Festivalgoers braved wet grass, muddy trails and San Francisco’s signature fog to attend the first day of the23rd annual Hardly Strictly Bluegrassin Golden Gate Park.

By the time performers hit the stage at 1 p.m. Friday, Sept. 29, the mist that blanketed the park was thick enough to make it difficult to see from one side of Hellman Hollow to the other. Warm hats and puffer jackets were abundant as crowds gathered at each stage.

Melissa Hippard, who drove up from her home in Campbell, said she didn’t thinkthe weatherwas deterring anyone from having a good time.

“If you live in San Francisco, fog is what you’ve accepted as part of our lives,” said Hippard, a self-proclaimed San Franciscan despite now being a South Bay resident.

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Roaming Hellman Hollow with a friend, Hippard — who has been at every Hardly Strictly Bluegrass since the second year it was held — said she was just glad to be back among people after the pandemic forced the festival online in 2020 and 2021.

With many still working their day jobs, Friday is typically a more “chill” day at the festival, Hippard observed. Access to the festival was limited to four entry points where each attendee had to pass through a metal detector and have any large bags searched by security. But the lines moved quickly as fans poured in with see-through backpacks and rainbow beach chairs.

While Hardly Strictly debuted a new layout this year, splitting themore than 70 actsacross six stages in the park and adding spoken word poetry into the mix, veteran festivalgoer Rachel Robbins said the change made the festival feel “more intimate.”

“I’m already meeting more people here,” said Robbins, who was hanging back with her two new adopted pups — Sir Didymus, a chihuahua mix, and Jareth, a Chinese crested — while watching blues musician Buffalo Nichols on the Arrow Stage. “I feel like we’re more encouraged to come together and sit and share.”

As Nichols wrapped up, Robbins and the rest of the crowd seamlessly flowed to the other side of Hellman Hollow, where Austin-based country singer-songwriter Carrie Rodriguez was performing on the Banjo Stage.

Nestled in between the two stages, the General Store — anotheraddition to this year’s festival— offered some reprieve to those in search of snacks, toiletries and warmer clothing.

The selection of goods at the General Store, from mosquito repellent to tampons, was informed by Craig Stott’s experience running tents at other festivals. When Hardly Strictly Bluegrass is over, Stott, co-owner of Crescent Supply, said he’ll take a look at what they sold to decide how to improve the store for next year.

As soon as the music started, people were lining up to buy tarps to sit on the wet grass, according to Stott. Others sought water, soda and sunscreen. But the most popular items at the store were Carhartt beanies; by 2 p.m. Stott said he had sold 21.

克雷格Frizzell停在商店买一个蓝色的beanie for his 6-year-old daughter, Maggie, who wrapped herself in a blanket to keep out the cold.

Frizzell, Maggie and her mother, Brooke, flew in from Milwaukee to join college friends at the festival for the first time. They kicked off the afternoon watching Boston bluegrass band Della Mae perform on the Banjo Stage.

“This is her first festival-anything,” Frizzell said of his daughter. “The fact that for her first festival, she got to sit and watch these four badass women play amazing music is just mind blowing to me.”

Hardly Strictly Bluegrass continues through Sunday, Oct. 1, with festival gates opening at 9 a.m. each day.

Reach Megan Fan Munce:Megan.Munce@sfchronicle.com