Deep Roots Festival brings in record crowd

Milledgeville’s annual Deep Roots festival turned the heart of downtown into a light-hearted soiree on Oct. 23, when locals, out-of-towners, college students and merchants joined together for an entire day of festival-fueled fun. This year’s turnout boasted the highest number so far in Deep Roots’ history.

Arts and crafts were to be found anywhere festival-goers turned, from glass ornaments, to jewelry and even homemade brooms.

“They had some cute jewelry there,” junior nursing major Emily Thompson said. “I got a ring.”

Kendyl Wade | gcsunade.com

Chris Harris, known as “The Bucket Drummer,” set up on South Wayne street during the Deep Roots Festival. Going along with his name, Harris made music by banging on buckets and producing a large crwod. Harris collected money to sell CDs of his music which can also be found on www.bucketdrummer.com.

Food was also provided in abundance, from run-of-the-mill festival foods such as popcorn and cotton candy to the annual competition barbecue. However, no festival experience is complete without the occasional food failure.

“The Philly cheesesteaks were terrible, but it didn’t put a damper on the day or anything,” Thompson said.

What did put a damper on the day for some was the over-abundance of people, despite the space provided by the smaller number of booths this year.

“It was really crowded,” junior psychology major Jennifer Vincent said. “I didn’t like that, I got annoyed. It was still crowded at night. I feel like last year was better for some reason.”

Despite the festival’s record-breaking number of over 15,000 attendees, the idea that this year’s festival could have been better was evident in many minds, including that of senior art major Kalen Puckett.

“It’s alright; it’s always just alright. The music was good. I’ve been going to it for a long time, so I think I get tired of it quickly,” Puckett said.

As day turned to night, a few festival-goers left in the wake of the vanishing booths while many others remained to listen to The Dirty Guv’nahs, Stokeswood and Delta Spirit play. Despite it being at night, the energy of the crowd was high, and the showmanship of the three consecutive bands reflected the crowd’s vibe that the night proved to be a pleasant ending for yet another successful festival.

Posted by Hilary Thompson on Nov 5 2010. Filed under Features. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.