A sea of tents and trailers decked with posters, flags and handwritten sonnets overflowed the dirt paths and fields of Three Sisters Park Memorial Day weekend as more than 10,000 music lovers from across the country ascended on Chillicothe
Memorial Day weekend for the 10th annual Summer Camp festival.
This year’s Summer Camp featured 55 bands on five stages across the park over a three-day period of May 28-30, uniting a motley crew of young and old, tie-dyed and shirtless, motionally-gifted and rhythmically challenged for a celebration of life, harmony
and nature.
Blazing-hot temperatures and brow-raising wardrobe combinations were no setback to the spirits of Summer Camp aficionados, many of whom have attended Summer Camp for years and are drawn by the atmosphere the festival has to offer.
“It’s the music, the people and the good vibes,” Canton resident Amanda Fields said.
This year was Fields second year attending Summer Camp.
Fields and friend Christie Hewitt of Peoria set up camp near the stage Saturday afternoon, both looking forward to hearing two of their favorite bands, Railroad Earth and Slightly Stoopid perform.
Adults were not the only ones being entertained at this year’s Summer Camp. Balls of yarn, paint and colored paper scattered across the tables on the inside of a tent, mark the designated children’s area of Summer Camp.
For the past five years, the festival has incorporated a “Playground Kids Camp” area, which features a tent and small field with arts, crafts and games for younger concert-goers, including water balloon launching, hair wraps, face painting and more.
“There a lot of kids who come each year,” Leah May, a volunteer in the children’s camp said. “We’ve seen them grow up with us. They come back each year because they know we’re here.”
With more than 10,000 people expected to attend the event, OSF Saint Francis Medical Center set up a regional emergency response team of 80 people with help from 24 hospitals.
“I don’t think many festivals have this great of an emergency response team,” Troy Erbentrout, OSF manager of disaster preparedness, said.
According to Erbentrout, the majority of health concerns over the weekend were heated-related and due to dehydration, with people not taking proper precautions.
“I don’t know if you know much about the hippie lifestyle, but I still haven’t figured out why they don’t wear shoes,” Erbentrout said.
The Chillicothe Police Department was also out in full force for the event to ensure concert-goers safety.
“We’re spending a minimum of 16 hours a day here,” Chillicothe Police Chief Steve Maurer said.
The festival had a total of 37 arrests over the weekend at last count, mostly related to the selling of illegal drugs. Maurer emphasized that this was normal for a venue of this size and a small percentage of the overall attendance of the event.
“Ninety-five percent of these kids are just here to have a good time and have a good weekend,” Maurer said.
