Delaware Junction’s Pires proud of successful launch

From left, Carol Fulginiti of New Castle; Tina Lloyd of Newark; Jen Billips of Newark; Brenda Veasey of Middletown; Brenda Coryell of Elkton, MD and Monica Esterling of Bear wore amusing matching shirts to start the second day of Delaware Junction on a patriotic note.

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Brian Novak, 19 of Newark waits for friends by the Delaware Junction railroad sign

Chris Rowe of Clarksville, MD walks through the grounds of Delaware Junction as Zabreena Dickman of Westville, NJ photobombs him.

Dover residents Chris Hurley and Crystal Bouchard sit on the lawn in front of the main stage Saturday waiting for the music to begin.

Valerie Reed of Middletown cooks up some tasty smokes sausages for her camping group Saturday morning before the second day at Delaware Junction

Delaware Junction attendees enjoy an amusement ride on the festival grounds Saturday afternoon.

Tom Hess of Hartly laughs as he watches friends flying through the air on the giant amusement ride Saturday.

Tom Bayer, Sr. of Philadelphia, PA tries his hand at a game of giant Jenga Saturday at his patriotic campsite.

Chad Shockley, 12 of Magnolia was one the first to tackle the giant inflatable Delaware Junction water slide Saturday.

Country music fans enter the grounds of Delaware Junction at 1 p.m. Saturday ready to enjoy the second day of the music festival.

With a powerful voice, Sara Ann Garrison, 16 of Lewes opened the second day of music at the Delaware Junction Country Music Festival with a short set of country tunes Saturday afternoon in Harrington.

Bo Dickerson of Laurel-based country act The Bo Dickerson Band gets the crowd inside the Next From Nashville stage tent on their feet as he sings the Hank Williams Jr. classic "Family Tradition" Saturday afternoon.

Tom Bayer Jr, 19 of Philadelphia, PA, had one of the more colorful campsites at Delaware Junction.

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Country music fan Brandon Prang of Middletown chugs a beer in the Saturday afternoon heat at Delaware Junction.

Right near the stage, Eugene and Lisa Nicholson of Wilmington, right, enjoy the cool country sounds inside the Next For Nashville stage tent Saturday at Delaware Junction.

Without spilling a drop of beer, Jason Cressman of Logan Township, PA has a football catch by his Delaware Junction campsite Saturday morning.

Nathan Austin, 11 of Laurel was the epitome of a cowboy Saturday as he waits by the Next For Nashville stage for the music to start.

Evis Matos of Lothian, MD, left, and Bridget Pacheco of College Park, MD were a couple of good ole cowgirls Saturday at Delaware Junction.

As Dawn Brooks of Wilmington erects an American flag made from blue jeans behind them, Maria DiCristofaro, 18 of Claymont, center, laughs as she looks at mother Cathy DiCristofaro's hand as they play cards with pal Caitlyn McCarthy of Claymont Saturday afternoon in their Delaware Junction campsite.

From right, Sandy Bolyard and her husband Don of Townsend party at Delaware Junction with her daughter Lauren Reynolds and her husband Tyler of Middletown.

Kristen Whitehead of Lincoln University, PA, far right, reacts to the music during one of Friday's sets inside the Next From Nashville stage tent.

Julie Stanners and Rane Simmons of West Chester, PA pose Friday while they have fun in the sun at Delaware Junction.

Country music fan Mercedes Cardello of Long Island, NY, reacts to seeing singer J.T. Hodges on the main stage at Delaware Junction Friday afternoon.

Sitting on a sofa, Bob King and Velvet Annand of Townsend enjoy the music from the comfort of the VIP Tent Friday in Harrington.

Julie Travis of Marlton, NJ was taking photos of everything at Delaware Junction.

The hot Friday afternoon sunshine beams down upon the guitar of country singer J.T. Hodges during his set on the main stage.

Dave and Krystal Lattomus of Landenburg, PA relax on the lawn in front of the main stage and enjoy the tunes.

Jenn Hoser of Coatesville, PA, left, and friend Shannon Klagholz of Newark, lay on the grass and take a selfie with a smartphone during Delaware Junction Friday afternoon.

A view of the main stage at Delaware Junction in Harrington Friday.

Cowgirl Cherita Harrell of Sicklerville, NJ plays a game of cornhole as the music plays behind her Friday.

Ashley Stover, 15 of Hampsted, MD enjoys slices of watermelon as she relaxes with family at the Junction.

Travis Wade of Smyrna, lead singer of the Smyrna-based country music group Country By Night opens the inaugural Delaware Junction Country Music Festival in Harrington Friday afternoon with a rendition of the Johnny Cash hit "Folsom Prison Blues".

