Phish finale fans find friendly faces

Published: 2004-09-08

NEWPORT, Vt. (CNS) -- Kateri Stokes has quite a Phish story. The Catholic school where she is principal, Sacred Heart School in Newport, was a "school of Phish" in August as it hosted hundreds of the thousands of fans of the nationally known band, Phish, who congregated for the band's final concert in nearby Coventry. When heavy rains turned the Coventry concert/campsite into a field of mud, latecomers with cars were turned away because parking was impossible. Hundreds parked their cars 15 miles away on Interstate 91 and walked or hitchhiked to the Newport State Airport, where the two-day concert was held. When Stokes heard what was happening, she and others involved with the school invited the "Phish heads" to park in the school lot and on the school fields. They asked for a donation of $50 for two nights of parking/camping and $20 for one night. Many guests gave even more for the benefit of the school. In all, the school made $3,250. "For some reason, the Father put these people here," Stokes said of the Phish fans. "It was such a lesson in giving."

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