You probably know the drill. You may even be sharing in the contemporary-indie ritual with me Saturday morning; packing up functional, concert-tested clothing, saying a little prayer that your piece-of-crap car will make it over the pass one more time, and figuring out which nook of your backpack or crotch you'll be smuggling contraband in.

It's Memorial Day weekend. It's Sasquatch. It's good times.

Chances are, if you've ever sat awe struck at the worldly meld of Vampire Weekend, wondered why The Hold Steady weren't the biggest party rock band in the world, tried to describe to friends with blank stares the hugeness of The xx, or simply considered growing a beard - you're hip to what the Sasquatch! Music Festival is cooking. Started in 2002, and described as something of a calculated guess by festival founder Adam Zacks, who talked about his creation with the Seattle Weekly in 2007, Sasquatch has turned into a festival on the grandest scale, a yearly music spectacle, anticipated and planned for, drawing the Northwest's substantial indie crowd - yes, Washington, Oregon and Idaho - to the middle of fucking nowhere for three days of good times and bad camping.

It's awesome.

"Sasquatch was an idea born on a hunch that there was untapped demand for a certain kind of festival that catered to the eclectic tastes of music enthusiasts," Zacks told the Seattle Weekly's Aja Pecknold. "It started in 2002, which was shortly after a number of the touring festivals (Lollapalooza, Lilith, Horde) had petered out and the beginning of the wave of regional festivals that started with Coachella and now is a dominant force on the music landscape, with Bonnaroo, Austin City Limits, etc."

What exactly, in its eight, soon to be nine, years has Sasquatch brought to our region? In many ways, we've grown up with it. We've seen it develop and get bigger, year-by-year - but we've had time to adjust in between. We're too close to it. In many ways, we're like a pet owner. The rapid growth of Sasquatch (which even in its infancy had feet like a gigantic lab) has been too gradual for our eye to fully comprehend. But the fact that - nation wide - its regarded and lumped in with festivals the likes of Bonnaroo and Coachella speaks volumes. There's no denying it.

Sasquatch is one-of-a-kind, and as Joe Biden might say, a big fucking deal. It's also our little darling here in the Northwest, and we should be proud of it and love it. Which is good, because we apparently do, seeing as all three days sold out in record time this year.

Of course, there are plenty of reasons for this. The return of '90s indie rock pioneers Pavement will do that, as will appearances by massive (indie) bands - yes, we've more than reached that point - like MGMT, The Hold Steady and Vampire Weekend - not to mention appearances by Ween, My Morning Jacket, Massive Attack and Public Enemy. Throw in currently buzz crazy bands like The xx, Dr. Dog, The Mountain Goats, Shabazz Palaces and more, and comedians like Patton Oswalt and his ilk - and you've got the makings for one hell of a Pitchfork-approved Memorial Day weekend spectacular.

"Sasquatch is an awesome experience.  Living in New York City, I'm excited to just camp out and lay around for three days," says comedian Rory Scovel, scheduled to appear Sunday at Sasquatch, and no stranger to the Northwest as a former third place finisher at the Seattle International Comedy Festival and a performer at Jazzbones in Tacoma - among other local comedy clubs. "Being at the festival is an amazing experience simply for the show of it all.  Camping out with thousands of strangers and singing and drinking and smoking will be a blast.  The bonus is the amazingly beautiful Gorge just beyond everything.  I think all the performers are excited about the same atmosphere the audience is excited about."

Check out weeklyvolcano.com throughout Memorial Day Weekend for live coverage of Sasquatch! 2010.

Sasquatch! Music Festival

May 29-31, sold out
54 Silica Road, George
sasquatchfestival.com