Outside Lands music fest returns to Golden Gate Park amid monkeypox outbreak
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- The Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival got underway at Golden Gate Park Friday.
"It feels amazing. It's awesome," said Poline Chuon, who made the trip from Sacramento. "The vibe is great people are amazing people are friendly."
The three-day long music festival features more than 100 artists taking to nine different stages.
"The shows have all been great. I just came back from Sampa the Great and she was amazing the hold band was amazing, said Los Angeles resident, Julia Fink.
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"I'm from Wisconsin and just decided to come for the weekend. It's been a great time," said Ali Vaseem, who's at the festival for the first time, making him one of the more than 220,000 people expected to attend. "I've been here for a couple of hours, I like the vibe - everything is super nice, said Vaseem, adding: "We had the lobster roll. It was dope."
The food and drink also taking center stage with nearly 200 Bay Area restaurants, wineries and breweries - business is back.
"It helps it a lot. It actually helps because it gets your name out there," said Anna Cobarruvias, owner of Son's Addition. "All of the sudden it's like where are you located? Or, this is amazing."
The festival returning to its summer date for the first time since the start of the pandemic and safety precautions are gone.
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"I think everyone is now vaccinated and people who aren't vaccinated are wearing masks, so I think everyone is kind of relaxed a bit because everyone is taking care of themselves," said Cobarruvias.
And, while the is festival kicking off in the midst of the monkeypox breakout some people are more concerned than others.
"We kept our distance with everyone," said Chuon. "It gets a little crowded so we kept our blankets out to create a little bubble around because monkeypox is prevalent especially in the Bay Area"
"Right now I'm just trying to enjoy the festival it's always something in the back of everybody's mind," added Fink.
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