DukesFest 2007 Ree-ports!

[Meadowmufn]

For those of you who went to DukeFest this year, please post some of your experiences, photos, and video in this thread for the fans who didn't get to attend.

[Brian Coltrane]

Welcome back to those of y'all returning from Nashville! I've heard some feedback from a few HNet folks ( like Jax!) and it sounds like things went smoother this year. For one, the crowd wasn't as huge - possibly due to gas prices, and less commercial promotion by CMT this year. But the somewhat smaller crowd made things more accessible.

The big news coming from the show, is that this was Ben and Alma's last year of running DukesFest. "Cooter" has put a lot of hard work and energy into DukesFest, and after several devoted years, they are passing the torch to John Schneider. We're glad to know that DukesFest will carry on into the future, and we give a big SALUTE to Ben and Alma for building this shinding into one of the best fan experiences anywhere to be had.

Other news from the front - John did a bit of filming for his next movie at DukesFest, taking advantage of the full grandstand to get a good crowd scene. Yeehaa! That was an easy way to become a movie extra, wasn't it?

We look forward to hearing everybody's feedback from DukesFest 2007! Please feel welcome to upload pics to the Gallery section to share them with us!

Brian

[MinDuke]

Hey Everyone!!

Just got back from Dukesfest!! Man what a show! As Brian said, things were a lot less hectic. I'm not sure if it was the gas prices, the lack of promotion of the absence of Tom Wopat that made the difference but there was one. My friends and I got to the fairgrounds early, and we were one of among the first couple of dozen people to see John. We also went and rode in the General Lee! Then on Sunday we all stood in line and were among the first to see ol' Enos himself! Both John and Sonny were awesome and so friendly!!

We did hear some great music, country, some rock...There was a performance by Tommy Jennings, Waylon's brother on Saturday and on Sunday the original Waylors performed the tribute to Waylon. The other entertainment they had was BMX stunt bikes, wrestling and archery demonstrations.

This year there was a lot more merchandise, a lot of smaller items such as frisbees, fuzzy Confederate dice, bumper stickers that procclaim, My other car is the General Lee! You bet I got that one! LOL. There were also a lot more variety of t-shirts, not just the 2007 Dukesfest ones. Naturally there were videos of the seasons, 2006 Dukesfest, 2005 Dukesfest and some of Waylon as well. This year also there were a few merchandise tents that were set up in the Radisson Hotel parking lot and one outside of Cooter's directly, to help keep the store from getting overloaded. There were also many merchandise tents all over the fairgrounds and also the cast members had their own tents as well. You could buy a pair of Cathy Bach's new line of Daisy Dukes that she gave a preview for at Dukesfest, John's movie Collier & Co, all copies were autographed by him and posters were available as well, and also a genuine James Best DOH painting! A ton of souveniers to suit every taste! WHEW! LOL A lot went on in two days!

There were a few minor snafus in Nashville, got a little lost now and then but overall it was good. There were a few missing components to this weekend...components that were sorely missed (you know who you are ) ...but as the old saying goes... There's always next year!

If anyone is interested in next year, allow me to give you some advice:

1. GET UP EARLY AND GET DOWN TO THE FAIRGROUNDS!!

2. Those 10 buck fold up camping chairs are well worth the investment for those long lines.

3. Sunscreen and umbrells are your friends! (Yes we got rained on and did get sunburned in the places I missed with the sunscreen ! LOL)

4. If you can, pack a cheap cooler with lots of water! You'll need it and its cheaper than paying 2-3 bucks a bottle there at the fair!

All in all a great time had by all!

Jax

[MinDuke]

A note to my report!!

The Tennessean reports there were 60 thousand Dukes fans at the event! Heres the article link:

http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070602/ENTERTAINMENT07/106020001

Jax

[DaneyDuke]

Something new learned: Cafeteria building had 20 oz Pepsi and Gatorade products for $2. Machines in the very far corner.

Guesthouse was just as great as last year. RainForest Cafe has good food and neat gift items.

Friday - Enjoyed seeing the cast at The Nashville Palace.

Saturday - 7 and 1/2 hours in Catherine's autograph line! It was well worth the wait.

Security needs to be a little firmer with their own policy. I watched some people bring in food or go outside, then other people told they wouldn't be let back in the building if they left.

