STAGES

There are two stages - the amphitheater, for mainstream acts and the gazebo, for new and up and coming performers. There are amphitheater performances the entire day, with short breaks in between acts. Gazebo performances start about noon and end about 5pm.

Bring binoculars if your seats aren’t close to the stage in the amphitheater. There are big video screens on the outside of the amphitheater that you can see well from the lawn at night.

BEST SECTIONS

The best sections in the amphitheater are 1 (including the orchestra pit), 5, and 4 - in that order. Other inside the amphitheater sections can have the "SPAC Echo" which, depending on the instrumentation, can sometimes be annoying. A note about the even numbered sections on the orchestra level - these are next to the road to the backstage loading dock. Sometimes diesel trucks idle there waiting for the load out and emit unpleasant fumes into those sections.

ATTENDANCE

SPAC doesn’t release the figures, but attendance at the festival is usually about 10,000 per day. The SPAC grounds are big enough that even with this many people it doesn't seem that crowded. The amphitheater has about 5,000 seats total in the orchestra and balcony levels. The weather forecast can be a major factor in the walk-up crowd.

There are about 3,000 seats in the orchestra level (including about 100 in the orchestra pit) and about 2,000 in the balcony.

For the last few years, the hours are noon until midnight on Saturday and noon until 10:30 pm on Sunday. Performances usually go until midnight on Sunday too, despite the earlier end time.

The Schedule of Performances is usually taped to amphitheater columns, and available at other locations throughout the grounds. Occasionally there's a newspaper style program in circulation. Last year SPAC started printing nice, glossy schedule cards (click here to see the 2009 card) - hopefully they'll continue it.

There may be conflicts with the Rochester and Montreal Jazz Festivals, so sometimes the schedule isn’t set until the day of the performance.

 

GATES

The gates usually open about 10:00 am each day. People that want to get their traditional places and key spots get in line before 6:00 am. There are two entrances for ticketholders - the Main Gate and the Hall of Springs gate (see Maps section). You probably have a better chance waiting at the Hall of Springs gate, but it is harder to get to.

Even if you’re not in line for gate opening, there are plenty of good spaces throughout the grounds.

PARKING

Jazz Festival parking is free.There are a few parking options, but they are not available until later in the day. Parking lots usually fill in this order - Route 50 main lot, Route 50 overflow lot, and the Par 29 Course lawn across from the Saratoga Automobile Museum. If it's a crowded festival day, parking turns into a free-for-all throughout the park.

Some parking advice - if you're parked in the Route 50 main parking lot, move your car to another location before the end of the festival. If you're parked in the main lot after the last act you can get stuck there for a while. It's usually pretty easy to move your car to a better spot around 6 or 7 pm. Do it - you'll be glad you did.

Click the link to see the Parking Areas Map.

RE-ENTRY

Re-Entry is permitted the entire time the grounds are open. When you leave the grounds you can get a wristband that allows you come back in.

SECURITY/VOLUNTEERS

There are two main types of personnel inside the SPAC grounds - Volunteers and Security.

Volunteers wear white shirts and khaki pants. They are usually very pleasant and helpful. Security are uniformed, usually with yellow shirts and black pants. They aren't much help for finding your seat location. The Jazz Festival crowd is well behaved so there's not much for them to do. They spend most of their time telling you to not to stand in the back of the amphitheater.

There are 4 sources for bathrooms on the SPAC grounds:
1. Main Bathrooms (handicap accessible)
2. Hall of Springs Bathrooms (not handicap accessible)
3. Amphitheater Bathrooms (not handicap accessible)
4. Port-a-Potties (yuck)

If the Main bathrooms are too crowded, the Hall of Springs bathrooms at the back of the grounds are usually less congested. The Amphitheater bathrooms are located on the left side of the building at the bottom of the hill. These are hardly ever crowded, but are less easily reached. If you don’t have an Inside ticket you can still get to them by walking along the left side of the amphitheater seats down the hill.

You can see the bathroom locations on the Interactive Park Map.

There are several EMTs on duty for the entire time the grounds are open and they regularly patrol the venue grounds.

In addition, the EMT building is located between the Gazebo and Amphitheater stages, closer to the Gazebo. You can find it along the fence by the staff parking lot.

 

 

OKAY

Cans (including alcohol)
Food (not in glass containers)
Coolers
Tents/Gazebos/Screened Rooms
Blankets/Tarps
Cameras
Backpacks

NOT OKAY

Glass Containers and Bottles
Grills (okay in the parking lot and Spa Park)
Fireworks, Firearms, Weapons
Recording Equipment
Marshmallows (really, but generally not enforced)