Rothbury Council Approves 10 Year Permit for Electric Forest

In a 5-2 vote, the Rothbury Village Council has approved an amended permit that will allow Electric Forest to operate over the next decade.

The festival scene was buzzing when the news broke that Madison House was seeking out a permit to secure a spot for Electric Forest to return over the next ten years. The Rothbury Village Council approved the permit back in October with provisions, which sent it back to the festival organizers to amend and counter as well.

Now, with the tenth anniversary of the festival on the horizon, Forest Family members have even more to be excited about today as the Rothbury Village Council has approved the amended permit. Taking a vote on Monday during a special session, the 10-year permit was granted, paving the way for the next decade. also paired with an option for Tuesday to become the new early entry day as well.

Related: Find out how Electric Forest has become “home” for Sonya by reading this post!

If you were wondering where the biggest point of contention was prior to the approval, then the surcharges the village collects is your answer. Rothbury and Madison House went back and forth as the village looked to increase their take from the festival from $6 to $7.50 per ticket. They ended up agreeing upon a starting fee of $6.50 that would increase to $7.50 by the tenth year.

The decision didn’t come without some dissent from council members, though, as Scott Beishuizen and Robert Fulljames voted no on the permit. Speaking about the decision, Fulljames stated to the Oceana County Press, “I think they’re getting away too cheap.”

The news of the additional day of the festival for an even earlier entry on Tuesday doesn’t mean that the festival will for sure be expanding as well. Madison House will have to inform the council six months prior if they decide to move forward with that plan.

Stay tuned for more updates on the upcoming edition of Electric Forest!

h/t: Oceana County Press