Big, bigger, biggest.

Now preparing for its third year, the Wakarusa Music and Camping Festival (June 8-11) is expanding in every which way – from five stages to seven stages, and up from 50 acts to a whopping 150.

“It seems like the interest in it is way higher than the first two years,” says festival co-organizer Brett Mosiman. “People that would be outside our core demographic are asking me about it on a daily basis. I have kids in grade school, and their friends are asking them about it. I go to the post office, and there are ladies clearly in their 60s who are asking about it.”

Tinkering with this year’s lineup may have led to more widespread appeal.

“We have almost every single kind of musical representation out there except the metal and hardcore stuff,” Mosiman says. “It really doesn’t matter what kind of music you like. I think you can find a way to keep yourself entertained.”

At the top of the bill are The Flaming Lips, who represent the festival’s most high-profile headliner yet.

“I can’t open any publication or turn on any late-night show without seeing them. They’re everywhere right now,” says Mosiman, who confirms Wakarusa’s extensive artist roster is finalized.

Other acts that the organizer is particularly excited about coming to the Clinton Lake State Park event include:

¢ Mutaytor (“They’re like a Las Vegas Cirque du Soleil meets Blue Man Group. They’re flying and beating drums and doing acrobatics,” Mosiman says.)

¢ Hurra Torpedo (“They’re from Norway and play kitchen appliances with sledgehammers and whatnot.”)

¢ Yard Dogs Road Show (“It’s kind of an old snake oil medicine show. It’s vaudeville, costumes and dancers.”)

A complete schedule can be found at www.wakarusa.com.

Two new general attractions include an acoustic jam stage run by the Americana Music Academy and dubbed “the porch.” But the most eye-catching addition is a Mardi Gras-themed parade led by Dirty Dozen Brass Band, which will run down Wakarusa Way on Saturday night (June 10). Watchers can expect to see marching bands, floats and an 80-foot Chinese dragon.

Despite all the improvements, Mosiman admits a chunk of the population still views Wakarusa as “that hippie fest.” He hopes the facts of the festival eventually will offset the perception.

“You don’t have to be a Grateful Dead person to go, ‘Wow, I want to see the Lips and Les Claypool, or Cross Canadian Ragweed and Reverend Horton Heat,'” he says. “There’s something for everybody.”