PITTSYLVANIA COUNTY, Va. – The Blue Ridge Rock Festival wrapped up Sunday after a long weekend of rock n’ roll music that was not without its problems.
Throughout the four-day festival, attendees noted problems with traffic, lack of transportation, no camping space and no ADA compliance.
When the festival was announced, Maryland native, Jessica Luemen was excited to see ADA wristbands offered because of her husband’s disability. Unfortunately, when the couple arrived at the festival on Thursday, they said they were not met with appropriate accommodations.
“It’s like all uneven ground. We were like ADA, how is someone with a wheelchair getting around on this? Unless you have ATV tires this is impossible. There is nothing marked, there are supposed to be ADA shuttles, ADA stages, where do you get that,” she said.
People like Mike Charles paid hundreds of dollars for on-site camping at the venue; however, they were forced to camp miles away from the actual festival grounds because of the lack of space.
“We paid $200 for camping passes. We had no bathrooms, we had no running water, no showers, no anything that we were paid for and promised,” he said.
Despite the issues with parking and camping, many festival-goers said the music is what made the weekend bearable.
“I think they did a great job getting the best music lineup possible, but I feel like some of the small details that make the full experience slipped through the cracks,” said Aaron Lyons, who attended the festival.
10 News reached out to organizers of the festival and have yet to hear back
Pittsylvania County officials called that the event was a success for the region.
“Obviously there were some hiccups in the beginning with traffic and congestion but we were able to smooth those out. We are proud to be home of the Blue Ridge Amphitheater now,” said the county’s public relations manager, Caleb Ayers.
Pittsylvania County also released the following statement regarding the event:
STATEMENT ON BLUE RIDGE ROCK FESTIVAL Pittsylvania County staff and many other regulating agencies worked tirelessly...
Posted by Pittsylvania County on Monday, September 13, 2021