A slice of pizza is $10.
Mac and cheese is $16.
The cost of having a good time in the food court at the Firefly Music Festival isn’t priceless. It can cost a pretty penny.
Some fans on Saturday, Day 3 of the festival, weren’t crazy about the prices in the main dining areas in The Woodlands of Dover.
Additionally, some food prices are over $20 like the loaded tots ($22).
Other food and drink prices that stood out included lemonade for $10, a chicken finger and fry basket for $17, a single scoop of ice cream for $9, fries for $9 and a bacon burger basket for $18.
Samantha Six, of Wanaque, New Jersey, was munching on a thick bowl of chicken mac and cheese Saturday afternoon that she spent $16 on.
“It’s exploitation,” Six explained. “They know they can charge through the roof. It’s a monopoly.”
Six was dining in the main food court with her festival buddy Henry Gericke, who was eating a bowl of mac and cheese with bacon. He spent $17 for his bowl, which included a $1 tip.
Gericke, of New York, said he felt pressured to tip because a message popped up on the food vendor’s iPad asking him if we wanted to make a donation after his purchase.
Considering he spent nearly $20 for mac and cheese, he said the tip should’ve already been built into his pricey meal.
But he caved in and spent an extra dollar because he didn’t want to look like a jerk.
“I feel like I had no other choice,” he said.
Vendor West Coast Events is offering nearly a dozen food locations at Firefly this year, including stations that sell mac and cheese, pizza and chicken tenders.
Shannon Church, manager for West Coast Events, said the price of their food is due to supply chain issues.
“Food [cost] has gone up everywhere,” Church said. “When you go grocery shopping … a lot of stuff has doubled a lot in price.”
Church also mentioned that customers are getting large portions of food like their mac and cheese, which justifies their price points.
Will Vaughn of Connecticut said the average portion of food at Firefly is a decent size. But he wished the portions were a little smaller so that the prices would be a few dollars less.
Festivalgoer Danica Ellison of Dover said unless vendors were selling a specialty item, the price for food at the festival should be much cheaper.
“You shouldn’t have nothing on your menu that’s no more than $15. And $10 should be basically the norm,” Ellison said.
She was skeptical that supply chain issues caused prices to be high, especially for the $10-per-slice pizza. “You can go to Little Caesars and get a whole pizza for $6.”
Her festival buddy Diane Silbersen, also of Dover, said she wasn’t a fan of paying $4 for a bottle of water at Firefly, considering you can buy a pack of 20 in a grocery store for around the same price.
“It’s pretty expensive,” Silbersen said.
Firefly Music Festival is being held in The Woodlands (599 Persimmon Tree Lane, Dover) through Sunday.
To see the full Firefly schedule or for more information, visit fireflyfestival.com.
Andre Lamar is the features/lifestyle reporter. If you have an interesting story idea, email Andre Lamar at alamar@gannett.com.
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