The Craven Country Jamboree campground becomes a small country-western trailer and tent city for almost about a week every July, but some festival goers aren’t content with normal accommodations.
“We’ve got a full-sized fridge welded up in here, with a set of bunks beds,” Phil Heid said while giving Global News a tour of he and his buddies’ 1966 milk truck.
They bought the truck in March, and have since put in an estimated 20-30 hours building bunks beds and working on the rooftop deck.
It’s the Regina boy’s first Craven with the vintage truck, but not the truck’s first Craven.
“The guys before us were getting a little old, and said they wanted to sell it to someone new who would use it, and we thought we fit that role pretty well,” Heid explained.
Another familiar camping spot is Purple Country. The four lot landmark has a Hawaiian theme this year.
Barb Dedi said it’s purple because everything she owns is already purplealready purple, so her homebase for Craven should match.
Purple Country has a long history, and the site’s corral gates are always open to new and old friends.
“You meet a lot of different people, and some have stayed friends for 20 years. They stop here, have a drink, stop in on their way to and from the shows,” she said.
“It’s very positive our campsite, and people keep coming back to sit down and have a chat.”
Purple Country is a friendly micro-nation that Dedi said also provides a valuable public service at the end of long festival days.
“Once we get all the purple lights up people use it to find their way home at night when they can’t otherwise,” she joked.
Unique Craven set ups aren’t just for veterans, but festival rookies too. Adam Richardet is at the festival for the first time, and the Calgary natives have a cozy set-up.
“This is The Unit,” Richardet said motioning to a homemade tent.
Rain and Craven usually go hand-in-hand. Despite this Richardet is feeling confident that The Unit will keep he and his buddy dry.
Getting stuck in the mud at Craven is as common as cans of Pilsner, but that wasn’t an issue for Kyle Kotylak of Kelliher, SK. He and his girlfriend rode in Wednesday night, in a school bus outfitted with tractor tires.
“We ploughed in here pretty good. We planted our roots, and this is where she sits until she’s outta here,” he laughed.
Kotylak bought the bus with the tires already on it, but there was still plenty of work to make it a full-fledged camper.
“Got an air conditioner inside, the whole nine yards. Put a deck up on the roof, extended the hand railings from last year so it looks a little sturdier,” he said.
Thanks to the an 18-inch lift kit, the bus was one of the tallest camping rigs at Craven on Thursday. The bus drew plenty of attention last year and Kotylak is ready for round two.
“It’s awesome! You meet a lot of people. I don’t even know how many people we met on the bus here last year, it was phenomenal, really,” he laughed.