It is always amazing how much goes into advertising, etc. of a "festival", and no attention is paid to the area itself. Some of the outdoor venues I have been to have been wonderful sites, but the travel, parking and walking are abyssmal. The Journal Pavilion here in Albuquerque is a joke. 16,000 people out in nowhere land with two LANES coming and going to park. After Iron Maiden last year it took me an hour and a half just to get out into the tyraffic flow to try and get out. Then you drive a few miles on a single lane, winding road in pitch black to get to a two lane road to take you near a main artery. SHow 2 hours, in and out 3 hours !! Plus, you have to walk up a very steep hill after the gig for about half a mile with a single exit gate open. Just a disaster.
On the other hand, durin Rib Fest and Tof P in Vinoy Park in St. Pete, FL, there is ample parking, shuttle service and enough outdoor facilities to keep you comfortable. There are 100,000 people each day during Rib Fest for food, bands, car shows and Kids' activities, yet you never feel as closed in and uncomfortable as at the Journal Pavillion. SOme systems just take time, but if you use a remote area to stage a show, there are always going to be hellacious problems.