Bottled water forbidden at Seattle festival
Scott says:
Yesterday (Sat. 9/1/07) I took my family to see Crowded House at Bumbershoot in Seattle.LinkThis year, Bumbershoot is claiming to be "greener than ever".
Hmmm...then why did they force thousands of fans entering Memorial Stadium to throw away their bottles of water (already a wasteful product)?
Ironically, this aging high school football stadium has no functioning drinking fountains, no easily-accessible potable water, and even has warning signs on the restrooms that say "Do not drink water from the sinks."
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pure capitalism... dont let people in with bottled water and you can sell them all bottled water at 4 or 5 bucks a bottle. More so if they claim all the "free" water onsite is not potable.
Sometimes people forget how resilient the human body is though. I doubt anyone would have gotten sick from drinking "sink" water.
Apparently everyone complied. Act like sheep, get turned into lamb stew.
If you aren't thirsty, the terrorists win.
Bottle water forbidden? Maybe in that particular concert, but not throughout the entire festival. There were water bottles bought & sold & consumed all over the place.
There is in fact a line of drinking fountains, maybe ten in number, near the front, on either side of the stage. By the bye, no one's bag is checked when they initially entered the festival, so one should not spout rants of fascism or capitalism; that's a pretty open and anti-capitalist policy. One could carry in a six pack of beer, a bottle of wine, or a joint if that's your thing, and sip whilst enjoying the fantastic line-up of musicians and artists. I'm sure there is a logical reason for the decision to not allow water bottles into the stadium. Let's not jump to conclusions.
A Gold Pass holder.
A closed filled water bottle can be thrown at somebody and cause serious harm.
If that's the reason they forbid it (as for example is the case at roskilde festival in denmark as well), they should allow people to cut the bottle open. (Throwing the cap away is not enough. The fluid must spill quickly when thrown.)
The headline of the article should have read "Bottled Water not allowed to be carried into Memorial Stadium." Let's not overdramatize or bend the truth--water was not forbidden at festival.
Good dictators get serfs like these when they go to Heaven.
If they were selling bottled water inside the festival, then what a crock, claiming to be "greener."
To be really green, all they had to do was set up clearly labeled recycling bins all over the festival site and sell reusable water bottles and encourage people to use them daily and/or bring for next year's festival as well.
But to make people waste water they'd all ready brought...stupid, stupid, stupid.
i got hit with this in Indy in June. No outside water at a concert held at the state park. I was also forced to check my messenger bag because it was to big (despite the fact that my younger sister was allowed to bring in a bag that was the same size).
The one upside was that the water that was being sold at the venue was reasonably price (3$ for huge bottle).
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When I used to go to festivals, we'd drink beer all day and then see if we could drive home. Perhaps they are just trying to keep that lovely tradition alive...
Props to the Lollapalooza folks again this year for allowing everyone to bring in up to 2 1-liter bottles of water per person each day.
They technically had to be sealed (I guess to prevent people from bringing in 2 1-liter bottles of vodka) but there were water fountains all over the park for refilling during the day.
I think I know the 'green' that was the primary concern here.
What ever the 'logical' reason is and no matter how sensible the alternatives were; it is pretty damning of the public and promoters, not to mention a sure fire way of dispelling an easy-go-lucky or happy atmosphere.
Am I the only one fixated on the thing in the photo, lower left, that reads "crapolicio.us"?
Well, they must have given exclusive rights to Aquafina or something. I've had a lot of fun at Bumbershoot over the year, but I'll probably never go again. Heatstroke + long lines != Fun .
At Coachella this year you weren't permitted to bring in outside beverages (not like this wasn't well-publicized, so not a huge deal unless you were one of us poor bastards waiting in the Will Call lineup for hours and hours in the blazing sun on Friday, but I digress...). Their attempt to make bottled water more eco-friendly was to offer one free bottle for every ten empties returned, and I think that worked out pretty well. It kept the litter levels MUCH lower, and let some of the broker kids save two bucks a pop. Presumably the empties were recycled.