Sunday - spent most of the day with a very dear friend who had their first General Lee ride. The stunts were nice.

Good news is that it could move to a new venue because the 2 year contract that was signed in 2006 has been completed.

I hope everyone who went had fun and got home without any glitches.

[DixieDavenport]

I had a great time this year as I have the last 4 years (this was #5 for me and my new husband's first). He loved it!

I didn't think last year was 'bad' as some did. When you have that many people there will be lines! But the security and Hazzard County Crew was much more plentiful this year. Last year I noticed one secuirty officer looking really nervous as we all packed in around the stage when the cast all were about to come out before the jump. I mentioned this to Ms. Alma and her reply was, 'The company we hired, Nashville and us were just blown away last year." In ref. to the security company she said, "Firstly, they THOUGHT it was a normal concert. They didn't realize we were talking about Dukes of Hazzard fans -- and there is a difference!"

We got to the fairgrounds around 8 on Sunday -- my husband wanted to see Daisy. The gates weren't suppose to open until 9:30 and autographs beginning at 10. Well the autograph lines were forming rapidly. I jumped into the shortest of 2 lines. From Sat I knew it was either John or Catherine's line. I then sent him to see which line was which. Sat's Bo line was really long so I hoped we'd got lucky and got into Catherine's line. As luck would have it we were in John's line. He was only mildly disappointed. It took about an hour and a half to get the autographs. As apposed to the 6 1/2 hour line I was in at Bristol a couple years ago. He noticed I had worn one of my fire dept shirts and asked if I was a fire -- (he was then unsure what to say) person, woman. I said we both voulunteered with 2 departments. He said that it was great and keep up the good work.

I'll post more and pictures hopefully soon but I'm bushed after the 8 hour ride home.

DixieDavenport

[technoz]

Everybody having a great time!!

[Meadowmufn]

Looks like a great time! Welcome to HazzardNet, technoz.

[Julieduke]

Everybody having a great time!!

Who is the other lady standing by Rick Hurst.

[JohnSchneiders1fan]

This was my 2nd year of dukesfest in Nashville!! This was better than last year. It felt strange without Tom Wopat, but John Schneider made up for it!! I went and seen them at the Grand Ole Opry, Nashville Palace, Saturday and Sunday at Dukesfest. The concerts were great!! It was soo cool that John brought his film guys to film his next movie and us Dukefests gang will be in it!! I loved the concert he did on Sunday with the Waylers. He sung my all time favorite song of his Take the long way Home!! he is great!!!! and It was sad seeing them all leave. Didn't stick around for the stunt show, but I am sure it was great!!! I stood in Catherine Bach's line for 3 1/2 hours on Saturday and it was worth it. Her daughters are pretty and talented doing their magic tricks while we was in line. Then Sunday stood in line for 45 minutes for John Schneider. We got there early Sunday morning. Stood and talked to John for about 10 minutes and had my poster and my purse signed by him. He is such a sweet and HOT man!!!! Can't wait til Next year!!!!

[ginod]

Hello guys and girls,

For me, this was the first time, I was at the Dukesfest, because I am from Holland, I don't visit USA that much... It was the first time for me in the states, pure for the Dukes !!

I had a great time ! Talked to a lot of people, visited Covington, Georgia, and offcourse Cootersplace, and bought almost every T-Shirt

These are pictures i've made before the Dukesfest, the pictures @ dukesfest itself, I will upload later !!!

Visited Covington, and offcourse the Police department there:

Picture with a lot of memories: Who doesn't know what this is ??

@ Cootersplace

Together with John and a friend of mine (I am the left guy !)

@ Technoz... I was just standing behind of before you, at the Nashville Palace, because I've made the same pictures with the same angle !!!

I will post some more pictures later!

[deathangel_tori]

my pics are here, i really am in need of a newer camera

http://s49.photobucket.com/albums/f259/tori_deathangel/hazzard%20pics/

[The_Dukes_Generl_Lee01]

I went there too and It was awesome and I went to catherine on saturday and then to John, Sonny, Rick, and James on Sunday! I loved every minute of it and then I also got an autogragh from waylons brother too! YEEHAW! I got some pics too!

[MaryAnne]

Visited Covington, and offcourse the Police department there:

Great pics ginod! I love this one with the police officer Covington! Great shot!

