Seven Stars Festival 2026 – Nelson County Communications Plan
Valley of the Seven Stars
Nelson County Community Information
Valley of the Seven Stars will take place October 8-11, 2026, at Lockn’ & Oak Ridge Farm in Arrington, Virginia. We recognize that an event of this size impacts the surrounding community, and we want to provide Nelson County residents with clear information about the festival schedule, traffic, music hours, site activities, public safety, and how to contact our team throughout the event.
Our Commitment to Nelson County
Valley of the Seven Stars and 100x Hospitality appreciate the support and cooperation of the Nelson County community. Our goal is to operate the festival safely and responsibly while minimizing impacts to residents as much as possible.
We recognize that increased traffic, amplified music, and festival operations will be noticeable during the event period. Our team will continue working with Nelson County, VDOT, law enforcement, emergency services, and other local partners before and throughout the festival to address community impacts and respond to concerns.
We are also committed to ensuring the festival has a positive impact on Nelson County and the surrounding community. Our efforts include making donations to the local community, such as Nelson County Public Schools and the Nelson County Pantry; hiring local residents and subcontractors; and using local lodging, businesses, and services to support the regional economy.
We greatly value our relationship with Nelson County and look forward to continuing to strengthen that partnership and expand our investment in the community.
Site Preparation & Operations
Festival site preparation began on September 23.
Additional staff will begin to arrive on September 28, with the majority of festival staff arriving beginning October 3.
Festival load-out will begin immediately following the event and is expected to be substantially complete by Friday, October 16. Residents may notice increased commercial and production vehicle activity in the area during the build and load-out periods.
Festival Schedule
Early Entry begins Thursday, October 8, with campgrounds opening to guests at 8:00 AM and campground programming beginning that day.
The main festival venue will operate Friday, October 9 through Sunday, October 11. All campgrounds will close, and guests must depart by noon on Monday, October 12.
Approximately 20,000 attendees from across the country are expected to attend the festival, with about 60% arriving on Thursday.
Traffic & Local Road Impacts
The festival traffic management plan has been reviewed and approved by the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT).
To manage the volume of arriving festival traffic and reduce congestion, festival guests will be directed to designated arrival routes based on their direction of travel:
● Traffic approaching from the south: Arrington Road to Diggs Mountain Road
● Traffic approaching from the north: James River Road to Oak Ridge Road
Route 29 at Oak Ridge Road: Southbound left turns onto Oak Ridge Road will not be permitted from Thursday morning, October 8th, through Monday afternoon, October 12th. Northbound turns onto Oak Ridge Road will not be permitted until Friday, October 9th at 8:00 PM.
Campground entry will open at 8:00 AM on both Thursday and Friday.
Traffic management personnel and signage will be deployed along festival arrival routes to help direct attendees and minimize impacts to surrounding roads and residents.
Safety & Emergency Services
The festival will operate a comprehensive public safety and emergency response program throughout the event, with dedicated resources staffed and funded separately from Nelson County’s normal emergency services.
Law enforcement staffing will include the Nelson County Sheriff’s Office and off-duty law enforcement officers from regional partner agencies. These festival-specific assignments are in addition to the Sheriff’s Office’s normal patrol coverage throughout the county.
Festival medical services will be provided by Wintergreen Fire & Rescue, with support from regional partners. This dedicated festival coverage is separate from Wintergreen’s regular countywide EMS service. The ambulances that provide Nelson County’s regular EMS coverage year-round will remain fully staffed and dedicated to county EMS service throughout the festival weekend.
Festival-wide safety, emergency planning, and medical coordination will be managed in partnership with Axis, LLC, and Red Rock Safety, the festival’s safety and emergency management partners.
Throughout the event, festival operations, security, medical, traffic, and public safety teams will maintain ongoing communication and coordination to support timely response to incidents both on festival property and in surrounding areas affected by festival operations.
Music Hours & Sound Mitigation
As a live music festival, amplified sound will be audible beyond the festival property at times throughout the weekend. Our team will take multiple measures to manage sound levels and reduce impacts to surrounding properties wherever possible.
Sound curfews are:
● Thursday night: 2:00 AM
● Friday night: 2:00 AM
● Saturday night: 3:00 AM
● Sunday night: 2:00 AM
The festival’s two main stages operate on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, ending programming at midnight each night. Programming continuing after midnight will take place on smaller-scale stages within the festival campgrounds.
Sound mitigation measures include 3D audio modeling for each stage to optimize speaker direction and reduce unnecessary sound dispersion, established decibel limits that audio engineers must follow, ongoing monitoring of stage audio levels throughout the event, and strict compliance with approved music curfews.
100x Hospitality, the festival promoter, will oversee sound management and monitoring throughout the weekend.
Community Hotline for Nelson County Residents
A community hotline is available for Nelson County residents to contact the 100x Hospitality team with questions, concerns, or comments related to the festival.
Text: (734) 336-7273
Voicemail: (734) 393-4285
Active: 3:00 PM to 3:00 AM nightly, Thursday, October 8 through Sunday, October 11.