Some years ago when I was still living in Seattle, I was about to leave the site of Bumbershoot towards the end of the day with some friends. All day long, the people on the exit gates been issuing handstamps to festivalgoers that had decided to leave for a while and come back later in the day. Even then, the per-day and all-weekend prices were pretty expensive.
However, when we got nearer the head of the line for the way out, we found that the gatekeepers refused to stamp anybody's hand that was trying to leave (this was at about 5 or 6pm, even though where were shows going on until 9 oclock or later). Supposedly the reasoning was that food vendors didn't want people to leave to get dinner at home or more cheaply offsite and then return on their handstamp - they wanted them to pay again to return.
People objected, and pretty soon a chant started up: "Hell no, we won't go (without a handstamp)." A spontaneous demonstration and sit-in broke out, or maybe people were just hot and tired, and sat down.
The line to leave got longer and longer as more and more people decided to wait out the "evening departure rule," which was not actually posted at the gate or on the back of ticket stubs. After about half an hour of good-natured chanting and negotiations, the gatekeepers finally got the go-ahead to stamp us out. It was exhilarating, if a little petty of us, knowing we'd been part of a successful if short-lived protest movement.
And off my friends and I went to get dinner at a clean and cool and inexpensive restaurant nearby, and came back to catch another couple of shows.
...because the thought of someone drinking in public is that horrific, that we have to waste tons of water and plastic. This is all Nickels's fault. I hate that guy. Even if it IS just the stadium, that's where everyone ends up at the end of the day anyways. I'm not even AT Bumbershoot this year but I'm already feeling angry.
Um, why hasn't anyone mentioned occupational health and safety laws with regards to allowing people free access to water? I'm fairly sure that here in Australia you're not allowed to deny "water in a non-spill container" at any location. (We certainly weren't allowed to keep it out of the student computer labs I used to manage.)
Many Aussie events suggest you bring water and/or give it out free. I guess it's more important here with the hotter temperatures, or something.
This reminds me a lot of when I went to Dog Day Afternoon at Fort York in Toronto last year. After waiting in line in the August sun for half an hour, we finally reached the gate - only to be told that we couldn't bring in anything - water, food, anything. I was forced to leave my 1.5 litre bottle of water outside (though I was able to sneak in a bit of food). I immediately tried to get into the bathroom so I could fill up my nalgene - only to find the bathrooms locked. Every bathroom in the entirety of Fort York was locked, and about 20 portapotties were set up. They were also selling 150 mL bottles of water for $3 each.
Unfortunately, Fort York is a large, enclosed area with ONE tree; it was a day long festival on a cloudless day in August; and every person in the audience had paid $70 to get in. There were families there, parents with their toddlers as well as 20-something hipsters - this was completely inappropriate and showed a total lack of respect for the patrons. Because I was there for about 8 hours, I ended up spending about $120 dollars on the day - I'm lucky I had the money.
I totally understand not allowing food, but not allowing people to bring water is simply ridiculous. It's wasteful to have that many bottles and dangerous for the patrons. I really wish these places would figure it out!
We got water* into Crowded House by arguing that we checked the policy on the website, which said we could bring food & water in plastic containers. If they're going to have a different policy for the Stadium, they should have put it in the FAQ.
*In Nalgenes, natch.
you guys are all tripping!
Bottles aren't/weren't allowed so people couldn't throw them at the awful bands that were playing the stadium.
Bottles were sold in the stadium, but after you bought one, you had to pour it in a cup.
They had cups for you to pour your personal bottled water into.
There is nothing less green then buying bottled water. Really it's all you yuppie fans that are the ones destroying the earth.
thanks
There was some court ruling a few years ago saying that no place of business can prevent you from bringing in bottled water due to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). You have a right to your own water source as a treatment for illness, injury, or disability. And once you say "this is a self-accommodation under the ADA" they don't have a right to inquire any farther. Violations of the ADA can bring stiff penalties to any facility.
