It’s summertime, and you know what that means—festival season is upon us! Hordes of youths will swarm to fields across the country for days chock full of dehydration, sunburns, and good music.
It is a universally acknowledged fact that music festivals only operate on two levels: it is either the best experience of your life, or the absolute worst. It usually takes one thing—a bad sunburn, too little water, blistered feet—to start a downward spiral experience.
If you’re an obsessive compulsive planner like I am, then you know that the best way to prevent disaster is simple: be prepared.
Tips and Tricks For Surviving and Conquering a Festival:
1. Get yourself a pair of Tevas.
I was indoctrinated into the Teva lifestyle a long time ago, by my mother. In her day, my mom was a pretty active woman who dragged her dogs and kids through nature, never shying away from dirt or mud. Every childhood adventure I have featured my mom in her Tevas. She has a pair in her closet that I think might be older than I am, and they are still her go-to shoe and are ridiculously comfortable.
The brand has been around since 1984 and are perfect for on-the-go ventures. They offer shoes for any type of adventure in any landscape—from hiking to walking to beach going, these shoes are incredible. They don’t chafe, they dry quickly, and if you get them muddy, you just take them off and hose them down!
This year, Teva is the official footwear of Bonnaroo Music Festival, and for good reason. If there is any shoe I had to live in for days at a time, it would be my Tevas. Perfect for any music festival, these bad boys are durable. One of my friends loves to tell the story of a festival she went to last year where she was in mud up to her calves. It was impossible to walk and she lost about three pairs of shoes in the mud that week.
Girl should have gotten Tevas—they wouldn’t have fallen off. You can buy all kinds of colors and shapes at Zappos.
2. Bring an external charger, or four.
At a festival like Bonnaroo, you’re straight up camping for the duration of the time you’re there, which means no plugs! It’s going to be hard to live tweet the Big Gigantic show and Instagram your shenanigans with a dead phone. And trust me, you do not want to wait in the charging lines. External portable chargers are the way to go, I’m telling you.
Now you’re sitting here going “I think I can handle going social media free for a few days, I don’t need to charge my phone.” Which is probably true—but don’t forget that phones are also used for this thing called communication. If you go with friends, at some point during the festival you will lose said friends. And when their phones are dead and no one can get in contact with each other, you’re going to wish you had brought an extra charger.
3. Stay hydrated before anything else.
This seems like a no brainer, but for those unfamiliar with the crushing heat of Tennessee summer, believe me—you’re going to want to drink water. Not only is water going to keep you going, but if you drink alcohol during the festivities, you’re going to get dehydrated, fast. It’s by far the easiest of all the survival tricks offered here, and so worth it. If you’re weak and dehydrated and sick on day 2, you’re going to be hating yourself for years to come.
You can also keep yourself hydrated and healthy with yummy snacks like apples, watermelon, and other fruits!
4. Don’t be afraid to visit the medical tents.
Bonnaroo is really awesome in that there are no questions asked at any of their medical tents. They don’t care if you’ve done a cocktail of drugs, their main priority is keeping you safe and getting you healthy. Everything is confidential, and no one gets in trouble. So really, it’s not worth it to be worried about seeking help for yourself or a friend, because for the first time ever in life there are no repercussions! Seriously. Be smart about it.
Do you have any other awesome tips and tricks for festival going? You can check out more preparation tips at The Fountain and be sure to share your tips, photos and ideas by tagging them #Ready2Roo.
