Following the death of a Coachella fest worker just outside of the grounds on Saturday, security workers were more vigilant of traffic on the last day of the festival.
The hired security worker was riding his motorcycle early Saturday morning and was struck by a Toyota Corolla at Avenue 52 and Madison Street. It is unknown if the motorcyclist was on his way into work at the time.
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So it is an established fact that Coachella attendees tend to get decked out. This year, the de rigeur festival gear consists of a flowered garland and short shorts. At least for women.
But cars get festooned for the event, too. Especially since festival organizers encourage attendees to carpool and even offer prizes for the most creatively decorated vehicles. Just draw/paint/whatever the word “Carpoolchella” on your gas guzzler and make sure at least 4 people are riding along. You could win VIP passes to the festival FOR LIFE!
(Photo: Xochitl Pena, The Desert Sun)
Look out Indio, here comes the onslaught of annual Coachella traffic. Read the latest on which roads will be closed — and which you should avoid anyway — at MyDesert.com.
While you’re at it, get the 411 on expected weather for the first Coachella weekend.
David Guetta performs at the Sahara Tent on Saturday, April 14, during the first weekend Coachella 2012. (Omar Ornelas, The Desert Sun)
That’s a question the neighboring city of La Quinta may pose in its response to an environmental impact report paid for by Goldenvoice, the festivals’ promoter, to ensure expanding the concerts won’t negatively affect the surrounding area, Nicole Brambila reports on our sister site.
So much for Coachella 2013′s weeklong advance sale.
Sure, you can still grab passes for the pricier, furnished camping option. (Lake Eldorado camping tends to stay on the market for a while, as it did earlier this year for the 2012 fests.)
But if you want to drive yourself to the Empire Polo Club each day or pitch your own tent at the campgrounds, you’ll need to wait until Coachella tickets go on sale again.
Adv GA & VIP are no longer available. Lake Eldorado & Travel Packages are still available Coachella.com Thanks twitter.com/coachella/stat…
— Coachella (@coachella) May 17, 2012
For this year’s fest, a similar advance sale was held last June and tickets went on sale again after the lineup announcement in January, but Coachella 2012 tickets sold out in a matter of hours much like we saw today.
Coachella hopefuls should probably start exercising their clicking and typing fingers now, and Coachella Valley residents can also hope that Goldenvoice’s definition of “sold out” is as squishy as it was this year. The festival’s promoter made more tickets available to east valley residents later in January and put Weekend 2 passes on sale for residents of a wider swath of the valley on that weekend’s opening day, April 20.
Less than two hours after the final moments of the Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre concert, most of the tens of thousands of festival goers are cleared from the Empire Polo Club.
Indio police, with help from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, steered drivers down one-way roads out of the parking lots and away from the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival grounds.
At least three MyCoachella.com staffers were home on the west side of the Coachella Valley within an hour of finding their cars — solid travel time after any busy day in Indio.
“We wish it were like this all the time,” Indio police spokesman Ben Guitron said about 1:10 a.m.
Earlier in the night, Guitron noted it was the first time in festival history that the entire crowd would be leaving from a single stage, but law enforcement was confident they planned well.
One-hundred-year-old Roy Salazar sits on his front porch, legs crossed with a vodka tonic in hand, watching the excitement around his house unfold.
On the east side of his modest ranch-style home, separated by only a chain link fence, is the artist parking lot for the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
Sporadically passing back and forth in front of his Avenue 50 home are concert revelers — many headed to the VIP entrance located yards from his driveway.
From the main stage on Sunday, Santigold’s funk pop beats fill the air.
“I like it. It doesn’t bother me,” said the centenarian who lives directly across from the Empire Polo Club.
Read more about the Coachella Music Festival’s neighbors on mydesert.com.
As everyone floods into the festival grounds at the Empire Polo Club, a U-turn can cost you time and maybe even a band’s show. After you’re parked, be ready to walk 15-20 minutes from your parking spot to the stages.
If that’s not your style/time frame, hop onto a bike-driven carriage. They’re working for tips, so throw your driver at least $5/head.
Free all-day parking is located at Avenue 52 and Clinton, in lots 14 and 15. Drive slowly and be sure to employ the Midwest wave if you do need to U-turn and someone lets you in.
Weather update: High of 70 my butt. It’s hot out here. Wear loose-fitting, light-weight clothing and SPF on your exposed skin, then bring layers for when the clouds and rain come in later on.
Now you’re up-to-date – the fun has begun!
Goldenvoice’s official Coachella app is in the iTunes App Store, freshly updated for the 2012 festival weekends with a venue map, artist info and the ability to start building your own personal Coachella schedule — although all the set times are still TBA.
So far, there’s no sign of a Coachella 2012 app in the Android Market — I mean, Google Play.
iPhone and iPad users can download away, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the App Store prompts us to download an updated version soon. I tested it on two different iPhones, and on both, the app was missing some of the graphical flourishes on display in the official screenshots.
Compare those…
…to reality.
While we’re on the subject of apps, make sure you’ve downloaded the MyCoachella app so you can keep up with us on the go. Our app already looks hella fancy and it’s available in both the iTunes App Store and Google Play, formerly the Android Market.
Matches will still take place at the Eldorado Polo Club in Indio, seen in a January 2011 photo, but Goldenvoice's purchase of the club has city leaders envisioning and some neighbors dreading additional festivals. (Richard Lui, Desert Sun file photo)
Mayor Glenn Miller told The Desert Sun and the Los Angeles Times that smaller festivals focusing on wine, jazz or Latin music could be staged throughout the year, and a hotel could be in the offing.
But Desert Sun reporter Rebecca Walsh also found residents of Indio and neighboring La Quinta who are, shall we say, less than enthused.
“For three weeks, we can suck it up,” LaVerne Sprinkle told Walsh. “But more concerts? No way.”
MyDesert.com has more reactions to the Goldenvoice land deal from Indio’s city manager and other nearby residents.
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MyCoachella.com is a blog dedicated to covering the desert music scene, including the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and Stagecoach Country Music Festival. Meet Our Team
For the second year, this year's Coachella Music Festival is two weekends: April 12-14 and 19-21. Stagecoach is one three-day fest: April 26-28.
And visit our sister news site at mydesert.com, the No. 1 source for news in Coachella Valley and owned by the Palm Springs-based The Desert Sun, a Gannett site.
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