Tents and tapestries, small fires surrounded by campers with dredlocks and out-of-tune guitars littered the woods, as cars parked jaggedly along the side of the path, jutting out between trees, display a wide variety of license plates. From Colorado, Utah, Alabama and Arkensas to name a few, Grateful Dead fans from all over the country flock to Nelson’s Ledges every summer for Gratefulfest, three days of camping, fun and live music. It’s the perfect place to be on July 4th weekend, as Nelsons Ledges is an experiment in freedom itself, an unparalleled place of personal freedom so engrained, one might think the quarry qualifies as international waters.

For the past 11 years, Gratefulfest has become well-known for its intimacy and great line-ups. Unlike larger, more expensive, further-away festivals, Nelson’s finds a niche for those looking to have a great festival experience without all the VIP separation and corporate sponsorship. It is, in its own right, a musical Mecca for true fans, and a well kept secret among festival destinations, though it is slowly snowballing in popularity to a wider audience.

Grateful Dead

Grateful Dead 1977

The park fills up quicker than previous years, and by Saturday, many of those just arriving are directed to camp across the street. The staff frequently runs out of ice and other provisions, as the growing crowd demands more to keep cool in the hot July weather.

But they manage to stay on top of these problems when they surface, as the Nelson’s staff works hard to keep fans happy and safe. It’s a long hot weekend, and they warn festival-goers to be smart.

“We’ve got two more days of great music, so pace yourselves,” says Evan Kelly, owner and operator of Nelson’s Ledges, to the crowd on Friday night during Dark Star Orchestra’s set break.

But DSO isn’t about to take it easy, playing over-3-hour sets all three nights, a total of ten hours and fifteen minutes of Grateful Dead covers over the weekend. If that isn’t enough for the fans, Donna Jean Godchaux, ex-vocalist for the Dead, plays with her band on the second stage late-night Saturday, and makes cameo appearences with every band she could get on stage with over the weekend, including Dark Star and Rumor Has It.

On top of great Dead covers, it’s an Independence Day celebration, with all the fireworks and fire-performers one could ask for. On Saturday night, Burning Man, a guy dressed in a fire-retardent suit, walks around on the beach for a few minutes while being doused with flammable liquids from squirt guns before diving into the quarry to extinguish the blaze.

Fire-dancers also perform on the beach, wowing the crowd with flaming hula hoops and spinning balls of fire at the ends of chains in an incredible display from circus-like performers.

Sunday night fireworks cap off the event, as well as another evening with Dark Star, Boombox, and late-night performances by Ragbirds and Henhouse Prowlers, closing yet another successful Grateful Dead-infused 4th of July weekend at Nelson’s, the land of the free and the home of the strange.

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