My friend was one of the people who had to leave her water bottle behind. When she asked the security people why, she was told that it was by request of the artists. Apparently people throw bottles onstage (and can injure band members)? I must say, although the whole episode irked me, I did see a water bottle fly through the air during the show (The Shins), so maybe it is a valid concern. However, that rule definately should have been made widely known ahead of time. I hope all those bottles were recycled. Oh yeah, they were letting people bring in their Nalgene bottles. Maybe they figure people won't hurl something that cost them $12 onto the stage?
We recently visited the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire (which was more like a shoddy traveling carnival but that's another story) and were told at the gate that no food or drink was aloud to be brought in. They checked all our bags, including my tiny camera bag (for weapons?) and we had to leave our things (a bottle of gatorade and a bag of hard candy) in the car.
It was extremely hot on this particular day and the entire faire is outside with very few shady spots to rest and no water fountains that we could find. I have health problems including extreme food allergies and trouble regulating insulin and electrolyte levels, so I couldn't eat or drink anything being sold on the premises with the exception of water which they were charging an arm and a leg for. Long story short I ended up being rushed to the emergency room with heat stroke, dehydration and low blood sugar levels. We were at the faire for roughly 3 hours and we did drink water but had no other food/drink that day. We all wore sunscreen and hats with brims. There were at least three other people that day who had to be taken to the hospital by ambulance from the faire for the same reason.
Forcing people to buy overpriced food and drinks is bad enough for people without health problems but to for folks like me it's even worse. Most of the food sold at places like this (movie theatres, faires, parks etc) is junk that I wouldn't feed my cats. Why should I have to eat their overpriced, poorly packaged food substitute that's been sitting on a shelf for who knows how long? Because people are greedy that's why. Suffice to say I won't be going anywhere from now on that won't at least allow me to bring in a bottle of water and a roll of lifesavers.
Reading Festival wouldn't allow any liquids into the main festival arena (where you spend your entire day), they also restricted bringing empty plastic bottles in.
I'm not sure if this was to do with a band member (from Panic! at the Disco I believe) being hit with a bottle last year and being knocked out, or whether it's to do with their sponsor; Carling.
I doubt it's the first, as bottled drinks are widely available for purchase inside.
At Alton Towers (an amusement park) in England, not only are you not allowed to bring in bottled water, but the staff at all restaurants are specifically instructed not to serve tap-water to customers.
I bought a pizza there about nine months ago at a Pizza Hut, on a day trip, and asked for a glass of water. The waitress went to get it, then looked confused, then consulted her manager. She then returned, and told me that she "wasn't allowed" to serve me water. I was forced to buy a miniscule bottle of water for around £2 ($4 US).
I was there, it was really screwed up. I couldn't get in on the first day because they didn't let you bring in SLR Cameras to the mainstage ("No cameras with detachable lenses"), which is utterly ridiculous. The people who would have SLRs are the ones who are likely to publicize the events and bands.
I was there, and this was just plain stupid. It killed the vibe of the usually-awesome Bumbershoot in that moment. They basically ended up pissing off at least one member of each group heading into the stadium. What a bunch of dumb-asses. Best part about it was I got denied on the first time through because I couldn't have a "camera with detachable lenses" (aka DLSR). I turned around, hung out for a bit, scoped the most junior checker, waited for a big rush of fans, and ended up getting through with the camera AND A BOTTLE of water, LOL! Jedi mind tricks can be effective, learned that as a skilled audio stealther. Which, by the way if part of the irony here, with all the checking for water going on, you could have easily walked in with a SICK audio recording rig...
I smuggled 1 bottle of water and two cans of soda tucked neatly in my kids wagon. The security people were much less likely to hassle people with kids.
+1 for the breeders!
I was there, they have large drinking fountain setups inside the stadium. Yes, the bottles are wasteful, but in this way they are concentrated and can be easily recycled by staff. If they were scattered through the stadium they would probably be in the garbage now.
