BOISE, Idaho — Treefort 9 starts Wednesday, but with a recent surge in COVID-19 cases and crisis standards of care activated statewide, things will look different.
Organizers announced last week they’ll be following the City of Boise's new COVID-19 policy for large events. This means you'll need proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-test within the last 48 hours to enter. Attendees will also have to wear a mask and social distance.
How to be #Treefort9 ready:
— Treefort Music Fest (@treefortfest) September 20, 2021
☑️ download Bindle & upload your proof of vax/neg test https://t.co/PCOU0dRbfM
☑️ create your Treefort schedule on the official app https://t.co/SHjcu7REFw
☑️ wear a mask 😷
☑️ socially distance in all areas of the fest https://t.co/e8l2XwaPzW
Eric Gilbert, the Director of Treefort Music Fest, is asking folks to follow the rules and think of the artists and musicians in these difficult times.
“Their livelihood and their mental health are in need of support. The best way we can support them is to wear a mask, follow all the guidelines and show that we can put on a safe event,” he said.
The festival stopped ticket and pass sales Friday to limit attendance, but this doesn’t apply to every part of Treefort.
“For things like alefort and storyfort—some of our free events—you can still go to those but you have to go through the pre-check and get the covid clear wristband before attending,” Gilbert said.
The festival is using the app, Bindle to streamline the entry process.
“You’re going to go through pre-check first and there’s going to be three lines. One line is going to be if you have your Bindle app which is a data safe app—you can upload your proof of negative test or proof of vaccination,” Gilbert said.
The other two lines at pre-check are for anyone who hasn’t uploaded their proof of vaccine or negative test to the app or for anyone who needs a rapid test. Gilbert said the line to get a rapid test could take an hour or more.
Pre-check starts Tuesday from 2 to 8 p.m.
As we've reported, Idaho Reports cancelled their storyfort panel, but they're not the only participants to do so. Organizers tell us musicians and other participants are canceling for a variety of COVID and non-COVID reasons, but they couldn't give us hard numbers because they say things are changing rapidly.
Organizers also said this will further contribute to having a smaller festival as they've planned. Gilbert said in regular years there are about 6,000 to 7,000 attendees per day and they're expecting a 30% decrease this year.
