Tulsa World: Heat's on, but Dfest fans cope

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Heat's on, but Dfest fans cope

Zappa Plays Zappa performs Saturday during the second night of Diversafest in Tulsa. ARAM BOGHOSIAN / The Tulsa World

By LEE LOGAN World Staff Writer
Published: 7/27/2008 2:13 AM
Last Modified: 7/27/2008 2:54 AM

People can disagree about the best show at this year's Diversafest. They might not see eye-to-eye on the best venue. But everyone could at least agree on one thing: It was blazing hot this weekend.

"With the hot music, God decided to make the weather just as hot," said Dfest co-founder Angie DeVor-Green.

Concertgoers packed the Blue Dome District on Friday and Saturday to see more than 30 national headliners and 120 supporting acts. Music lasted into the morning on both nights.

With temperatures pushing triple digits, revelers this weekend faced a heat advisory issued by the Emergency Medical Services Authority.

EMSA supervisor Curtis Brubaker said his team treated about 25 people on Friday, mostly for heat-related issues. Through early Saturday evening, EMSA personnel had only treated a few heat cases, but Brubaker expected the pace to pick up later.

Brubaker said many of the incidents happened late at night during the bigger acts. The combination of drinking, dancing and hot weather was a bad recipe for some.

"They've been hot all day; they get too crowded in there and they get overheated," Brubaker said. "It's just too much."

Brubaker cautioned revelers to drink plenty of water, limit the alcohol and find as much shade as possible.

"Anything you can to cool down," he said.

Courtney Griffin, who came with several friends from Fort Smith, Ark., said the crowd was pretty densely packed during Paramore's performance on Friday.

"A

girl passed out behind us. It was pretty bad," Griffin said. "I had a panic attack, but I didn't pass out or anything."

Fans found ways to cope. Organizers set up two "mist zones" where people could cool off with a quick burst of water.

Other attendees, such as Todd Foreman from Wagoner, used promotional fans or towels.

"If they didn't give that stuff away, it would make it a whole lot worse," he said.

DeVore-Green said fans could also cool down by visiting the medical tent or one of eight indoor venues. Also, most of the bands played after 6 p.m., when it started to cool off.

"We used to have people on stage at noon," she said. "Some of the artists couldn't even hit the frets on their guitar."

Griffin, who came to see Deas Vail and Progress in Color, said the heat wasn't enough to keep her away: "We've seen worse."

Several thousand others weren't dissuaded, either. Before the festival, organizers expected 60,000 people to show up. Although precise attendance numbers weren't available Saturday, spokeswoman Jen Clark said attendance was "very healthy."

Based on pre-sales, the physical size of the event and drink purchases, she said, attendance grew from last year, which drew 40,000 attendees.

Although she eventually wants to expand the festival into several districts and work with the proposed downtown Drillers stadium, DeVore-Green said she wants to keep Dfest at its current size for the next few years.

"I want to master it," she said. "I don't want to just manage it."

Industry representatives and artists like Tulsa because it's accessible, Devore-Green said, pointing to a major music deal completed at Dfest that will be announced shortly.

"This is potentially going to be the new favorite conference because of the intimacy," she said.

Lee Logan 581-8113
lee.logan@tulsaworld.com By LEE LOGAN World Staff Writer

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	Report Comment Jeff in Tulsey Town, (7/27/2008 3:37:38 PM) Yes, indeed it was hot, but it sure was fun! I had a better time than last year and the music even seemed more diverse! Every event I walked into was packed or it got packed very quickly. Great job you guys! Things seemed much smoother and more organized this year! Bring back Cavedoll (a band from SLC)! I don't think I've ever met a nicer bunch of band members.
	Report Comment baoutsider, (7/27/2008 4:25:03 PM) Last year, I attended Dfest and thought my teenagers would really like this event. This year they went. They won't be back again. Way too many drunks, way too much litter, way too many panhandlers. Tulsa keeps wanting people to go downtown...this "Drunk-fest" will not promote that.
	Report Comment SRV, (7/28/2008 11:23:12 AM) Sources tell me that this year's event lost money. Too bad as it is trying to make an effort here in Oklahoma.
	Report Comment TheBevil, (7/28/2008 3:40:33 PM) I doubt there were as many people as last year. It was packed on Friday night last year and you couldn't beat the ticket cost. The bands were OK this year, but I probably won't go if they raise the ticket cost again, along with everything else.
	Report Comment weliketorock, (8/4/2008 12:53:17 PM) Dfest has went down hill in the last year.To greedy to fast. The first couple of years it was about the music,now its not. Someone needs to get back in the scene and devlop something that tulsans are proud of.Because this is not it anymore!
	Report Comment dinah moe-humm, (8/5/2008 4:07:14 PM) Dweezil Zappa and his band rocked the DFEST this year! Too bad it was a short set, not the 2 to 3 hour show they have been doing. Please bring them back to Tulsa for their own gig soon! Thanks for the festival guys. It was fun all the way around. Loved the food, esp the Fajita stand on Friday nite.!!

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