During our time back home in Illinois, we also decided to work the Summer Camp Music Festival….Also called….SCAMP. We have Level 2 Texas Security License. That enables us to get a Security job for the Festival that is on Memorial Day weekend. This event is now the host of more than 20,000 attendees, from young children to 80 year olds and over 125 bands on nine stages over three days (four if you make it to the Thursday Pre-Party!). Summer Camp is the biggest event in the Midwest every Memorial Day Weekend! It is organized and run by Jay Goldberg Productions. It is an awesome, mindboggling festival that you will never forget. It is like revisiting Woodstock from years ago. We so enjoyed our selves last year that we decided to do it again. I contacted Tina in the Security Dept and set us up again for this year. This year was easy as they knew us. The easiest way to work is to stay on the grounds. The shifts are for 12 hours. Since we drove the car up from Texas this year, we borrowed Scott & Brandys MH. We pulled in on Tue and were guided into the Security compound. Wednesday our shifts began. I like days, and Rich likes nites.
This is my set up. A comfy chair, clip on umbrella for the sun. My back pack from the cruise, complements of Get Out Their Vacations. It contained my cell phone, extra external battery. A roll of toilet paper for emergency….lol…(ya never know)…..snacks and drinks…..Most of the time we were given a walkie talkie. I was positioned back in VIP again.
Behind Vip tent was the New Glamping Set up. These tents came with full set up. You could choose your bed, single, 2 twins, or queen with linens. They had electric and contained a lamp, a throw rug, and a chair or 2. Now the prices was exorbitant. After you bought you reservation with upgrade for VIP, and then your Glamping reservation, you have spent well over $1,000. You still don’t have a bathroom or shower. All Glamping tents were sold out.
This time I was positioned to watch the line up for the gates to open. Their were thousands of them lined up all over the park at different entrances. They had wagons, wheelbarrows, back packs, canopy’s, sleeping bags and coolers. They were all ready to begin partying.
Finally the gates opened. You can see them on the hillside. They looked like ants scurrying up the hill into the forest. Now they were also searched as they went in. The Guards were looking for drugs, firearms, and weapons of any sort and alcohol. So much was confiscated. Rich was up by the Main Gate where he was last year. He was near the main search area. They found so much stuff. Of course not only the Security was their, the cops were also. They have a big force in the park comprised of Local, (Chillicothe), County, State, Drug Enforcement Officers and I believe the Homeland Security was even their. Their was also a Task Force of Undercover Officers. They showed me their badges to get through one of the gates I was on.
The music would start in the morning around 10. It would revolve around all the stages in the park. Their were a number of these Taxi’s in the park.
Here is some of the props they had. Almost anything would go. Many hula hoops, and different type of banners. They would hold them high and dance to the music.
Some of the out fits……. or lack of…..Lets just paint and decorate with sequins, our body parts!!!
Now I seen this guy last year. I hear he attends every year looking like this. He is not a young man, nor physically fit. Why you want to walk around showing those body parts, I don’t know.
This stage, Moonshine, is the only permanent stage in the Park. They all congregate, enjoy the concert, dance and sing, and then disperse to the next venue they want to see. The day is never ending with music through out the park.
This is one of the large stages brought in. At night the colors were beautiful. Music continued till 4am somewhere every nite. Our Security Compound was behind one of the stages. When I went to bed at nite, the music shook the windows in the MH. And I mean they rattled. Kitty was with us, but he actually did pretty good. He must have remembered from last year….lol…
Many of the kids were back up early in the morning, but many were slow. Their tents and hammocks were strung all around in the forest areas. In the mornings I seemed to be down by VIP everyday. Across from VIP was some food stands. They would come staggering in to buy breakfast and coffee. They were such a mess from the nite before. Hung over or what ever. Portable showers and bathrooms were placed all over the park. Always full of people. The trucks were constantly driving around pumping out the pottys.
Here is another crazy costume. Yep, he’s wearing a diaper. Finally it was Monday. Park closed at 12 noon. Well they try, but it never works. All the kids know that. In the morning the security, and officers start going through the park waking everyone up and telling them to leave. They come stumbling out the gate. We seen many who could hardly walk. They packed up the things the best they could. So much stuff is left. They not only leave their trash, but they leave tents, coolers, chairs, wagons, wallets, cell phones and what ever they don’t want anymore.
Security goes through again tearing down all tents. Making sure all people are gone. They also go through bag and consolidate all the trash. I was at the main gate as they were leaving. It was my job to not let them back in. I had one lady come to me and ask “which way to Chicago, right or left at the entrance of the park.” OMG….They were hitchhiking. Another had their nephew leave them. They lived in Ohio, 2 states away. Imagine that. They weren’t all that upset. They hitched a ride with some lighting people. They were going to Indiana. Then someone was going to met them and pick them up from their. Another mother lived a hour away. She dropped her daughter off on Friday. She told her to meet her at the main gate Monday morning. She waited and waited. 3 hours later, she came by and said her daughter was home. She hitched a ride. I would have been just steaming mad…..OMG….How can a girl do that, hitchhike, and not tell her mom where she was until she got home. She know her mom was their waiting.
