The condensed bliss of thousands of happy vibes concentrated in one place is the gift of Gathering of the Vibes, a music festival created to reunite the Deadhead community and reinforce its foundations, which were shaken after Jerry Garcia's death. Now in its fourth year, the weekend-long event has become everybody and their dog's favorite road trip, attracting hip 'n' crunchy folks from every crevice of the United States. The Gathering will feature two alternating stages offering continuous music from moe. Despite a few naysayers, Hays, a Connecticut native, stalwartly defends his decision to use the 370-acre site for the festival. Hays figures that if thousands of people go home happy having had a swell time in Bridgeport, it can only be good for the city's revitalization efforts, which are starting to gain momentum.
Seaside Park is picturesque.
Created by P.T. Barnum, it was voted one of the top 100 parks in the United States a couple of months ago. Hays has always been interested in it for the Gathering. But the city has come a long way, and the mayor has done an extraordinary job along with the police department. It's finally to a point where we feel good bringing people into this beautiful park. We want to throw a party that people will be talking about for a long time.