Since 2009, Guthrie’s River Ruckus has been providing country music fans an opportunity for a fun-filled weekend of country music in the small rural community of Guthrie Center, Iowa.
It’s set up along the Raccoon River in the Guthrie County fairgrounds. The Ruckus (as I like to call it) has featured some great local bands, up-and-coming artists, and some big names in country music, including Eric Church, Rodney Atkins, Scotty McCreery, Toby Keith and Miranda Lambert, to name a few. This annual country music festival is always scheduled for the last full-weekend of July.
I’ve been a fan of country music since the day I was born, so I was excited when I got the opportunity to attend for the first time. I had no idea what to expect but I wanted to see what the Ruckus was all about. I wasn’t disappointed. I had so much fun the first time, I came back again!
If you love country music and some well-deserved adult time with friends, you may want to put Guthrie’s River Ruckus on your calendar for next year. Here’s some information I gathered and what to expect for newbies, based on my experiences.
Choose your friends/family wisely
Finding the right people to go to any kind of event that lasts for an entire weekend, is important. You want to be with people who have the same interests and are fun to be around. Age doesn't matter. The only time it mattered is when I would go to bed before the twenty-somethings!
Tickets/reservations
Tickets/reservations usually go up for sale in the fall of the previous year. If you get one of the reserved spots, you will have first dibs to get that same spot for the next year. The first year, my group did not get their tickets until spring, before the rate increase. You cannot
enter the fairgrounds for any reason, unless you have a ticket. They offer VIP tickets, seated tickets (a special area where you can bring your own lawn chair) and general admission. They do offer single day tickets for Friday or Saturday, as well. Kids 12 and under are free as long as they are with an adult at all times. I did see some younger grade-school aged children at the concerts, but I didn’t see any children in the camping areas (that’s not to say there weren’t any). Personally, I would not camp with younger children in the fairgrounds during this festival. There’s a lot of drinking, swearing, loud music and shenanigans going on, and it’s my personal belief that it is not age-appropriate for anyone under 18. I feel the same way about the concert. While the concert is monitored more by security and law enforcement, the crowd is still the same. There's always a few rowdy people.
Accommodations a.k.a. Camping
Campsites may be reserved up until the day of the concert, providing the 700+ sites do not sell out. Guthrie’s River Ruckus breaks them down further on their website, but for the basic information that I’m giving you, there are a couple options for camping.
1-RV/Campers with electrical hook ups.
2-RV/Campers with temporary hook ups,
3-RV/Campers without electrical hook ups. (You can bring a generator!) or
4-Tent camping.
All RV/Camper sites come with a vehicle pass. There is another area for parking for tent campers and extra vehicles. Our group found that the 22.5′ x 45′ camper sites are a little tight, but we made it work. During my first experience, I did have some friends that stayed at a nearby campground, Springbrook State Park. They wanted the benefit of electrical hook-ups. There was a free shuttle that ran from 4:00pm-8:00pm and 10:00pm-1:00am to take those campers to and from the concerts on Friday and Saturday nights. There was also one shuttle that ran at 5:00pm and after the concert to the town of Stuart. I didn’t know anyone that used that service but thought it may be good to know that it was available. I would double check each year to see if these services are available, as they could change from year to year.
General knowledge of generator use/repair
There are a lot more camper sites that are non-electrical, so I thought this was important to mention. We had awesome weather for my first Ruckus, but things can get a little hot in Iowa during the end of July. Know your generator! Bring directions if you have to and make sure you have plenty of gas and oil! Our generator had some issues and on the last night. We slept for half of the night without it. We survived. However, we did miss the noisy hum of the generator to drown out some of our younger neighbors who seemed to be having a fun time until 5:00am! The second time, we used the temporary electrical and this was a better experience. We didn't have to worry about gas for our generator when the downpour of rain came on Saturday night.
Games
Passing the time throughout the day, leading up to the concert, is part of the fun! My groups played beersbie, dice games and cards. We listened to music. We walked down to the river which is quite entertaining, in it’s own right. The Ruckus even had a trolley, driven by a big John Deere tractor, that you could hop on and off, to go see friends or just take an unofficial tour of the fairgrounds. We a had blast on the trolley and met a lot of fun people! We did not participate, but there was a beer can chucking contest on Thursday, helicopter rides on Saturday and a bags tournament on Saturday.
Food
If you’re camping, feel free to bring your food...or not. We had plenty of snacks and always made sure we had sandwiches ready for after the show. However, if you don’t want to prepare anything, there was food available for breakfast, lunch and after the shows, from Friday morning to Saturday evening, at the food court. There was also a place to buy ice, water and gatorade, that was open generally during the times that the camper-check in was open.
Beverages
Bring enough beverages of choice for the weekend. If you run out, there’s a couple convenience stores in town. If you’re looking for alcoholic beverages, go before you begin drinking. Please don’t drink and drive. While I’m on the subject of the law, there were a lot of County and State officers around to keep everyone safe. They are well aware that the Ruckus is a great thing for their community. They want everyone to have fun, while respecting the law and staying safe. I thought they did a fabulous job. Hats off to the EMTs that were on duty there, as well. Events like this could not happen without their services.
Redneck/Hillbilly Attire
While this is not required, it is fun! It is just as fun to be an observer of the creativity and work that people put in to their attire.
Love of Country Music
This is, after all, a country music festival. You may want to be a fan of country music to get the true value of the experience. There are three nights of music. Usually local artists begin the music venue on Thursday nights, with more well-known artists and headliners on Friday and Saturday nights.
Tolerance
There are a few generation gaps and many types of people who attend River Ruckus. In order to really enjoy the music festival, you must be able to get along with others, especially your neighbors. A good introduction and handshake still works well. (Hey, this is Iowa, after all.) Your neighbors may party into the wee hours of the night and you may want to be in bed before the headliner has completed their show. It’s important that you know this may happen. For the partiers, don’t be jerks. Be respectful of space. For the sleepyheads, bring some ear plugs or enjoy the constant hum of the generators. The generators are loud and can drown out a lot of noise. We had a lot of young neighbors who stayed up later than we did; but, honestly, we weren’t bothered by our neighbors. Yes, they had loud music but the generator did drown most of the noise. No one came into our campsite. No one destroyed our property. Keep an open mind and expect a party atmosphere.
This really is a great festival. I had a blast and will definitely attend again!
For more information on the next River Ruckus, check out their official website: Guthrie's River Ruckus to plan your own weekend of fun!
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