Wild Oaks Country Music Fest kicks off Saturday in Thousand Oaks. Here's what to know

The Wild Oaks County Music Festival will debut in Thousand Oaks, bringing famous artists, food and family fun.

The event, sponsored by the Westlake Village Rotary Club, will be Saturday from noon to 7 p.m. at the Conejo Creek Park, 1300 E. Janss Road.

Musical guests include country music mainstays Craig Morgan, Cam and Chayce Beckham as well as local artist Justin Honsinger. Tickets are $75 per person, and VIP tickets with bonus perks are available for $225.

Festival co-chair Mary-Catherine McBride answered questions from the Ventura County Star about what event guests can expect from the festival. Her answers were edited for space and clarity.

To learn more about additional artists, purchase tickets and about the overall event, visit wildoakscmf.com.

What will the parking situation be like?

Parking is free for all concerned. All parking is free, and it's at the Conejo Creek site. Once the lot there is full, then there is off-site parking across the street up the hill at the Conejo Creek Park Equestrian Center. And then it's just a walk through the park behind the library over to our site.

What do the VIP tickets get you?

The VIP experience is $225, and that includes specialized parking. There's a special area for VIPs — VIP entrance, special food that day, separate bar, shade, tables, chairs, games and things in the VIP area that are exclusive to them. We also have the Oak & Iron cocktail cart and Rock Chef Rolls food truck will be in there, which is gourmet, high-end, farm-to-table food for the VIPs to enjoy. And (there's) specialized viewing of the stage — side view and front view, standing room in front of the stage.

So VIP has a whole bunch of different experiences, although they can certainly go back and forth into the general area for all the other activities that are going on there.

Aside from the music, what other activities can attendees find?

There's something to do all day between listening to the music and line dancing and shopping and eating.

There's a food court with 12 food trucks and vendor tents and food tents. There's line dancing lessons throughout the day. There's international hot sauce tasting. There's over 60 vendors to shop with. There's a 360-degree photo booth there that was just kind of fun.

We're doing a silent auction. There's all kinds of things from trips to time shares. There's jewelry. There's wine and cheese baskets. We have a guitar from the Guitar Center that we will have signed by the performers that day, and that's being raffled off. You can buy raffle tickets for that one.

But the silent auction has quite an array of various things running the whole financial gamut. You can get things in there for $25 to $50 or up to $300 to $400. So there's something for everyone in the silent auction. One hundred percent of those proceeds goes to the Rotary charities that we support locally.

What forms of payment are accepted?

We're doing cash and credit card this year.

Are outside food and drink allowed?

No outside food or drink at all are allowed into the area.

Are chairs or blankets permitted?

You're allowed to bring in lawn chairs or beach chairs. But no umbrellas, because we don't want to block the view. Blankets are acceptable.

What kind of security is at the festival? Will bags be searched?

Yes, we're searching all the bags. In today's day and age, we want to make sure that we're keeping safety and security above all else. It's a main priority for us that we have a safe environment for all visitors and families. This is a full family event.

Bags and backpacks are not encouraged. Any bag that you bring should be a clear plastic bag. I understand that people bring baby bags for diapers and bottles and things and that's fine, but they will be searched.

And above all, there are no weapons whatsoever allowed onto the site. No weapons. No guns. Even if you have a permit to carry, no guns will be permitted into the site, and the police are there to help support that position.

Claire Boeck is an intern for the Ventura County Star and can be reached at claire.boeck@vcstar.com.

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Here's what to know about Wild Oaks Country Music Fest