Calm before the storm: Country Thunder campers begin setup

The gates at Country Thunder are open for campers eager to set up.

The grounds at Craven were fairly quiet Wednesday morning, but some couldn’t wait to set up.

Mike Dacey’s campsite greets people with a sign that says “Welcome to Fabulous Las Craven.”

“That’s kind of the name of our campsite now, ‘Las Craven,’ ” said Dacey.

The sign has been redone a few times over the years after taking some damage during infamous storms at the annual country music festival.

“We change the year (on the sign) every year, so when we take our pictures, we can landmark in time where we are,” he said.

Dacey came to the first festival in 1983 when he was only 12 years old and has been coming back ever since.

“I like the acts every year. For the price we pay, we get four days of concerts. It’s a good value for my money,” said Dacey.

He said his favourite part about Country Thunder is setting up with his friends and enjoying a drink together.

He’s excited for the announcement of next year’s headliner, which is said to be historic. Dacey isn’t sure what organizers mean by historic, but he hopes it’s someone big. His dream headliner would be George Strait.

Another member of his group is Fred Skalicky.

He said setup went smoothly. He’s looking forward to another weekend of good memories and music.

Although ticket prices went up this year, he said it was worth it.

“Come on out and just unwind. Pay a little extra and have a great time,” he said.

When asked if he brought enough booze, Skalicky said with a laugh: “I don’t know. Ask me the same question in about two days.”

Another long-time Country Thunder fan is Elaine Janzen. Her friends call her the “Craven expert.”

Janzen has been coming since the festival’s inception in 1983 and has only missed one year.

“It just never gets boring. We love it year after year,” she said.

She has vintage memorabilia to show for her dedication. She has collected buttons and belt buckles from the festival over the years.

Elaine Janzen’s vintage Country Thunder merch. (Nicole Garn/980 CJME)

“The year of the mud was probably my favourite year. We had a real blast,” said Janzen.

She’s not anticipating rain this year, but others are prepared for precipitation.

“We always have mud here. There’s always rain coming,” said Ross Dalke, whose family has attended every other year since 2006.

His favourite memory of Country Thunder is the gopher run, when fans would line up early for the concert.

“Sometimes we’d sit there all night in the lineup to get in closer to the stage,” he said.

The gopher run doesn’t happen anymore because of priority seating.

Dalke thinks the festival will be muddy by the end of the weekend.

Rain or shine, the festival kicks off Thursday with High Valley. The headliner Friday is Jon Pardi, with Tim McGraw as the headliner for Saturday. The festival ends with Keith Urban on Sunday night.