Locals fuming over Sunday-only EF wristbands

By Allison Scarbrough, News Editor

ROTHBURY — Several residents who live in close proximity to the Electric Forest Festival voiced their disappointment during a regular meeting of the Rothbury Village Council Tuesday evening, April 16, about the festival organizers’ recent decision to limit their gifted wristbands to Sunday-only entry of the gigantic four-day music festival. 

The annual festival attracts over 50,000 people from all over the US and beyond to the small village of Rothbury with a population of less than 500. This year’s festival is set for June 20-23 at the Double JJ Resort.

A letter from EF was recently sent to locals who receive the free neighbor wristbands, stating that the passes can no longer be used for all four days of the festival but will only be good for the last day of the festival, which is Sunday. EF stated safety issues led to the decision to limit the free wristbands that are given to the locals.

“These program updates are the result of the high volume of neighbor wristband requests, particularly last-minute requests, significantly outpacing the overall capacity of the program. Additionally, there has been a year-over-year increase in neighbor wristbands being re-sold outside of the official Electric Forest ticketing platform, which presents numerous issues for the festival including public safety concerns.”

Residents at Tuesday’s meeting expressed their disappointment not only with EF’s decision, but also their dismay with the council for not advocating on their behalf. “I am let down by the board,” said Lisa Armstrong, who lives on Wilke Road.

The council recently approved extending the mass gathering permit for 12 years through 2035. The permit now allows for up to 70,000 attendees — up from the previous 50,000. 

The locals described several inconveniences that they endure when 50,000 people invade their small community for the massive event. Traffic backups; loud music blasting all night; rattling of homes from the intense bass of EDM (electronic dance music); festival goers trespassing on their property; attendees’ visible drug use; WiFi interruptions from overcapacity; and the list goes on.

Many locals explained that they sell the wristbands as a sort of compensation for the issues they experience from the festival. Now, that compensation has been drastically reduced. General admission wristbands are $520 plus fees. 

Katie Carls-Buitendorp and her husband Ron McDonald own a cabin in the Double JJ Resort’s Back 40 area, which is inside the venue. She said they have owned the cabin for over 16 years — right before the festivals began at Double JJ. Her mother now lives in the cabin, and said she worries about her mother’s safety when the festival is happening.

Festival goers once barged into the cabin and “threw drugs on the table,” announcing it was time to party. Her mother was terrified but unharmed.

“It’s out of control. There is hard, open, flagrant drug use.”

Carls-Buirendorp said the music shakes the cabin windows, and their garbage cans have been vandalized with graffiti.

Cathy Will, who lives on nearby Lake 16, said, “I kind of felt like a thief in the night when I sold my bracelet. We’ve all been used to receiving compensation, but it shouldn’t be in the form of a bracelet. An 80-year-old lady and a disabled husband don’t need bracelets. The compensation should be different.” Will suggested that the village provide residents with financial compensation through the EF funds it receives. 

To date, the village has received nearly $1.8 million in revenue from Electric Forest that benefits the community, such as lowering the tax millage rate; improving streets and sidewalks; installing benches and waste receptacles; upgrading police cars, DPW vehicles and grounds equipment; and improving the Rothbury Community Center, according to village officials. Plans are in place to use EF funds to make major improvements at Czarny Field.

In 2018 when the festival ran for two weekends, the village received nearly $387,000 from EF, according to village records.

“We stand by our decision to issue the mass gathering permit,” said Village Trustee Mike Harris in a prepared statement on behalf of the council. “It was made in the best interest of the village.”

Harris advised the disgruntled neighbors to direct their questions and complaints to EF organizers, adding that the mass gathering permit approved by the council never addressed the neighbor wristbands. 

“We are not going to back down,” said Patricia Day, who has organized an opposition effort to the neighbor wristband policy change. “I have sent messages to just about all the artists who will be playing at Electric Forest to let them know. We’re not going to stand back and let this happen. This is in our backyards.”

Day said that several locals met with an EF representative — Vice President of Business Strategy Chad Cheek — during a Zoom video conferencing meeting, April 6, to discuss the wristband controversy. “We had 83 participants.”

“They are coming in and seizing us,” she said. “They’re containing everybody … to be homebound, under house arrest,” because locals are trapped within the confines of the chaos. “I have to put a thunder vest on my dog” due to the noise and vibrations from the music.

EF Neighborhood Coordinator Luke Sass attended Tuesday’s village council meeting and had no comment when asked by OCP about the neighbor wristband policy change.

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