South by South West, Coachella, The Governors Ball,Ultra... the list goes on - there are so many fantastic festivals that you should go to if only once in your lifetime!
There's lots of tips available to help you make your experience memorable for the music and the fun, rather than for not being able to find your tent the first night and having to sleep in a bush!
Here are our Golden Rules for survival!
- Raise a flag - unless you're the sort of person who can read the stars and work out what direction you're facing, you're going to spend much of your time at any festival utterly disorientated. The doomsday scenario involves putting up your tent, enjoying several pints of local ale, then returning to the campsite only to find five thousand identical abodes have been erected ("ours is the blue one, no?"): you're kipping in a bush! A visual marker, then, is utterly invaluable, be it a Minion up a pole or a set of solar powered fairy lights make sure you can spot your tent in the crowd!
- Be prepared for rain or shine so you can enjoy the fun whatever the weather:
- take a rain poncho as well as s
- sunglasses
- hat
- sunblock
- Take the minimum of 'stuff' with you and never take anything you would regret losing! Essentials are:
- Pop-up Tent
- Sleeping bag
- Hand sanitiser
- Baby wipes
- Trash bags
- Lip balm
- A torch with good batteries - save your mobile phone for texts and calls!
- Portable phone charger
- Ear Plugs (camp sites can be rowdy places at night!)
- Your Infinity Scarf with hidden pocket - invaluable as you can keep your phone and cash safe with you at all times and even when you are jumping around dancing you know you won't drop anything! If its hot it can be worn loosely hooked around the shoulders and if there is a chill wind you will be glad of it wrapped around your neck!
- Sturdy Boots
- Lots of water! The last thing you want is to pass out from heat exhaustion, wake up in a medic tent, and miss the festival. Whether it’s a big refillable water bottle or one of those CamelBak backpacks that hold two litres of water, make sure you stay hydrated.
- A waterproof backed folding picnic mat - after a couple of days you may have had enough of being in the crowds and many people sit on the grass at the back instead. However, by then the ground has been trampled so if you have a rug to sit on you will enjoy it more and save your clothes from the mud!
- Prepare for communication blackout!
- Be aware of the fact that mobile networks tend to melt at bigger gatherings as thousands try to stay connected, and at more isolated events there may be no signal at all!
- Don't bank on texts reaching destinations: instead make old school plans to meet up with people at set places and times.
- To preserve battery, turn all the settings down on your contraption (contrast, volume, brightness), turn vibrate off, and stay off the 'net: who wants to know what's happening in the real world anyway?
- Take a tall person! Tall people – preferably over six foot five – are a terrific asset at festivals. If you don't know one, look up and try to befriend one before going. Make them wear a distinctive hat and carry a flare or torch, and hey presto: a beacon visible from up to half a mile away to act as a reference point!
- Follow the worst diet imaginable: There are several reasons to go junk food crazy during festival season.
- Firstly, it's a delicious and irresponsible way in which to act, which is part of the point of being there.
- More significantly however, if you carefully eliminate fibre, vitamins and general goodness, it's possible that your digestive system will seize up for long enough to avoid the horrors of the "long drop" toilets.
- Be carefree! Some guides advise to plan ahead and study the sets before you go but we think you should be carefree! By all means make sure you catch a favourite band, but for the rest of the time, ditch the map and roam the site- it'll almost certainly be worth it, you may catch an unknown act that turns out to be superb!
References
https://www.aworldtotravel.com/music-festival-survival-guide/
https://www.theodysseyonline.com/10-tips-for-surviving-music-festival