Transportation: Cars, Parking, and the Bus

Firefly has very limited parking, so we encourage you to carpool.

Below are the many fine transportation options:

Arriving, parking, and what to expect

Expect to spend a few minutes on arrival having your ticket checked, getting a wristband, a parking pass, and being greeted. You will be instructed where you can park after finishing at ticketing. You will then be at the event!

Your parking pass should be placed in the windshield of your vehicle and visible from the outside.  Please make sure all of the information on the parking pass is filled out. This ensures that we can find the driver of the vehicle if we need to have a car moved.

Please follow the instructions of our on-site parking volunteers and park as close as you can to the car next to you. If you’re not leaving the event until Sunday afternoon or later you may be asked to have your car blocked in by cars that will be leaving before you.

Onsite parking is near the event proper, but you will NOT be able to drive up into your camping space to unload. Expect to hand-haul your gear into the woods (a 10-20 minute walk). You are welcome to bring a cart or hand-truck to help move your gear into the woods!

If it rains a lot there will likely be delays in getting non-4WD cars out. Everyone will be able to get out, just know that if the week is very rainy it will take a bit longer — so plan accordingly, maybe get packed up early and then spend some time picking up trash to take home, helping with break down, or lending a hand to those who need it.

Given space constraints, you may be asked to park offsite, which is a short walk away from the event site. You’ll be able to drop your gear off on site and go park. Even though the offsite lot seems close, you may not access your vehicle during the event or transport cargo from it. This is for the safety of our event and its participants.

Early Arrival and Vehicle Hill Access

For information on Vehicle Access on the hill during Early Arrival and Exodus, go here.

If you wish to set up your art or camp before the event, please fill out the Early Arrival Application (to be released) as soon as you know your plans. Everyone in a vehicle must be on the approved Early Arrival list. If anyone in an early arrival group is not on the list (or doesn’t have their photo ID), then no-one in the group will be allowed entry.

You must be approved for Early Arrival! If you arrive without approval, you will be turned away.

Email early@fireflyartscollective.org with any questions.

Carpool: Request or Offer a Ride

Drivers, please be sure you are offering all available spaces in your car! Everyone must pull together to rideshare whenever possible, since we are so tight on spaces. If you have questions about using these boards, please contact transport@fireflyartscollective.org .

Go to our page at RickyRides to offer or ask for a ride! Easy instructions are here.

PLEASE ALSO REGISTER ANY FREE SEATS IN YOUR CAR! Use RickyRides here. Registering your car with available space allows people seeking rides to contact you via email relay- your personal contact info is not shared. Help the community!

Last year we had an average of 1.7 people in each arriving car; we really need to get that closer to 3 people per car! We have access to an offsite parking site very close to the event site. Throughout the event, we will be asking new arrivals to drop their gear at the gate and then park off-site. You will be able to walk back from the offsite lot to the event, but you cannot return to your car if parked offsite for the safety and security of our event and its participants. Even if you park remotely, you will need to have a parking pass.

Event Parking

Parking will cost $30 per car (advance purchase only)

Parking is limited at Firefly, so please take the bus or carpool as much as possible. It is recommended that you purchase your parking pass online in advance. Buy parking passes by logging on to your account at tickets.fireflyartscollective.org with the same information you used to register for the lottery and buy your event ticket. Once logged in, go to the Ticket Sales page (link at top of the Tickets page).

Parking Passes will be available for online purchase for $30/pass.

If you show up at the gate without a purchased parking pass, you will be charged $60 (cash-only) to park at Firefly.

Firefly Bus

In 2023 we will have two buses leaving from Boston. Buses have only 56 seats each. If you know that you’ll be taking the bus, please buy your ticket early. More bus tickets sold might allow us to release more tickets to the waitlist, since lack of car parking is one of the big things keeping the event from growing. Help your fellow Fireflies get to the woods!

Bus Pick Up Locations:

• Camberville Location —
  HARVARD SQUARE: Mt Auburn St. @ Holyoke Pl

• Boston Location —
  SULLIVAN SQUARE: MBTA Parking Lot

Bus Departure Times for 2023:

• Tuesday, July 4:
  12:00pm Harvard Square; 12:30pm Sullivan Square

• Wednesday, July 5:
  12:00pm Harvard Square; 12:30pm Sullivan Square

Return Buses During Exodus

Return buses will leave on Sunday July 9th at 1:00pm and 3:00pm. Buses will leave once full, with the last bus leaving no later than 3:30pm. The bus will not wait if you are late.

Purchase Bus Tickets

Bus tickets from Boston are $60 round-trip or $45 one-way.  Bus ticket information will be available after the event ticket lottery.

We will offer refunds upon request through Tuesday, June 20 (two weeks before the event begins). After that date, we will unfortunately only be able to offer refunds if the buses sell out AND someone else needs your ticket. Bus ticket purchases must be made online, and will end at the same time that event ticket sales close.

Bus Luggage and Freight

Bus passengers will be allowed to bring one large-ish suitcase (think: one 27-gallon Home Depot black/yellow totes) plus a carryon size bag. If you require more space for gear, or have questions about a bulky or unwieldy item, reach out to transport@fireflyartscollective.org with your questions.

Bus Perks

• We’ll help you deal with trash! We’ll give you specially marked bags for your personal trash. This year we are not offering recycling.

• All buses will make a 30 minute rest stop at a shopping plaza on the way to the event. Have your grocery list ready to expedite the process. In previous years the checkout lines were long, so please take this into account.

• The bus will provide several gear carts to help you haul your gear into the woods upon arrival. If your camp has extra gear carts, please loan them to the bus participants!