[Previous entry: "By Popular Demand, About the Bus Industry"] [Next entry: "Leasing an "Entertainer" Coach, Part II - Getting Quotes"]

05/10/2006: "Leasing an "Entertainer" Coach for the Philadelphia Folk Festival"

There comes a time in life when you want to do something "First-Class" as a perk for all those years you worked hard and were careful about your budget in every way. Last year, my wife and I decided to return to the Philadelphia Folk Festival after a hiatus of 20 years. The Philadelphia Folk Festival is a three-day weekend event with live music on multiple stages all day long, and a big evening concert each day. There are workshops, crafts, food and an opportunity to meet and even play music with some of the performers over this weekend event. However, the folk festival is held on a farm in the country-side outside of Philadelphia and the small towns in the area have limited motel/hotel space and it has been a tradition that the best way to attend is to camp at the festival site. Camping was fine twenty years ago, but we must be honest and tell you that the prospect of camping in late August on a farm outside of Philadelphia was one of the reasons we had not attended in many years aside from our normally heavy travel schedule.

For the 2005 Philadelphia Folk Festival, we rented a Recreational Vehicle (RV) and spent the weekend in semi-luxury. We chose CruiseAmerica and our experience was perfect for the two of us. For 2006, our plans for the folk festival will exceed the types of RV's regularly available for lease. We have four couples and a single for a total of 9 people. The only option we felt was appropriate for this size group is an "entertainer" or "crew/band" style motorcoach conversion. We will be reporting regularly here to journal what it takes to accomplish this plan.