landfill items. The Green Team works tirelessly to ensure that the grounds stay clean and that all festival attendees are educated about recycling and composting programs at the park. Summer Camp provides color coded recycling, composting, and garbage bins throughout the festival grounds. The Green Team and Old Hippie Recycling ensure that all recycling and compost items are sorted at the festival and distributed to the proper sites.

Summer Camp provides biodiesel generators for all our electric needs. Summer Camp worked with Caterpillar engineers to approve B20 (a mix of 20% bio-diesel) for the generators which had previously only been approved for B5 (5% bio-diesel). Caterpillar’s approval of the B20 mixture allowed for the rental companies to ensure the warranty on all the generators used at camp – who previously had not approved the use of biodiesel fuel above B5. This approval also means that anyone else using Caterpillar generators around the country (or world for that matter) can now use B20 fuel.

The Charity and Greening Fee is used to support a grant program for local community groups and charities, as well as to support initiatives to limit the environmental impact of the festival. The Greening Fee is utilized to buy carbon offsets that help to counteract the carbon footprint of the festival, to purchase biodegradable plastic products that are used throughout the festival, to maintain our recycling program, and to equip our generators with biodiesel fuel. 

Each year Summer Camp brings in a large group of nonprofit organizations to educate attendees on keeping our environment clean and green. Organizations educate on issues of sustainability, reusable energy sources, carbon offsetting, and much more! Take some time to check out their booths and learn more from workshops, demonstrations, discussions, and even acoustic performances at the Soulshine tent that highlight the goals and accomplishments of each group!

To encourage recycling and composting at Summer Camp, each attendee is given three marked garbage bags upon entering: one for recycling, one for composting, and the last for garbage. We encourage all fans to keep their camp site clean and tidy, to recycle, and to compost during their stay at Three Sisters Park. When packing for Summer Camp, consider the waste that you’re bringing INTO the park, as well as the waste that you’ll leave behind – be conscious about your food packaging, bring reusable aluminum water bottles, purchase used camping products whenever possible, use pocket ashtrays, and always be mindful of other guests at Summer Camp.

New Additions to Festival:

The Soulshine Tent is a new addition to Summer Camp this year. During the day, the tent will host a variety of discussions and activities about social awareness. At night, the tent will host acoustic sets by singers and songwriters.

Lineup:

moe.
Umphrey’s McGee
Widespread Panic
STS9
Bassnectar
Huey Lewis and The rUMors
The Avett Brothers
Girl Talk
Yonder Mountain String Band
Bela Fleck & The Flecktones
Bruce Hornsby & The Noisemakers
Keller Williams (KDubalicious)
Slightly Stoopid
Lotus
Wiz Khalifa
Skrillex
EOTO
Cornmeal
Big Gigantic
SOJA
Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe
7 Walkers
Punch Brothers featuring Chris Thile
The Wood Brothers
The New Mastersounds
Tea Leaf Green
Mimosa
BoomBox
Papadosio
Daedelus
Family Groove Company
Future Rock
The Werks
Gaelic Storm
Greensky Bluegrass
Rebirth Brass Band
The Mother Hips
The Pimps of Joytime
Ryan Montbleau Band
Paper Diamond
The Macpodz
The Ragbirds
Orgone
Euforquestra
Two Fresh
Signal Path
Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band
Ella Riot (formerly My Dear Disco)
Fareed Haque & MathGames
Chicago Farmer
DJ SOLO
Positive Vibr8ions
Dirtfoot
Truth & Salvage Co.
Keys N Krates
The Twin Cats
Steez
The Giving Tree Band
The Coop
Van Ghost
Jaik Willis
Brainchild
Lubriphonic
Mountain Sprout
Devil Train
Alabaster Brown
The Main Squeeze
Zmick
Henhouse Prowlers
Big Light
Strange Arrangement
Ed Anderson (of Backyard Tire Fire)
Fresh Hops
Savvy
Miles Nielsen & The Rusted Hearts
Milk N Cookies
Hogslop String Band
Abigail Stauffer
Spare Parts
Team Bayside High
DJ Thibault
SuperDre
The Polish Ambassador
Babylon System
Ernie Hendrickson
Wyllys
Kaboom Fantastik
Digital Beat Down
Trichome
Cirrus Minor
Wook
Andre And The Giants
The Vibe Raiders
Chasing Shade
Barefoot Fred
The Beeson Brothers
Stone Sugar Shakedown
Shadyside Allstars
Ashes To Immortality