Been to Watermelon Park Fest “every year” and think you already know it all? Well you don’t!

New at Watermelon Park Fest in 2009!
Here at Shepherd’s Ford Productions, we are extremely proud to be hosting our 6th annual Watermelon Park Fest. As the event has grown over the years, we have tried to stay on top of the changes needed to keep up with growth while keeping the event fun and safe for all. In 2009, we have made some big changes, partly due to sensible suggestions made by our regular festival attendees.

THE STAGE
If you’ve been to Watermelon Park in the last few years, you may have wondered about the large concrete platform at the back of the performance area. That’s what remains of the old stage from the festivals here in the 60’s and 70’s. Well, this year the stage has moved…. back to this traditional location. While we realize this means that you won’t be looking at O’ Shenandoah while you watch the show, it also means there will be a better view of the stage, there will be more shady seating closer to the stage, and the performers won’t be blinded and melting in the setting sun. And the pristine river and mountains will still be there when you want to enjoy them.

BAND CONTEST
In addition to the Fairbuilt Guitar Pickin’ Contest, 2009 attendees will enjoy watching our new Band Contest on Saturday morning through early afternoon. Bands will be judged partly by audience response, so be sure to watch, listen, and whoop it up for your favorites. The winning band will then show off their exceptional skills by playing Saturday evening between the headline acts as well as getting a paid slot at Watermelon Park Fest 2010. Full contest rules are available HERE.

CAJUN DANCE
Friday Night at 11 pm Grammy Award nominated Cedric Watson & Bijou Creole will play a rompin' stompin' Cajun Dance at the Dance Tent. Have a listen to Mr. Watson and company HERE.

QUIET CAMPING AREAS
At the request of some of our family campers, we have decided to include some quiet camping areas close to the performance area, including section A of the RV hookup sites. Campers in these areas are asked to keep noise of all kinds to a minimum between 11pm and 7am. RV Sections B&C and some of the open camping areas are also near the quiet camping, so we request that late night activity in these areas be kept reasonably quiet as well. RV Sections D, E, and F, as well as the rest of the open camping areas are allowed to have late night activity, within reason of course. Please choose a camping area that is suitable for your needs and respect those camping around you. See the campground map HERE.

RV RESERVATIONS
We are now offering RV camper’s the security of knowing they will be guaranteed an RV hookup site regardless of when they arrive. Campers can now conveniently choose and pay for an RV area for the weekend that is not only suitable for their RV size, but also to their desires for peace or activity at night and proximity to other areas of the campground such as the performance area or the bath house. Simply check the site map, choose the area you’d like to camp in based on the area description, your RV size, and location, then go to the online ticketing site and buy your RV reservation for the whole event for a flat fee. You will be assigned a site in your chosen area when you arrive at the park. And of course, you may still arrive a few days early and purchase extra nights at the campground gate if you’d like. Find your perfect RV area, but do it soon as there are a limited number of sites. Small RVs and campers are also permitted in the rough camping areas, without a hookup, free of charge, but no generators are permitted. GET YOUR RESERVATION HERE BEFORE THEY SELL OUT!

DAY PARKING
To reduce noise and dust and increase safety, especially at night, we will be restricting the amount of vehicle traffic in the camping area. We are asking that once you have set up camp, you leave your vehicle parked for the duration of the weekend if at all possible. If you must leave and return, we ask that you exit through, return to and then park in the Day Parking section at the north end of the campground. Any extra vehicles over the amount permitted at RV sites should be moved to Day Parking as well after unloading at the campsite. All vehicles exiting from the main campground will be directed to exit at the far end of Day Parking and will not be allowed to exit through the main gate. Handicapped parking will be available near the performance area gate for placard bearing vehicles. See the campground map HERE.

SECURITY
For all our attendees’ safety and relaxation, we are adding more security this year, both during the day and overnight. We'll have a new Security Station for your convenience.

MORE RECYCLING!
As part of our efforts to Green the festival in 2008, we added recycling centers throughout the event site. This kept a huge amount of glass, plastic and aluminum out of the landfills. Unfortunately, there was still a lot of mixed trash from the campsites. This year, not only will we have more bins, we will be handing out special recycling bags so that each campsite can easily separate their recyclables from their regular trash. This will not only keep recyclables from going to the landfill, it will save a lot of time and dirty work for our volunteer force. And they will really appreciate that.

COMPOSTABLE SERVEWARE
In another effort to reduce the waste generated at the festival, we are requiring that our food vendors use recyclable or compostable serveware. Please make note of the compost bins around the food vending areas and place all compostable serveware and food scraps in these bins. Learn more about our green efforts HERE.

Stay tuned here as we add and create.