“We couldn’t have had a better first year,” Wogenstahl said adding they have already lined up “some big names in country music” for next year. He said they have committed to a three-day event Aug. 9-11 but “you never know we might surprise everybody” and add a fourth day.
He won’t give a hint who will hit the enormous stage next year, the headliners this year were Alabama, Dan + Shay and Old Dominion.
“I’m just overwhelmed by the support that the fans gave is this weekend, it was amazing to have them all show up like they did,” Wogenstahl said. “The artists put on an amazing show and you could feel the energy on both sides of the stage.”
West Chester Twp. Police Chief Joel Herzog told the Journal-News there were no traffic issues despite the huge influx of people, and fester-goers behaved themselves. There was only one arrest for drunkenness after the event. He said all the pre-planning for the festival — the largest event by far the township has ever hosted — was key.
“The execution of the plan went super smooth,” Herzog said. “I definitely want to thank the citizens that did attend, the behavior was exceptional and the problems were minimal. I’m very thankful for all those that attended and how they acted and behaved.”
Over the course of the four days fire personnel attended to 114 people but only seven were transported to the hospital. Dressing wounds was the top issue with 63 people needing attention from medics. There were 29 heat related issues when the temperatures soared into the 90s on Saturday.
“We had a little bit of everything,” Fire Chief Rick Prinz said. “From blisters on the back of people’s feet from walking around in boots, to cut fingers, to overheated people and of course we had to take care of some intoxicated people and we also had some serious medical emergencies as well. We had the full gamut.”
The emergency responders had help from many other jurisdictions and the price tag for ensuring a safe event wasn’t cheap. The chiefs had estimated the cost at $310,078 before the concert, but both said while they “had all hands on deck” throughout the festival they sent people home when they weren’t needed.
They don’t have a final tally yet but said it will be below the estimate. State Sen. George Lang secured $200,000 in state dollars to defray some of the cost, but Wogenstahl is responsible for the rest of the cost.
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