Surprise Vacation: Camp Bisco [PHOTOS]
What happens when you plan a surprise vacation for your wife and whisk her away for a weekend adventure?
As AJ & I walked up to our gate at DTW she finally saw our destination. Scranton, Pennsylvania. She had only found out we were headed on vacation 24 hours prior. And thanks to some cooperative Delta & TSA agents she was in the dark all the way up until the gate. But it wasn't until we checked into our hotel along the Poconos that she put it all together. We were going to camp. Camp Bisco.
High atop Montage Mountain sat the 18th installment of Camp Bisco. A music festival founded by Philadelphia based jam band the Disco Biscuits in 1999. It's moved locations and evolved over the years to present a solid line up of electronic, dance and jam from July 13th-15th.
The first thing you soak in is the natural beauty around you. Montage Mountain serves as a ski resort in the winter months. And in the summer boasts a water park, outdoor music amphitheater and zip lining. Combo open range in the park, artisan food options and over 70 acts. Now that's a unique festival in an ever growing crowded field of options!
Camp Bisco founders the Disco Biscuits played six, yes six, sets throughout the fest. Bass music superstar Bassnectar, now on his 9th year at Bisco, was arguably the weekends most anticipated show. Pretty Lights Live, the Rick Rubin described "future of electronic music", also had the crowd buzzing for his Saturday night headlining set. Rapper and VICE TV host Action Bronson had a puzzling early afternoon slot (as the lone hip hop act billed high I wish his set would have been in the evening).
You had your choice of activities, weather permitting of course, throughout the weekend. Float down the lazy river with no worries. Watch a show on the "Above The Waves" stage from the...wait for it...wave pool. Or simply wander through the maze of vendors selling hippie fare, festival needs and craft beer. Camp Bisco also offered up a 5K, in which AJ ran, along side Disco Biscuits bassist Brownie.
The crowd of roughly 10,000 (exact figures not released at this time) was a mix of scantily clad EDM girls, to modern day hippies. Obviously leaning heavy on the 24 and under crowd, although we as two 30-something year old fest goers did not feel out of place. While a majority of attendees camped on the grass filled ski slopes there was also hotel options on the mountain. Yellow school buses gave you the feeling of heading to camp as they continuously shuttled people between the event grounds to offsite parking and hotels. The age of your average hotel campee was not shockingly 30 and up. We too took advantage of a hot shower and soft bed by booking a hotel off the mountain as well. Uber and Lyft drivers were ready to zip the temporary population around town with a smile.
Besides some wet weather on Thursday, and a late night downpour on Friday, the conditions were pretty good with Saturday being the best day to take advantage of all the water activities. You may get a different perspective from a mountain camper, as horror stories of the ground conditions spread by Saturday morning.
Camp Bisco is well run festival, especially considering how may behind the scene partners there are, that spreads good vibes for all who attend. Just a one hour flight from Michigan you should put it on your list of events to attend. Guaranteed you'll leave a happy camper!