Questions from a 1st time Jammer..

[Davage]

Hello everybody! This July will be my first of hopefully many times to attend the MoonDanceJam. In previous years dating back to 1999 I have attended similar types of events in Minnedosa Manitoba Canada, but this will be my first time attending the Walker MN event. A friend and I will be driving to the event and will be arriving on Tuesday afternoon to set up camp. Here are some questions that I've come up with in the planning for this summer's event. Any feedback would be appreciated. And forgive me if the answers are already on the MoonDanceJam site, there is so much there to read through, I may have missed some items.

Question 1 - Washroom facilities - are they clean and well stocked? Is it a good idea to bring our own toilet paper?

Question 2 - ICE - We will be eating and drinking out of coolers. Are there vendors on site selling ice, or is it easily accessable?

Question 3 - Camping - My buddy and I are not meeting up with anybody else at the event in particular. We don't know if we should just go for the general camping area, or if it is worthwhile to get a reserved site? Is it worth the extra $25 for a reserved site, or will we be happy with the general area? Are the camp areas lit at all?

Question 4 - VIP Tickets - We are planning on attending the event in style by purchasing VIP tickets. Is it really worth it? A shaded area to stay out of the sun and rain alone seems worth the value, but I'd like to hear any sort of feedback good or bad on VIP. Is the food only served at certain times ie: 7PM to 11PM, or is it available during any of the

Question 5 - Mosquitoes? - Are the bugs bad? Should we bring insect repellant?

Question 6 - Cell Phone Coverage - I'm assuming that cell phones work OK in that area? How about Blackberry email service? (No, I don't plan on doing any WORK stuff while at the event, it is just good to know that I can call home to say hi to the wife and family during the event, or email them to let them know that I'm surviving and haven't drank myself into a coma).

Thanks in advance for any feedback. I'm sure I'll come up with more questions.

... David

[Robb]

Welcome Davage to Moondance Jam. I will give thge first shot at your questions and others will also be of help to you.
#1-Porta Johns are cleaned daily and no need to bring TP

#2-They drive around selling ice in the campgrounds and I believe there is a vendor spot in General also by the food vendors.

#3-There are lights in some areas of the campgrounds. General is a little more spacious for sites and also a little more of a party atmosphere so to speak. Not that reserved doesn't party because we do.

#4-VIP is much more than shade. You get free beer, water and pop. You get to go on stage and look at the shows. There is a VIP section on the main page and Chris did a write up of it. Dinner is served from something like 4-7 and snacks later in the evening.

#5-They spray for bugs and for the most part it has not been an issue. Bring some just to have.

#6-Cells phones work if they are on a network that has a tower near by.

There are a large variety of vendors inside the arena. Money is exchanged for tokens. You will need US currency I'm sure.

You will not be dissappointed at having attended MDJ. The staff are great. From security to beer servers to the Cass County Sherrif's dept. Lisa has a map going of all the jammers that want to let everyone know their site numbers.

[Chris]

Welcome Davage! You will be very happy you chose MDJ and if you are like the rest of us you will keep coming back. Robb beat me to the punch on your questions but do check out the VIP page. There is a writeup on there by me that pretty much covers all that VIP offers. Come hungry and ready to drink! To me it is the best deal and it is well worth it. I haven't seen a mosquito yet at MDJ. For cell phones, I have Verizon and I do get coverage. It isn't great but I have always been able to find a place to get my phones to work. It seems like they worked better last year than several years ago.

[Davage]

Thanks Chris and Robb for the replies. From everything that I've read, this is a very well run event. My past experience with Classic Rock Weekend in Manitoba were fun, but things weren't very well run there during the last couple of years there. Some new folks have taken over the event on a non-profit basis, but I haven't ventured out to try their weekend yet. Minnedosa is 1400 miles away from me. Walker is 1000 miles away from me, and seems to be a much more professional event, so I'm looking forward to it.

The last time I attended the Minnedosa event in the year 2003, there were problems with people's coolers getting stolen etc. People were even trying to steal stuff from our camp site while we were sleeping. The first year time I attended Minnedosa in 1999, people left their coolers out and nobody touched anybody else's stuff. The crowd was a lot younger and wilder in 2003 compared to the older crowd in 1999. For the most part, is it an older crowd that attends MDJ? By older I mean 30 years of age and older..

[lakerat]

Davage - I'll just put in my 2 cents.....
The portapotties are the cleanest I've ever seen! The must be cleaned more than 1x a day cuz the only time it's not good to use them are on Sunday morning....after the events are done.
They have great showers also. They are clean and hot. The greatest thing about this event to me is that they serve canned beer. I absolutely hate keg beer - so I am pleased as punch to be able to purchase it by the can.
Don't miss this event. It's everything everyone says it is!

[Cabinjammer]

Davage,

I figured some campers would answer you so I stayed in the weeds a little so far. I stay with some friends at a nearby cabin during Moondance. My sister camped there last year and we made the rounds in the camp grounds. She was in general. After seeing your last post I would recommend you try reserved your first year. The camp sites are closer together, and they seem to kind of watch each others backs a little better, as well as they tend to camp next each other year after year for the most part. I'm not putting down general, as I know many people who have a blast out there. General does tend to be a bit younger crowd as a whole. Things have disappeared out there, but it is not a widespread issue. It is also a little bit of a walk to get there, where most of the reserved sites are close to the concert area. I am just suggesting that you do the reserved thing this year and maybe check out the general area for next year, but I think you are more apt to have the best first time experience in the reserved area, especially considering you are coming such a distance. Also, I think the VIP will be a good investment for you too. I would still suggest you take advantage of the concert set up and go right up front a few times with the crowd though. That is one of the best experiences MDJ offers.

As far as bugs go, I have yet to see one too. Back at the cabin they will carry you away, but at the concert site and in the campgrounds there are none to speak of. Restroom and wash rooms are the best I have seen at an event like this. The jammers are the coolest bunch of people you will ever meet, and so are the staff. You will have a great time!

[Cupcake]

Awesome questions Davage. I am a first time Jammer too this year. I am soooo excited. Anybody have any suggestions for us on things that you wished you would have brought and didn't but now you do?

[papa syko]

davage i was a frist timer last year and you will have a good time .you need to get areseived camp sit you will have agreat time we all have fun that is what it is all about. and vip is great the food is asume and the help takes good care of you.you will meet some of the nices people ever .so. resrived is the place to be. just stay on here and you will get to know all the good people.

[Keri]

Good questions - I'm a first time jammer this year too. We went for the vip tickets also.

I do have 1 question too: is there a long wait for the showers?

[lakerat]

Marie: we've been going for about 6 years or so and on those really hot years, we found that a small baby pool was easy to bring and it was a great way to keep cool between shows. We would empty the cooler water into the pool and then put our feet in. Sometimes it was worth it to put some ice in it also. It's also kinda nice to bring a mini flashlight for use in the portapotties in the evenings. A couple of spray bottles to fill with water will keep you cool too. For those cooler years - just bring a lot of sweatshirts and rain gear.