[hazzardgirl123]

Hey everybody!!! Welcome back from Dukesfest '07! I got back home Monday night and let me just say- YeeeeeeeHaaaaawwwww!!! Dukesfest was a blast. It was my second one and I had a great time. The whole thing seemed a lot more organized this year (I think that it might have had something to do with a certain member missing and a few lessons learned from last year). I went with my mother and best friend and we all came away wanting more. I was sad to find out that this would be Ben's and Mrs. Alma's last year headin' up the show but I feel that ol' John will do a mighty nice job. Also, the stunt show was a howlin' good time. Them boys sure did pull a good ol' shuck-n-jive with that police car and the camper. I didn't expect them to do that at all! Of course, I wasn't the only one . As far as my experiences go... they are as follow:

Day 1- Get to the fairgrounds at about 8. Immediately get into Sonny Shroyer's line. Check out the General Lees. Buy John Schneider's new movie and the poster. Buy other stuff (always a must at Dukesfest). Have the mother of all celebrity meetings: You see as I was coming up one of the hills by the main gate a car passed by me. I didn't think much of it but as I walk passed the door I turned around to see who was getting out. Possum on a gumbush!!.. if it wasn't Catherine Bach getting out of that car. She wasn't but 3 feet from me! Anyway, the rest of the day was spent checking out random things and waiting in Sonny Shroyer's line again with my friend. I was kinda surprised to find that Sonny remembered me from that morning. He even asked me my name! Of all of the cast, John, Sonny and Ben are the nicest in my opinion.

Day 2- Get to the fairgrounds at 6:30. Get into Catherine Bach's line. Buy a Collier and Co: Hot Pursuit hat (autographed by John of course). Watch the stunt show. Finally, get Ben Jones's autograph.

That was pretty much my time at Dukesfest in summary form. I wanted to do the General Lee ride but I was always off doing or buying something else until all my money was spent. Even so, I had the best time. Hopefully next year will be just as fun and exciting and John will have Collier and Co 2 for sale. Hope to see some of ya'll next year! Until then...make some jumps worthy of the General and try to avoid ol' Roscoe and his dipstick deputies.

P.S. BUY COLLIER AND CO: HOT PURSUIT and support good, clean fun.

[ginod]

Some more nice pictures:

Took place in one of the General's ofcourse !!

Behind Cootersplace, the General Lee Owners came together !

Another Daisy

[ginod]

In the Nashville Palace, (after their Grand Ole Ophry show wich was just 10 - 15 minutes, but it was nice to see it once !)

And yess, offcourse with Catharine bach !!!! It took a long time, to see her, but it was worth it !

With Deputy Dipstick Enos !! He was also very nice.. he stood up, and grabbed us both...

[redneck woman]

Hey ya'll! This was my first Dukesfest and I enjoyed it immensely. We got back on Monday evening after making a side trip to visit my brother in the bootheel of Missouri. My friend and I didn't get any autographs or wait in any lines, we mostly just meandered about enjoying the sights and sounds of Hazzard County. We did get to see the Opry on Friday night and had excellent seats (two steps from the stage). The shuttle ride back to the hotel from the opry was adventurous. Our driver, a retired dirt track racer, was pretending to be a Duke boy running from ol' Rosco. I don't think I've ever heard a mini-van squeal its tires before. He also knew exactly where the dip in the road was and hit it with enough speed that we caught some air. My friend and I laughed the whole three minute ride back to the hotel, as we hung on for dear life of course. All in all, it was a great weekend and we can't wait to do it all again next year!

[morgan]

Thank you all to share with us your photos and report!

I'd like very much to be there, too!

[Val Strate]

Yes 07' Dukesfest went way smoother than 06'. My commrad and I left for Dukesfest Friday morning and arrived in Nashville at about 6:30pm. The hotel was really nice and the road trip down was a blast as well. We still get a kick out of pointing out funny road signs as we make our way down to TN.

Saturday I got my first General Lee ride and folks if you have never rode in the General, you have to make a promise to yourself that it's one accomplishment you have to do before you die because it was sooooo worth it! So yes, one of my lifetime dreams can be checked off my list. I also got to meet John Schnieder, which yes girls, he's so worth the wait! He signed my copy of Eddie Macon's Run for me and I was speechless for about five minutes before and after I met him in person. Then after that we camped out on the grandstands and listened to two awesome country bands, 'Cornbread' and 'Lucky Bugs'. Both lead singers were muy guapo, (that's spanish for very cute)! Then also had the 'Clinch Mountain Boys' a bluegrass band that played last year back to preform again. I always love hearing those guys play, especially listening to that BANJO!!! So yes, I had banjos in my head again.

