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For some music lovers, festival a family affair
4-day event at Big Cypress Seminole Indian Reservation ended Sunday
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The grass beneath thousands of flip-flops and bare feet is browned and beaten down at the Big Cypress Seminole Indian Reservation, with only flecks of its former green self showing, on the last of Langerado’s four days of music.
The festivalgoers’ sunburns have faded, as has the energy that poured in from around the country beginning Thursday.
Sunday afternoon, hundreds of people laid out blankets at the fringes of the crowds near the stage, choosing to listen to the last rounds of bands at a distance. Some tossed Frisbees, others Hula-Hooped barefoot.
And more than one person napped face-down in the open air, seemingly immune to the chilly breeze that crept in Friday and hasn’t left.
”The vibe is great,” said Cass St. Leon, who sat on the edge of the crowd with his wife, Danielle, and their two children to hear folk artist Josh Ritter perform.
The family drove from Hollywood, Fla., on Saturday and camped out overnight.
“Everyone is peaceful, loving, accepting of each other,” said Danielle, seated between 9-year-old Daryn and 8-year-old Gregory.
“It’s a good lesson for them. They don’t get to see this many kinds of people everywhere.”
Although the couple are Grateful Dead fans, they planned to leave mid-afternoon Sunday, before former Dead bassist Phil Lesh takes the stage at 8 p.m. with his band.
Daryn says she is not ready to head home and “love(s) the music,” but it’s FCAT this week so there is no arguing — they have to be back at school in the morning.
Nearby, Grateful Dead T-shirt wearers — the younger ones with blankets and instruments in tow, and older ones carrying folding chairs and hats — are streaming in six hours before Phil Lesh and Friends perform to find a good area to watch the band.
Across the venue at the Sunset Stage, the easternmost of the performance areas, a couple in their 20s set up a blanket and chairs — and a doublewide stroller.
“It’s his first festival,” explained Katrina Haughton, 26, pointing to Forest, the 6-month-old baby she is nursing. “We worried about his crying bothering other people, but he only cries when we take him back to the RV.”
The couple’s oldest son, William, turns 4 in April but is already a music festival veteran, with nearly a dozen under his belt.
“It’s a different way to experience it than when we were younger. A little more mellow,” observed Nathan Haughton, 29. They arrived
Thursday and will be heading back home to Columbus in the next few days.
The pair still manages to attend festivals throughout the year, sometimes leaving the children with family. But whenever possible, they load up their RV and go to events up and down the East Coast.
The festival community, with its diversity of people and music, is important to the Haughtons, as is being on the road with their children.
“It brings you together as a family,” Katrina said earnestly, shielding Forest’s face from the sun with a blanket.
“The more we do it, the better we get,” added Nathan, with William on his lap. Sunscreen and hydration, he added, are the keys to keeping the boys healthy at outdoor events.
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E-mail Victoria Macchi at vmmacchi@gmail.com
Demons next door? Your neighbor’s Great Dane took a nap in your flower bed and mistook the front lawn for a loo — and this was on a good day. The music next door may as well be under your bed. You’re wondering why the fruit is disappearing off your trees near someone else’s kitchen window. You have — or have had — neighbors from hell? Tell us about them. We’d like to know what neighbors drove you to the limits, and what — if it was possible with neighbors like that — solved the problem. You don’t need to give us your neighbor’s names, but we do want to hear your experiences for a story on the demons next door, and how to deal with them. Email 
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