Wine Country Amphitheater — Local services in Walla Walla

On Saturday my friend and I drove from the Tri-Cities to attend the Norah Jones concert. It was the fist time she had been to that venue and we arrived early. We got a table and something to drink in the Toyota VIP beer garden. We were there about a half hour early before the music started.

Surprisingly people started coming into the beer garden with lawn chairs, which I have never seen before. Almost always beer gardens are standing room only. I have attended six other concerts at this venue and have never seen lawn chairs and blankets in a beer garden.

There was a couple sitting in lawn chairs in front of us that went to go to the restrooms and asked if we would watch their chairs. Because my friend has a bad foot we opted to sit for a few minutes. We were about 3 feet from our table that had my purse, our drinks, my car keys, my phone and money on it. Suddenly Mitch (Sales Manager) and his associates picked up our table and moved it 15 feet back and gave it to a group of other people. I said wait that’s our table and he refused to return our table, saying that we were blocking people’s views who were in chairs. But we did not place the table there, that’s how we found it when we arrived.

Then, my girlfriend stood up to get a water and someone from Mitch’s group grabbed the chair she had been sitting in and moved it back where the table had been moved. I said hey these aren’t our chairs we are holding them for the people. Mitch had a worker come over with a chair height sign to tell us those chairs were not allowed because they were too high. Although there were many people with chairs the same height around us.

Mitch insisted I get up and move. I said, “No, I am holding this chair until the people get back.” He said, “I think you are a problem everywhere you go.” And he said, “I paid $10k for this area so my employees can enjoy the concert and you are blocking their view.” He said, “Do you know anyone that works for Toyota?” I said, “I know a guy named Jeff from Facebook.” Mitch said, “Well, I’m the one that fired Jeff.”

I was completely astonished. I attend dozens of concerts annually and never in my life have I been treated so poorly and had my table picked up and moved with all of my valuables on it.

This reflects very poorly on the Walla Walla Wine Country Amphitheater & Walla Walla Toyota and I will be sure to spread the word on how Toyota of Walla Walla treats ladies....

I attended three concerts last summer. All three were great. While the parking was a bit dusty, it was convenient and reasonably priced. Yes, food and beverage prices were high. But, attend a similar event in Portland or Seattle and you would find prices even higher. I found prices equal to the county fair. The open seating, and being able to use our low folding chairs, were great. We should do our best to support the amphitheater—regular quality entertainment to the valley brings income to local businesses. Plus, it enhances livability and, thereby, property values. I feel badly for the organizers, having trouble booking acts during the post Covid desire for a return to public events. Scott Daggett is a quality person and always has been. I ran a couple cross country races for the Oregon Track Club at the time he was a sub-four minute miler and All-American runner for the Ducks. He was a nice guy back then, with an incredible work ethic—I’m sure that has not changed...

worst experience I've had at a concert. Saw a Bonnie Raitt concert and sat next to a section that was roped off for drinking hard alcohol. A couple of hundred people were behind the roped area and they treated the concert as if they were at a bar and had to talk loud to be heard above the music. The loud talking was constant and made it hard to hear ballads and Bonnie's comments from the stage. We moved about 15 feet further away and could still hear the constant talking from the bar area. I would guess that at least a couple of hundred guests seated within 50 feet of the bar area had their concert experience negatively impacted by the noise. The venue needs to move the bar area far, far away from those of us who came to listen to a concert. It was a crowded concert and we could not find a place to reasonably move to during after the concert had started and we realized that the bar patrons were not there to listen...