ASSOCIATED PRESS
COVENTRY - Town officials say they\'re ready to play host this August to as many as 70,000 young people if promoters win state and federal permits to hold a Phish concert in town.
"We know it\'s going to be an inconvenience," said Selectboard Chairman Mike Marcotte, who owns the Jimmy Kwik convenience store. "But it\'ll be a great help for Orleans County to bring the economic benefit."
The Burlington-born jam band has held six weekend festivals, drawing crowds of between 50,000 and 70,000. The Newport State Airport in Coventry is one of three finalist locations for the 2004 show.
"They need to come back to Vermont," said Zach Casey, a surveyor measuring for new paving at the airport last week.
"It\'s a weekend of camping and great music, I\'ll definitely be here, and Vermont could use the dough absolutely," said the 27-year-old from Waterbury, who has seen six Phish concerts.
The festival presents a rare opportunity for Vermont\'s rural heritage and its popular culture to spend a weekend together. If the Coventry site wins state and federal permits, adjoining farmers will create a 350-acre campground by planting grass this year instead of corn.
Some neighbors are opposed, but many people around town say the concert, tentatively set for Aug. 14 and 15, will be an economic windfall.
Coventry is a farm town, population 1,014, with one gas station and one diner. Three streets form the village\'s triangular green, with a cannon and a statue honoring Civil War veterans.
Phish is a four-piece improvisational rock band, inheritor of the devoted fan base of the Grateful Dead, and a marquee draw capable of selling out such venues as Madison Square Garden.
Six times Phish has presented two-day festivals in New York and Maine, with names such as The Clifford Ball and The Great Went. In addition to three sets of the band\'s music each day, the event includes theater, arts celebrations and a giant party.
Some fans arrive days early and remain days after. The local economic impact has been estimated at up to $20 million.
"I\'m sure there\'ll be a lot of people stopping here," said Kathy LeBlanc, owner of Martha\'s Diner on Vermont Route 14. The eatery seats about 40 and normally opens at 5 a.m. If the festival comes, she said, "I\'m going to be open 24 hours a day."
Town One Of 3 Considered For Festival
COVENTRY, Vt. -- As many as 70,000 Phish fans could get a chance to see the Burlington band perform in northern Vermont this summer as part of a two-day festival.
The town of Coventry is one of three finalists to be the site of the festival, if the plan gets federal and state approval.
Some residents are worried about the large crowds, but Coventry officials say the town is ready and is just waiting on the thumbs up.
Previous Phish festivals in upstate New York and in Maine have pumped as much as $20 million into those areas\' economies.