Live: It's Day 3 of Welcome to Rockville in Daytona Beach

It’s the halfway point of the four-day Welcome to Rockville heavy-metal feast, er, fest at Daytona International Speedway.

Is everyone staying hydrated? Is everyone thankful for the hospitable, if intensely hot, weather?

The forecast looks positive for Saturday’s slate of shows that culminate with headlining performances from Greta Van Fleet, Queens of the Stone Age, Cypress Hill and Foo Fighters.

Temperatures will still be much warmer than normal today, according to an advisory from the National Weather Service in Melbourne, with heat index values of from 98-102 degrees forecast across parts of Central Florida. Thankfully, thunderstorm action is expected to stay well south of Rockville.

Check back often for observations about the scene on the infield, interviews with fans and a look at the array of non-musical diversions, among other dispatches from the heart of Rockville in Daytona Beach.

Check out Friday's blog: Live: It's Day 2 of Welcome to Rockville in Daytona

Catch up on opening-day blog: Welcome to Rockville is underway in Daytona Beach and diehard fans are loving it

Be alert about your cell phone, surroundings

A reminder to be alert about your personal belongings, especially in tightly packed crowds in front of the stages. Multiple reports on “Welcome to Rockville – RockVillains,” a Facebook fan page with more than 50,000 followers, about cell phones being pick-pick-pocketed.

No official word about procedure to follow if this happens from the festival website, socials or local law enforcement agencies, but a poster on the RockVillains page, Natalie Rosua of Boca Raton, offers this advice:

“Cops arrested multiple people involved and are returning everyone’s phones to them, if you know someone who had their phone stolen tell them to have a friend call the phone!” she wrote overnight on Friday in a post accompanied by a photo of dozens of fans waiting near the Turn 1 entrance.

“A detective will answer and get your phone back to you! This (the photo) is at turn 1 waiting to have our phones returned.”

So that's something to do, if you find yourself in that unfortunate situation.

Be aware of your surroundings, folks.

And the Volusia Sheriff's Office weighs in

This was posted early Saturday on the Facebook page for the Volusia Sheriff's Office:

Last night at Welcome To Rockville, law enforcement responded to dozens of reports of cell phones and wallets stolen from concert-goers.

Witnesses described suspects working in pairs ― one reaching into victims' pockets, bags, or purses, stealing the contents, then handing them off to another suspect.

Deputies, undercover detectives, police and security staff identified and detained six suspects. Some of them attempted to flee but were quickly apprehended.

More than 50 phones were recovered from the suspects, who denied pickpocketing and denied knowing each other.

Detectives determined the majority of the suspects are Colombian nationals who entered the U.S. illegally, lived in Los Angeles, and recently moved to Miami.

All were arrested on various counts of grand theft and transported to the Volusia County Branch Jail with no bond.

Homeland Security Investigations was notified of the investigation and the defendants' immigration status.

The Volusia Sheriff's Office is the lead agency responsible for the safety and security of our Rockville guests, and we take it seriously! We're out there again today working with our partner agencies to make sure this is a safe event. Criminal activity like this won't be tolerated!

Dimebag Darrell remembered at Rockville

Among the merchants along the midway at Welcome to Rockville is Dimebag Hardware, a shop that features merch and memorabilia related to the late, legendary Pantera guitarist, Dimebag Darrell.

Along with an assortment of T-shirts, tank tops and camo jackets, the tent also has a case filled with Dimebag's actual guitars and stage outfits.

"We think of it as a portable museum," said merch manager Paige Medlenka. "This is all about carrying on his legacy."

Medkenka said that the visitors are more interested on sharing stories and memories of Dimebag than buying a $23 bottle of Red Fang 3, hot sauce made from his personal recipe.

"Really, the most important part is talking to the fans and hearing their personal connections with Darrell. That's the main reason we come out."

Dimebag was shot and killed by a fan during a performance at the Alrosa Villa nightclub in Columbus, Ohio on Dec. 8, 2004. Three others were shot and killed before the gunman was killed by police.

You wanted the help! You've got the help!

More than a few times during this year's Rockville, I've turned for help to the folks holding the elevated "Ask For Help" signs across the massive Speedway infield.

These people are Rockville's unsung heroes in the eyes of this midway wanderer.

I haven't encountered one yet that didn't have the answer I needed.

That would describe Sharlene Ayers, a volunteer who will be answering clueless questions throughout the weekend.

A public school custodian, she signed up for the unpaid gig on the festival website.

"It sounded interesting," she said. "I filled out a form. They had a few shifts available, so I showed up and they trained me on the spot."

Ayers estimates there are about a dozen or so "Ask For Help" volunteers deployed at any time.

The question she gets the most?

Where's the water? (That was my question!)

"That's followed by where are the band merch tents," she said."'Where are the bathrooms?' would be third."

Rock on, Sharlene.

