If you have yet to attend a music festival before, but you purchased tickets months ago for your very first one...you are in for a treat, my friend! Summertime is prime time when it comes to these sorts of things, and if you have never been to a festival before, you could be feeling a little overwhelmed. You know one thing: it is likely going to be warm weather and you are going to be camping without access to electricity or a real toilet for anywhere from three to five days. Well, have no fear! I have been to the same festival for five years in a row now, and I've got a few tricks up my sleeve. You are going to need a couple of essential items when enjoying the weekend, so I'll share my best advice with you.
1. A padlock.
This is important when it comes to protecting your items. If you are carpooling with friends but pitching your own tent, it is a good idea to keep extreme valuables locked in the trunk of their car when you don't need to be using them. As for minor items like clothes, food, alcohol and toiletries, you will likely be keeping those either in your tent or somewhere within your campsite. When you head over to the festival grounds, be sure to put everything that's not locked in the trunk into your tent and stick a padlock through the zipper holes. Trust me, you don't want to have all of your meals for the weekend stolen from you before you make it to day two. When it comes to padlocks, get one that you can set a code on -- not one that requires a key. A couple of drinks in and your key may wind up on stage.
2. Dry ice.
Ice, ice, baby! Bring some dry ice with you to keep your ice frozen. For however many coolers you bring, count on using about five blocks of dry ice per cooler. Dry ice will help keep your regular ice cubes frozen while bearing the heat all weekend long.
3. A shade tent.
Duh. If you thought you were going to make it all weekend without one of these babies, kudos to you, my friend. However, you were wrong. Being in the heat of the sun all weekend with nowhere to go but your steaming-hot tent can get tiring. A shade tent allows you to still be out in the open, enjoying time with friends, but it also gives you a break from the sun. Too much heat makes you tired, and if you end up getting sunburned, you're likely going to be cranky. It's great to have a place to escape the rays for a bit.
4. Baby wipes.
The lines for showers at festivals take almost as long as the time it took for your ticket to arrive in the mail. They are impossibly slow, and I don't know about you, but I have other things I'd rather be doing than standing amidst 100+ other people waiting to shower when I could be frolicking through the campgrounds meeting new friends. Bring baby wipes to wash your arms, legs, feet, hands, etc. when you are feeling dirty or sticky. It's no shower, I'll admit, but sometimes the showers aren't the cleanest places themselves.
5. Ibuprofen.
A long weekend in the sun = a sunburn. A long day/night listening to music = a headache. A long night following a concert partying with friends = a really big headache. You're going to need a lot of water or Gatorade and a couple of Ibuprofen to help you make it from one day to the next.
6. Solar-powered battery charger.
Lifesaving! You're going to be snapping pictures and playing music connected to Bluetooth speakers all weekend long, which means that you're phone is going to die. More than once. In the middle of nowhere Campsiteville, there aren't electrical outlets to plug a phone charger into. But ah, the solar-powered battery charger is here to save the day! There will be plenty of sunlight to go around to make sure that your phone is on and ready to rumble come concert time.
7. A fanny pack.
This is going to come in handy when you leave the campsite. Whether you are roaming the campgrounds or headed to the concert, you are going to be thankful you brought one of these babies along with you. You can put keys, a phone, chapstick, sunscreen, money or anything else you may need in here. You aren't going to want overstuffed pockets when you're crowd-surfing or hanging out up top on someone's shoulders at the show!
8. A Camelbak.
Festivals will charge you an arm and a leg for basic necessities. Usually, you are not allowed to bring your own containers in (i.e. water bottles), so you have to pay for water at the concert. If you bring an empty Camelbak into the venue, you can fill it up with water at the free water stations that they have around. When you're standing in the pit concert after concert, waiting for the headliner to come on... you are going to get dehydrated. Camelbaks are your friend!
With these items in tow, you are sure to have a great experience. Have fun!
