Stage VII made its debut in the Pecan Grove way back in the last century (1999 to be exact). It started out being a project of the GKSA (see history of) to win the campsite competition.
Many members of the GKSA had been attending the Walnut Valley Festival for years and had seen the fabulous campsites all over the Pecan Grove. A few months before the 28th Annual Walnut Valley Festival, a small contingent of the GKSA gathered at the Missouri compound to devise the perfect campsite to win the competition. The brainstorming gave birth to "Noah's Bark". The bow of a ship would be built and an aquatic theme for the rest of the camp would support the boat. An architect was hired, plans were drawn up, and Noah's Bark was set to win. Unfortunately, it never set sail.
Once the GKSA set up camp and started on the ship's construction, it was decided to turn the bow around to face the campsite instead of the tree, which was to act as a "sail" (conceptual artist types think of the craziest things). The construction was slow going and after a few hours a platform was the only thing to show for their hard work. During a break in building, a few curious onlookers came by to see what these crazy campers were doing. They were told of the intent of the project and one said, "It looks more like a stage". Lightbulbs and fireworks.
After a group huddle it was decided to make Noah's Bark into a stage. What should it be called? There were the 4 main stages, Stage 5, Spontaneous Combustion's camp was known as Stage 6 - so logically, the next choice was Stage 7. Simple and to the point. And so it was. After erecting a sign-up sheet people actually came by to play. Nathan Marsh or Marsh,n was the first official performer (he was even kind enough to plug his performance when he played Stage 5), but it wasn't until Friday night when Split Lip Rayfield graced the stage and many bodies over-filled the campsite that Stage 7 was solidified as a proper and prosperous element to add to Pecan Grove.
It was decided as a whole that Stage 7 would continue on - not only as a Stage for anyone who wanted to play, but also the lone truly acoustic Stage of the Walnut Valley Festival (save street jams). No amplification and no lights, just performer and audience. The way it was meant to be.
Actually the whole Stage thing was a plot by major corporations to get a piece of the action of the most popular and beloved Bluegrass Festivall in all of America. But the story sounds good, don't it? (Soon to be a straight-to-video major motion picture put out by Disney and sold exclusively at WalMart - look for special half-off coupons at Starbucks)