Speckled with several dozen tents, Love Field played host to the seventh-annual overnight Woodsist Festival on Tuesday and Wednesday after the music gathering was relocated to Point Reyes Station from Big Sur to escape the Soberanes wildfire, which has burned over 23,500 acres since sparking five days ago. All proceeds from the festival went toward fire relief efforts. Tyler Love, whose family owns the field, said the festival needed a temporary home after state parklands were closed—and he was happy to provide one. “Due to the tragedy of the fire in Big Sur, we have been given the opportunity to show sister-community support to the victims of this fire,” Mr. Love said. Despite his good intentions, the shotgun show ruffled feathers among locals distressed by the swarm of overnight campers and cars parked along Levee Road in a town already swamped with tourists. It’s an issue that many residents and the Point Reyes Station Village Association have pushed this year; in April, Marin County Parks erected a no-camping sign at the entrance to the Giacomini Wetlands following complaints about illegal trail camping. “More and more, our little communities are under pressure to become stage sets for other people’s lives and businesses,” the association’s acting president, Karen Gray, wrote in an email. “We are overwhelmed, emergency services are strained and our community life is suffering.” The Sheriff’s Office did not add any extra officers to Tuesday night’s patrol. Camping is not permitted in Marin for special events and violations could prompt a $2,500 health-and-safety code penalty if brought to a hearing—though hearings have never been called for one-day violations, said the county’s code enforcement specialist, Christy Stanley. The festival’s organizers did not secure a special-events permit. Regardless, Mr. Love allowed the campers to stay Tuesday night on his property. “It’s better than having them all drive home at once,” he said.
Music festival moved on short notice benefits Big Sur fire relief