Some of the Graffiti on the fences
They don’t find all the drugs of course. Their were many cases for the ambulances to take care of. They had a full staff of medical their for all issues. The worst case was a 36 year old man took a hit of acid in the wee hours of the morning. He walked down to the highway which must be a half mile, was naked and walked in front of a car. He’s lucky he didn’t die, but he broke many bones in his body. I heard he would be hospitalized and in rehab for months. So another year over. 20,000 people herded back out by 3pm. Most left by car, some hitchhiking. Some called Uber or Taxi’s to take them into Peoria to the Airport. Their also was a bus shuttle to Chicago which was 2 hours away. They flew in from all over the country.
Another Summerfest over. We were asked to stay a few days and work. Now the vendors and all the equipment had to be packed up and leave the park.
Just a few of the Portable Showers
Their was many people, we found out, who came in and wanted to supposedly help to clean up. Basically there a number of scavengers who want to loot. So that was our purpose. Check each vehicle and make sure they were their for a legitimate reason.
Its seems every Memorial Day it rains. Weather was beautiful…..Until Wed. Morning…..A huge rainstorm came through. We woke up and found we were surrounded by a lake. Our power cord was under water but still working. So we sure weren’t stepping out.
Couldn’t believe all the water that was dumped. We stayed in till it went down. It went fast. Rich finished his day guarding, I stayed home. I had had enough.
So Summer Camp 2018 was now officially over. Time for us to head back to McNabb.
The one that was most apparent to me was the Green Team. They were all over the park. The garbage in the prime areas were divided into 3 barrels, red, blue and green.
Shower trailers and Generators and a full size semi full of Ice for the VIP area. Vendors started coming in and setting up their food areas. The funniest thing I seen all day was a semi who was bringing in a shower trailer. They told him to turn up the slight hill in the grassy area and drive up by the tree line……Well, he didn’t get far, he was stuck. It took the next hour or 2 to figure out how to get him out. Quite Entertaining. Finally after 12 hours, I was relieved got a ride back up to the Security area. Rich was at work by this time, as he was working nites. He was at the Front gate. For me it was a long day, but really not bad as I sat all day doing nothing. Next morning, I checked in and that’s when things started happening. I was in the Security office, and a call came in that someone found a person in their vehicle in line turning blue. Turns out he had a Heroin Overdose. He was hauled into Peoria, but didn’t hear anymore, but i’m sure he made it. My assignment on Thur was Artists Check-in. I was dropped off and worked with the nite guy for awhile before he left. All the employees, Artists, Medical team, law enforcement came through this gate. I had a hand scanner and scanned all persons entering unless Law officers or Medical. Their was many law depts. present. Local Chillicothe, Peoria County, State Police, Drug Enforcement, and plain clothes officers. They all flashed their badge. Everyone on a golf cart, mule or side by side had to be scanned. On the front of each golf cart was a Summer Camp decal with a scanable device behind it. All carts had to be scanned. HR was also located on this road, so their was lots of traffic. That was where I learned more about the many parking passes. Each vehicle had to have certain passes to enter. All the Artists stopped at the trailer in front of us and checked in for all their wristbands and laminates. In front of the trailer was 3 or 4 carts called Escorts who then took the Artists to the right stage. Late morning the gates opened up for the Pre Party ticket holders for Thur. Nite.
They all had parked their cars and loaded up all their stuff on wagons, carts, or anything with wheels. They lined the fence waiting for the gates to open. Finally the gates opened and the lined moved fairly fast, but it was so funny to watch. The stuff they brought was unreal. Tents, coolers, chairs, Hoola Hoops, Poles with signs on top. What they couldn’t bring in was drugs, alcohol and weapons. My partner had a radio for a while and then left, but the action had started to pick up. Calling for Security, and parking all the Rvs, and Rvs with electric. Later that day, they dropped off a Volunteer. She was an older woman from Maryland. She had driven straight through with her 19 year old daughter. When you sign up for the Volunteer program, you put down a deposit on your ticket. You give 15 hours and have your card signed off and your money is returned. You do 5 hours a day at a gate or working for the Green Team in Recycling. They were camping in a tent in the forest. She was rather interesting to talk to. She was a black woman and her and her husband live in a big Victorian Home in Maryland. Finally, time to go home. I had sun burned my nose and my lips, which would haunt me into the following week. That nite Rich was at Front gate again. He had to make sure they went through proper gates. He was next to the search areas. They all were searching for contraband. They found lots of drugs, and alcohol and weapons. It was all taken away. But lots of it got through too. The next nites Rich heard many calls for Law enforcement, Security and Medical. Lots of people who would hallucinate, get in fights and were out of control. Lots of stuff happened in the forest. He heard one call where their was a 300 lb. man causing problems. It took many men to tackle him and bring him down. He was then hauled away. lol Lots of that went on at all hours. Friday, I was to go in at 11 am, but all the shifts were filled, so I didn’t have to work. So this was my chance to explore. Rain was predicted so off I went. 
.............''AND LET THE FUN BEGIN''................. 