Attendance strong on Day One at Bumbershoot

By Karen Martin

Bumbershoot is off and running. I'll start with an apology for my bad. This is the 37th Annual Bumbershoot, not the 36th, as I wrote in a preview entry last week. Here is my report from a volunteer's perspective on the first day of the festival.

First, a few negatives. In my opinion, this year's t-shirt design leaves a lot to be desired. For those of you who collect, maybe this is the year to add the main logo shirt instead of the 2007 design. Or save you souvenir dollar for Flatstock, the poster art exhibit and sale running over at the Fisher Building. I saw many people taking rolls and rolls of goodies from that event out to their cars and then coming back for more fun.

As a volunteer, I worked part of Saturday at the gate. There was some confusion about a new ticket scanning procedure. Not only do you get scanned coming in to the event, but each time you want to go out and come back. This allows One Reel, the festival producer, to get a better handle on the true attendance numbers, which were said to have been up 40 percent over last year.

In addition to the scanning, we are still stamping hands for in-and-outs. We all apologize for the green hand stamp that is being used this year. Perhaps the festival staff needs to rethink this PAINT. as that is what it is. Remember to keep your ticket in a safe place so you can get it scanned when you come and go.

Now on to the good stuff! I was right that the Esurance Stage was the best stage by far last evening. The crowd was huge and it spilled over the Fisher Green onto the hills beyond. Many stood on the rocks in the new Poetry Garden (a lovely space that was dedicated to a recently retired Seattle Center employee.) Many stood on the rail above the Fisher Building on top.

Even nicer, there are two beer gardens--one behind the stage and one on top of the Fisher--where you can enjoy a beverage while allowing a the view of the stage. Sitting on top, you get a view of the entire Fisher Green all the way over to the Fountain, the Fountain Lawn and Queen Anne Hill.

Besides the layout, the Esurance Stage, which was previously known as the Bumbrella Stage, far-out rocked the Main Stage. In fact, a lot of the people who stood in line to get the coveted pink ticket for the evening acts at the Memorial Stadium didn't turn out for that gig last night. One reason for the good vibe at Esurance was that my buddies Buddha and Anthony are back again this year as the stage manager and assistant stage manager. They also have some fine people working as backstage crew from the local IATSE union--one of the sources of production talent that One Reel has learned to tap to enhance the experience.

One great thing about Bumbershoot is the variety of family activities. A lot of people come with the kiddies for the day, then take the kids home and come back for the night events. There is a “Brick” area set aside for Lego lovers inside the Center House, along with face painting and other kid's activities.

The Fun Forest is split in half this year. The younger rides are outside of Bumbershoot. The older rides like the Log Splitter, the Roller Coaster and the Ship Ride are inside of Bumbershoot, as is the Arcade and the Midway. Ride tickets must be purchased for all of them separate from the Bumbershoot ticket. Why is it feeling more and more Disneyland like each year?

Well, it is a musical Disneyland. Tonight the Samsung Mainstage is going to be much more interesting with Sean Paul and Fergie of the Black Eyed Peas) headlining. It is a limited seating/mostly standing event, so get in early and nab your "square ticket" at the Mainstage info booth. Be prepared to stand in line.

Okay, gotta run to get to the grounds for the Sunday schedule. I hope to see you there for the last two days before we have to wait another year to see it again! More blog tomorrow.