All my love's in vein

Speaking of surviving the heat, the Vive Hydration tent (next to the amusement rides) offers 30-minute treatments to replenish nutrients and vitamins.

"What we offer is a one-liter bag of electrolytes," said Tristan O'Connell, co-owner of the St. Pete Beach-based company. "It takes 35 minutes."

The treatments are administered by registered nurses and supervised by a medical director, O'Connell said.

There are three options:

A $99 bag of electrolytes "that's like me shooting Gatorade straight into your veins," O'Connell said.

For $159, you can get a bag that also contains additional ingredients to cure a hangover.

For $189, you can get a combination of the two previous options.

It's Vive Hydration's first time at Rockville, but the company has been at other rock festivals nationwide, O'Connell said.

"This is comparable to the others we've done," he said, "and we expect it to get busier today."

No smoke on this water

If you don't want to spend big bucks to hydrate, the free water bar, just across from the Cyclops ride, is perhaps the festival's most trafficked venue.

"It's awesome, absolutely awesome," said Robin Ohye, who traveled from Oviedo for the festival's four days with her husband, Minoru.

"This is our first year, and everything that we have done is fantastic. We've tried to do a little bit of all of it."

The Ohyes, who are most looking forward to seeing the Foo Fighters, are impressed with the vibe at the event.

"I'm surprised that everyone is so well behaved," Robin said, "polite even."

And that free water? I had seen complaints on Facebook that it was too hot, but it felt nice and cool to me.

Taking one for the team (and expense account)

Against the orders of at least three medical professionals, I was compelled to sample an order of the $25 Philly cheesesteak loaded fresh-cut fries.

(Honestly, the things I do in the name of investigative journalism.)

Well, it is an imposing mountain of deep-fried goodness, a massive mound of meat, onions, peppers, assorted cheeses, and, oh yes, the fries.

It's a tasty combination, but is it $25 worth of tasty?

I'm not sure.

Maybe I need a $14 beer to decide.

Spinning wheel, got to go 'round

Also in the name of investigation, I dropped $10 on a five-minute ride on Rockville's landmark midway Ferris wheel.

Not as pricey as cheesesteak fries, but still a big investment when you break it down by the minute.

My review: Nice breeze. Excellent view of Nova Twins set on Apex Stage.

For the record, my four revolutions seemed more like 10 minutes than five.

'We're just two creeps!'

At Rockville, rock stars aren't limited to the festival's five official stages.

At the Church of Rock & Roll karaoke dive bar, near the Inferno Stage, longtime friends Courtney Coon and Alli Bogdan belted out an impassioned rendition of Radiohead's "Creep" for a small, but supportive cluster of onlookers.

"I don't sing," Alli confessed afterward. "I don't know how! This is my first time ever getting on a stage and hearing my voice."

The song selection, however, was a no-brainer for the two longtime friends from Jackson, New Jersey.

"I always used to tell people that 'Creep' was my go-to karaoke song," said Alli, 21, who works as a cake decorator. "That's who I am, and now I've put it out there for the world to see."

"We're just two creeps!" Courtney said.

You cool, man?

Although temperatures have been milder since Thursday's opening-day cooker, shade is still a highly sought-after commodity.

One option this year is taking an escalator to the concourse on the west end of the Speedway grandstand.

On Saturday afternoon, a few dozen overheated folks watched sets on the Inferno and Vortex stages from the fan-cooled patio deck.

"I wish they had more shaded areas near the stages," said Sean Haranage, 33, who traveled from Orlando for the festival's full four days. "I was happy to find this spot, which is nice."

It's the first year that the festival has used grandstand space as a shade option. The available area is only the concourse, not the grandstand seats.

To find it, head to the Turn 1 entrance, stay to your right to follow the sidewalk around to the Advent Health injector. Then, take the escalator.

You're welcome.

No, no to ice, ice, baby

Biggest disappointment on Saturday:

The IcyBreeze dome, touted in Rockville promotions as kind of a winter wonderland of ice-cooled chilled air, was nothing more than a dimly lit sweaty cave filled with equally sweaty rock fans.

Yes, you could crowd together with the sweat-soaked masses in front of one of the portable cooler units, on sale for $89, but the experience wasn't cool ― literally or figuratively.

The search (for cool air) continues.

Take me home, down country roads

In addition to all the vendors selling band T-shirts, there also were outposts along the festival midway dedicated to higher purposes.

Take Me Home, a Los Angeles-based national pet rescue foundation, was selling an array of T-shirts ($35), hoodies ($65), bandanas ($12) and other items to support their cause.

For a few hundred dollars, you also could buy a drum head signed by Limp Bizkit, The Offspring, Tool, or other bands.

Proceeds from those purchases also go toward the cause.

Visit takemehome.tv for more information.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Live: Day 3 of Welcome to Rockville in Daytona Beach