SnowGlobe VIP tent a questionable experience

By Kathryn Reed

It doesn’t pay to be a VIP at SnowGlobe. At least that was the opinion of some who were asked about their experience.

A three-day general admission pass with shuttle costs $249. Three-day VIP was $449, which also included transportation. Both sold out. Promoters of the three-day music festival in South Lake Tahoe that ends tonight wouldn’t provide the number of tickets sold.

VIP tickets also come with an express line for entrance into the festival, an exclusive lounge, premium view of the main stage, viewing platforms, access to experiential art installations, daily tastings from on-site food vendors, and the opportunity for artist meet and greets, according to the website.

Several people in the VIP area on Dec. 30 told Lake Tahoe News they didn’t believe they were getting their money’s worth and said what was promised was not delivered.

“Last year it was double the size, there was better lighting, it was elevated, you could look around. There was a bigger patio,” Julia Scheibe of San Francisco told Lake Tahoe News. “I’m sitting here wondering what I paid for.”

The seat is one thing she paid for. The free warming tents don’t have seating, nor do the two concert tents.

The VIP area is also less crowded. This in turn meant the line at the bar was shorter.

For Nick Arbelaez and Stephanie Shamo of South Lake Tahoe they liked the privacy of the tent – being away from the drugs, fights and crowds, as they put it.

Getting out of the below freezing temperatures (it’s supposed be a low of 8 degrees tonight) was attractive to Ethan Polte and Brittany Fletcher of South Lake Tahoe. The couple had not planned to attend SnowGlobe, but Polte received the two VIP passes as a tip while waiting tables at the Driftwood Café.

But this isn’t the only venue to get warm. The Igloo Tent in particular with its low ceiling and dancing festivalgoers made it toasty inside. Wall-to-wall people in the two warming tents also provided natural heat beyond the limited heat that was blown in.

Those braving the elements found warmth huddling together in a grove of hammocks. Nearby was a fire art installation that cast off warmth.

This was Khloe Layo’s first experience at SnowGlobe and in a VIP area at any concert. Sitting at one of the three windows she had a direct view to the main stage. It was hard to tell who was on stage, though the music can be heard without any problem. There are no monitors or screens, however, to see what is going on at any of the three stages.

Layo said the best part was having bathrooms out back and not having to wait. What frustrated her was at the entrance she and the other VIP’ers were supposed to have their own line to speed up the process. Instead they were with the throngs of concertgoers.

One couple from the Bay Area thought they’d be paying extra to have bathrooms beyond regular port-a-potties. Wrong. What they got was a corral of these bathrooms that were not shared with the masses, which meant no lines. They also couldn’t believe how slick the ground was. It wasn’t just the snow. The entranceway and the path to the bathrooms each have a slab of what appears to be metal flooring that is painted. It’s hard to have stable footing on it in wet conditions.

Food was also an expectation of some. Two empty silver serving dishes were next to the bar. When a worker was asked if any food had been served the response at 6:50pm was, “Not yet today.” The event started at 2:30pm.

The VIP area was moved this year to be almost directly behind the main stage. Last year it was on the far side of the field and at a right angle to the stage. There was also a large elevated outdoor area in 2014. This year the crowd penned in at the VIP area was at the same level as the throng of general admission ticket holders.

SnowGlobe officials did not answer Lake Tahoe News’ questions about the VIP area.