Sunday we seen Sonny Shroyer. He waved to me while I was waiting in line on Saturday then on Sunday I got his autograph and a photo of me sitting on his lap, what a charmer! *sigh* Then after the cowboy church, more music and an awesome stunt show; me and my amigas went to Opry Mills to have a nice supper and nose around the mall. We found a really big pillow which we were calling the Rocheter (I think I spelled that wrong) pillow. It was like look at this pillow and tell me what you see. Trust me, that was very entertaining as well. Then Sunday night our group split up and went our seperate ways.

I must say, that 07' Dukesfest was awesome, however we often found ourselves wanting to share some moments with everyone else on Hnet and wished more of us could have been there. Oh well, that's why we have pictures...

Val

[Julieduke]

Yes 07' Dukesfest went way smoother than 06'. My commrad and I left for Dukesfest Friday morning and arrived in Nashville at about 6:30pm. The hotel was really nice and the road trip down was a blast as well. We still get a kick out of pointing out funny road signs as we make our way down to TN.

Saturday I got my first General Lee ride and folks if you have never rode in the General, you have to make a promise to yourself that it's one accomplishment you have to do before you die because it was sooooo worth it! So yes, one of my lifetime dreams can be checked off my list. I also got to meet John Schnieder, which yes girls, he's so worth the wait! He signed my copy of Eddie Macon's Run for me and I was speechless for about five minutes before and after I met him in person. Then after that we camped out on the grandstands and listened to two awesome country bands, 'Cornbread' and 'Lucky Bugs'. Both lead singers were muy guapo, (that's spanish for very cute)! Then also had the 'Clinch Mountain Boys' a bluegrass band that played last year back to preform again. I always love hearing those guys play, especially listening to that BANJO!!! So yes, I had banjos in my head again.

Sunday we seen Sonny Shroyer. He waved to me while I was waiting in line on Saturday then on Sunday I got his autograph and a photo of me sitting on his lap, what a charmer! *sigh* Then after the cowboy church, more music and an awesome stunt show; me and my amigas went to Opry Mills to have a nice supper and nose around the mall. We found a really big pillow which we were calling the Rocheter (I think I spelled that wrong) pillow. It was like look at this pillow and tell me what you see. Trust me, that was very entertaining as well. Then Sunday night our group split up and went our seperate ways.

I must say, that 07' Dukesfest was awesome, however we often found ourselves wanting to share some moments with everyone else on Hnet and wished more of us could have been there. Oh well, that's why we have pictures...

Val

The maintance guy Bob, he says this morning guess what I going to next year, and he gives he chance to think. And he says "Dukesfest" and I was asking him did he have a orange t-shirt for it and he says that he five Dukes t-shirts.

[shawna6676]

hi all! we are new to this site, but I just wanted to give my two cents about dukesfest. we drove almost 5 hours to get there and it was worth every minute!! I got a special birthday wish from jon schneider and my little boy went nuts over all the general lees! my little girl didnt want to go until she got a hug from catherine bach....after 4 rolls of film and an all day fight trying to keep 2 kids in line, we were leaving and ran into catherine bach again!! she was with two security guards getting ready to leave...even after spending all day signing autographs, she was kind enough to stand and talk to us for about 15 minutes, just us and her...what a sweet woman. anyways, i know one thing...we are gonna make dukesfest an annual event in our house!!! loved it!!!!!!! once i figure out how to upload some of the pics, i will:lol:

[Julieduke]

Sounds like you have some Hazzard fun then?

[shawna6676]

yaeh, it was great! my little boy was in heaven seeing all the general lees. He is only 4, but he said each one was "the most beautiful thing I ever saw!"

[LoriDavenport]

hey ya'll ok i have a question and if any one can help me ill be much obliged, i was wonderin bout dukesfest2008 if there uis going to be one... were i read in a recent post that ben and alma had passed the torch on to john schneider to host dukesfest does neone know if there will lbe a dukesfest next yr in nashville i believe its in. i was just wondering cuz ive never been and id really like to go to it. ya'll take care now.