june-2010

CIRCUS MAXIMUS
Brothers Drugs, a fi xture
Clockwise from left, since the 1920s, and an H&R
revelers in the camping
area; the Which stage; Block. That’s about it. The
and the main stage, retail heart of the city left
above, called
long before Bonnaroo
the What stage
arrived, spreading along busy
thoroughfares closer to the
four highway exits.
Coff ee County Mayor David Pennington and City of
Manchester Mayor Betty Superstein sit side by side at
the chamber’s long conference table, heaping praise on the
festival and ticking off the list of economic benefi ts the area
gets each year from Bonnaroo booths alone. Almost every
nonprofi t and local organization in Manchester runs one.
The proceeds pay for everything from band uniforms to
MONTREUX JAZZ FESTIVAL
MONTREUX, SWITZERLAND
JULY 2–17 For two weeks,
the silky sounds of jazz
waft over the shores of
Lake Geneva.
montreuxjazz.com
THUNDER MOUNTAIN
ROCKFEST NORTH DAKOTA
JULY 8–10 Check out your
favorite classic rock acts,
such as Asia and Survivor.
rockdakota.com
operating expenses for the youth baseball league. The
chamber runs two booths and a general store that sells
local tchotchkes. The annual take: At least $20,000. The
Rotary parked cars for 48 hours and this year earned
enough to build an amphitheater at the local recreation
center. Another group earned $30,000 to pay for a skate
park. The list goes on.
“If they get it to where it’s permanent, where there are fi ve
shows a year, Bonnaroo is going to be our base to build an
industry in this community,” Pennington says, “an industry
based on music.”
Ask around, and it’s hard to fi nd someone who
doesn’t benefi t from the festival. Sam McAllister owns a
two-story house with a wraparound porch, and from his
front door he can look down his long gravel driveway, which
curves down an incline, and see the main road leading
to Bonnaroo. McAllister sold most of his 700 acres to
Bonnaroo in 2007 for $8.6 million—a better price than the
going rate.
Green himself had been toiling at his dad’s used car lot
when he took a job at the festival. At the time, he fi gured
come next summer those out-of-town music folks might be
looking for a local with a good bulldozer.
“My father told me I lost my mind taking that job, that it
won’t ever last,” Green recalls. “He said, ‘Bonnaroo will be
out in two or three years and you won’t have nothing to do.’”
Soon afterward, though, Green bought that farm of his.
And he’s been busy ever since.
Freelance writer MYA FRAZIER is hoping she can fi nd her
Birkenstocks. 79
OREGON BREWERS FESTIVAL
PORTLAND, OREGON JULY 22-25
The largest collection of
craft beer purveyors gathers
for a long, sudsy weekend.
oregonbrewfest.com
GILROY GARLIC FESTIVAL
GILROY, CALIFORNIA JULY 23-25
Remember to bring mints
to this culinary celebration
of all things garlic.
gilroygarlicfestival.com
FUJI ROCK FESTIVAL NAEBA,
JAPAN JULY 30–AUGUST 1 Party
in the shadow of Mount
Fuji with Vampire Weekend
and Massive Attack, among
others. smash-uk.com/frf10
MAINE LOBSTER FESTIVAL
ROCKLAND, MAINE AUGUST 4–8
The air crackles with the
sound of snapping shells
at this annual fête of the
world’s tastiest crustacean.
mainelobsterfestival.com
PEBBLE BEACH CONCOURS
D’ELEGANCE CARMEL,
CALIFORNIA AUGUST 11-15
Nowhere will you fi nd a
more rarefi ed roundup
of antique cars and the
people who love them.
pebblebeachconcours.com