Andrew Hill of Allentown, PA carries his girlfriend Carrie Kopcho through the grounds of Delaware Junction Friday afternoon.

Sam Coates of Ocean City, MD flies down the giant inflatable water slide Friday during the inaugural Delaware Junction Country Music Festival in Harrington.

Grant Donahue of Ocean City, MD pulls women into the foam party, a tent full of soap suds, at Delaware Junction Friday.

Country music fans flock to the merchandise tents at Delaware Junction Friday

Dianne Nichas of Staten Island, NY tries on a cowboy hat inside one of the merchandise tents.

Cheyenne Sanchez, 21 of Harrington takes a selfie with her sister Alexis Gerardi, 16, after they took the plunge on the giant water slide.

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Hundreds of camping tents are already in the fields of the Delaware State Fair ready for the weekend honkytonk.

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Campers busy themselves erecting camping tents in Harrington full of excitement for the Delaware Junction Country Music Festival.

A worker moves a soda machine inside the Delaware Junction grounds Thursday afternoon.

Along the Harrington railroad tracks, a large banner is hung over the Delaware Junction main stage Thursday as preparations are underway for the inaugural country music festival this weekend.

From left, Delaware Junction Country Music Festival campers Cody Dmiterchick of Milton, Jake Dmiterchik of Milton, Andrew Cooper of Wilmington, Jeff Oster of Jeferson, NJ and Ryan Hughes of Dover raise their beers Thursday after arriving in Harrington to begin a wild weekend of music and fun.

HARRINGTON — Alex Pires smiled inside and out, and why not?

After 18 months partnering with a host of entities to bring a large scale country music festival to Delaware, the opening night of Delaware Junction went off well when performers finally took the stage.

He stood on the main stage with his camera, looking out at a vast crowd of “15,000 or whatever it was” at the Delaware State Fairgrounds site on Friday night, and harkened back to far earlier days.

After decades spent as a lawyer, restaurateur, bar owner, banker, real estate owner, law professor, and U.S. Senate candidate, the Dewey Beach entrepreneur added another successful pursuit to his life story — big time music festival backer.

“My first show when I was 15 or 16 … I paid $120 for the band,” he said.

“Now, so many years later, to look out and see such a crowd, I said to myself ‘Well, I finally got a big show.’

“I was proud of myself for that, to be honest.”

Saturday promised more of the same groove and fun, and the steamy weather didn’t dissuade attendees from dealing with heat and humidity while following the afternoon lineup.

The big show — headliner Toby Keith — waited for the final act of the night.

Struck by the youthful energy of the crowd, Mr. Pires called opening night Friday “a gigantic singalong.” He heard thousands of voices following along with clearly well-known performers Cole Swindell and Jason Aldean.

“I thought it was a young crowd that seemed to know every word of every song that Cole Swindell and Jason Aldean were doing,” Mr. Pires said. “It was kind of like a ‘Welcome to Delaware’ singalong. I was surprised that people accepted it so well.”

More of the same is expected tonight when Florida Georgia Line closes the three-day outdoor camping and music festival with a 9:20 show.

Additionally, Mr. Pires said he was enthused that Delaware Junction would promote Delaware, bring festival-related jobs and an economic impact, and allow out of staters get a taste of scrapple, Jimmy’s Grille chicken, Rusty Rudder Restaurant seafood and other First State treats.

The original goal for year one was “to try to have 10 to 15,000 really happy people,” Mr. Pires said. The second and third years could build to as many as 25,000, but no larger.

Mr. Pires, who had orchestrated a lot of “modest festivals” in the Dewey Beach area, traveled the country for two years surveying other music festivals to get a feel for the crowds, their response and experiences.

After attending the Bonaroo Music and Arts Festival, the breadth of up to 80,000 attendees “just did not feel quite right,” Mr. Pires said.

The Faster Horses Country Music Festival drew 12,000 to 15,000 in its second year, and Mr. Pires said he “really liked it. It had a very personal atmosphere, you could get right up next to the stages.”

Thus, Delaware Junction’s future forecast may have a footprint of 25,000 fans maximum, maybe less. There’s no plans to approximate the larger Stagecoach country music festival in California, Mr. Pires said.

“In the country music festivals I’ve seen, 15-to-20,000 was perfect,” he said. “You could camp, go up to the stage and see very famous people from a very close view.”

That was the case Saturday, as dozens crowded near the Main Stage as Joey Hyde cranked it up at 3:30 p.m., with more folks lounging in chairs nearby and positioned for a great view of the stage.

And where do Mr. Pires’ musical tastes fall?

“I like it all,” he said, noting that his Sirius radio buttons are programmed for garage rock, country, rock, hip-hop, 1940s channels, among others.

“I can’t pick a music that I don’t like,” he said.