PHOTOS: 2010 Camp Euforia Music Festival

[nggallery id=292]

People traveling down Observatory Avenue Saturday may have heard music rising from a Lone Tree farm.

Camp Euforia, a two day camping and music festival was here. About 20 bands played at the event billed as Iowa's Premier Independent Music Festival. Juno What?!, Public Property and Mountain Standard Time were all scheduled to entertain. Four years ago the event drew about 850 people. This year around 1,500 people were expected, said organizer Eric Quiner.

A ticket cost $55 in advance and $75 at the gate. The two day camping and music festival was about connecting people to the rural land, said Quiner.

“If you have nice grounds people treat the grounds better, so that's the kind of festival we're after,” said Quiner, 28. He said he wanted to sustain the festival for years to come. It's important that people respect the property and neighbors, he said.

To prepare for the weekend, Quiner said he coordinated with Johnson County agencies. A stretch of Utah Avenue had tree sap applied to control dust flow, he said. In the past law enforcement had come into contact with festival goers. “I think the people that probably deserved to be hassled usually were,” said Quiner.

Jerry Hotz's 120-acre farm, 5335 Utah Ave. has played host to the event every year since 2003, when it was an appreciation event for fans of Quiner's former band, Euforquestra. Back then Quiner was struggling to make it as a musician, and was working part-time for Hotz on his farm in the town, which has a population of about 1,200 people. The two discovered that they shared a love of the arts and the land. Last year Quiner quit the band, but continued organizing the event.

At 5 p.m. Saturday the Iowa City Yacht Club stage was flocked by an energetic audience. Dead Larry was rocking away. Cory  Hanson, 22, listened out on the lawn near a group of hula hoopers. Hanson said he planned to camp out on the farm overnight. About 20 vendors lined a stretch of the green lawn. Hanson was tempted by a stand. “I'm very finicky but it smells amazing,” he said.

Each year the festival brings in enough money to keep planning the next year, said Quiner. This event means more than money. “Let's just put it this way we're not getting rich over the deal,” Quiner said.

It's about a celebration of community, he said.