WALSENBURG— The Huerfano County Commissioners spent almost an hour listening to representatives of the Sonic Bloom Music Festival outline their plan for bringing 4,000 to 6,000 people to Huerfano County around the Summer Solstice. Jess Greis, representing the festival, plopped down thick booklets before each commissioner, detailing who is behind the festival, and how they do things. They are basing their estimation of 4,000 to 5,000 attendees from previous year’s numbers, where growth was approximately 400 more concert-goers each season. With this location being a straight shot down I-25 from Denver and Colorado Springs, the high-end estimate is 6,000 people, and over 2,000 cars. This is a number that makes Commissioner Max Vezzani uncomfortable. “I worry this will be too much for our infrastructure,” Vezzani said. Representatives of the county ambulance service and the Sheriff’s office were on hand, and echoed Vezzani’s concern. Greis said he understands their concern, and the festival is working hard to alleviate them. They are hiring two separate private security agencies to help with crowd and traffic control, and
will have their own medical team on site 24/7. The commissioners are also concerned about worst-case scenarios, where everything goes pear-shaped, and the county is left holding the financial bag. Greis assured them they had a very large insurance policy in place for any major meltdowns. There will be a public hearing regarding their permit request on March 31.
