Music Lovers Beat The Heat In Bridgeport

About 25,000 music lovers gathered in Bridgeport at Seaside Park last weekend for , a four-day event filled with music, arts and crafts. Despite temperatures touching near 100 degrees, faithful fans of Furthur, Jane's Addiction and the John Butler Trio braved the heat and put on their dancing shoes.

Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch welcomed the Vibes to town, highlighting the positive impact the festival's had on the city. Recently, the Terrapin Foundation, a nonprofit organization with which the Vibes is affiliated, donated $100,000 to the city in order to install a splash pad for kids.

"It's amazing," Vibes organizer Ken Hays, a Weston resident, told Patch. "Tons of kids are using it everyday. It's a beautiful thing to see."

Hays said during past summers, on really hot days, firefighters would spray their hoses to give kids a place to cool off.

"To see these kids having fun and chilling out there — it's something more meaningful and substantive," he said.

Finch called Vibes' contributions to Bridgeport "priceless."

The Vibes is under contract to be held in Seaside Park for one more year.

"They leave this park better than they find it," Finch said. "This weekend [showed] how important the Vibes is for Bridgeport."