This is normal at virtually all sports and music events and festivals i visited in the Netherlands. If you're lucky you can bring in an empty bottle and fill it at one of the two tap points that all other 50.000 attendees are using too. If you're less lucky you have to throw your bottle away and pay for your water the same price as your beer (usually two euros or so). If you're even less lucky they don't have any water at all and you have to either get drunk or drink sodas.
At the cricket world cup held last year in the caribbean there was also initially a ban on bottled water being brought into grounds. Again the argument was that these could be used as missiles - the fact that you could buy said missiles (at a hugh mark-up) inside the ground seemed to rather defeat the arguement.
Anyway after several instances of long lines of dehydrated patrons at the medical posts the ban was lifted.
I recently attended the corporate radio sponsored fireworks event in Cincinnati. Over half a million people were there. There were security guards checking bags at the entrances and making people throw their water (and any other liquids) away. All in the name of security. I guess they buy into the TSA's idea that you can make a bomb from a bottle of Aqua Fina and a 4oz. tube of hair gel. It was a shame to see a dumpster full of bottled water. What a waste. They could have at least been honest and not tried to play the "security" card in order to sell water for 5 bucks.
--Sagesmith
@ #25 Anon - At "EarthFest" this year, they gave out free bottled water all day and had recycling bins all over (though bottled water is still pretty evil, at least their hearts were in the right place). Halfway through Guster's set, Ryan had to inform the crowd that chucking half filled bottles of water up in the air and/or at the band did not, in fact, recycle them. One of my friends almost beat up a guy after I got whacked in the head with one. Luckily, I'm made of sterner stuff.
If it were possible to make explosives out of one or two small bottles of liquid, there'd be videos on YouTube of someone doing it.
There aren't any, needless to say.
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Ths "ppl" wh dsgr wth th bv r smply nvs f ths whm knw hw t grw nd crt PRFT!!!
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I am surprised. I thought Seattlites were more eco-conscious. Did they ban Nalgene bottles as well?
Xeni - I think the "It's Crapolicio.us" refers to the URL of the blogger who first posted this story...
This idiocy regarding water and cameras is getting to be par for the course for a lot of festivals and concerts, and it's a damn shame people just accept it.
The Sasquatch Festival held at the Gorge Ampitheatre in Washington this spring took it to a whole new level, bouncing me one day because I had a crappy 30 year old film SLR and *gasp* a detachable lens (just a 50mm, not some huge uber-zoom or anything). There I was wasting another 3 hours walking back to the campsite and waiting in line again because I actually enjoy taking old-school pictures, while people with 10 megapixel superzoom digicams were walking in.
On my second attempt getting in, I (along with many other attendees) was forced to take off my shoes, and even after being aggressively patted down, LIFT MY SHIRT ALL THE WAY UP AND TURN AROUND. They were making girls take off headbands and shake their hair out. It was more humiliating than any TSA experience. After all that and finally getting in, I just wanted to load up my backpack with water so I could watch the bands without worry for the rest of the day, but they would only sell one bottle at a time, and confiscate the bottle cap (obviously not conducive to sticking water in one's backpack). It was just an exercise in pointless stupidity, too, since people would just go from water vendor to water vendor and snag bottle caps that other people had dropped or left by tables.
Utterly ridiculous authoritarianism for the sake of authoritarianism.
Sasquatch was the worst - horrifically embarassing, made an aweful lot of people wait a very long time, and it obviously didn't work - that whole festival was practically swimming in drugs. And whatever, it was a fun festival.
Another thing about Bumbershoot, though. By day 2 they had paper cups to transfer your water to if you had to throw out your bottle, and they were allowing permanant bottles (ie Nalgenes) through. Finally, the cheapest water at the festival is from Michaelangelo's at the Center House, who sell water in large cups for .50 and it's free if you bring your own container.
Anon, if you can find a reference regarding the ADA ruling you mentioned, I'd love for you to post it. A quick quick search on LexisNexis didn't bring anything up.
Thanks!