Features
Plug Pulled On Camping Trip / EDM Fest
The three-day event had a name (Groovestock), a promoter (Turn Up The Bass) and 40 DJs arriving from across the country, Undersheriff Andrew Zinke told the Northwest Herald. But it apparently came under the guise of a camping invite.
The promoter, from Rockford, told deputies that they received permission from a relative of the property owner to host a “camping trip” at the unincorporated Harvard, Ill., location. That apparently meant posting Groovestock on Facebook, inviting 1,000 people and pricing the event at $15 a day or $20 for all three. That FB post got the Sheriff’s attention.
The property owners thought their grandson was going to have a weekend camping trip with 20 of his closest friends, apparently, according to Zinke.
Instead, when deputies arrived on the scene June 22, two stages were being constructed and a temporary campground was being cleared. Generators and sound equipment were ready to go. Deputies located six people and three vehicles, but no arrests were made, according to the Herald. The promoter and crew removed their equipment and left without incident.
“It’s a good thing this was shut down before it happened because who knows how it would have turned out,” Zinke said. “There were no permits. No safety plan in place. Nothing.”