Even though it’s still cold and snowing outside I can’t help thinking about what the summer has to offer and which bands, DJs and artists I can see during festival season. I’ve been to my fair share of festivals and although you can’t prepare for every eventuality there are a few major pitfalls you can avoid mainly by keeping an eye on your finances and being well prepared before you set off.
So put on your wellies, grab a daft hat and read on to find out how to survive at festivals this summer.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
You don’t have to spend a lot to survive at a festival, just be careful with your money and take as many light consumables with you as you can. Banal, everyday items like serviettes, plasters, toilet rolls and even bottles of water often receive incredibly hefty mark ups if you can even find them on sale. Spending £5 on a shower is not uncommon at some festivals and you won’t be receiving the luxury you may expect for that kind of price tag. When I go to a festival I try to carry as little personal belongings as possible, the less you take the less weight you have to carry and the less you may stand to lose.
I try to take a decent sized rucksack like the ones from Eastpak. I tend to fill my rucksack with lightweight small items like a few t-shirts, a lightweight jacket or thin hoody, changes of underwear and socks, a bottle of water and fill small containers with just enough sun cream, shower gel and shampoo to last the weekend as liquids of all varieties are surprisingly heavy. Light items of clothing can be a godsend as often you realistically won’t get a chance to have a decent wash or shower and I’m slightly cringing when I’m writing this but it’s better to have clean clothes and not have had a wash than skanking out in the same outfit for three days!
At a festival the emphasis is on watching as many bands and acts as you can, not creature comforts! Similar to camping, when you visit the countryside you don’t want to sit around watching tv, you want to be outside enjoying nature and the elements. Some festival goers will take almost the entire contents of their living room with them, I’ve even seen people take nice chairs, arm chairs and sofas to festivals. Although it’s an amusing conversation starter they take a lot of effort to get to a festival and will almost definitely end up caked in mud and abandoned by the end of the event!
It may seem clichéd but I think the most important thing to take with you to a festival is your friends. Travelling to and from an event with a group of friends is a much more memorable experience and I find it enhances the experience noticeably more to have people to recount your stories and memories with. It can also be another practical way to save money by travelling in a group as many festivals are in remote areas and can often only be accessed by taxi which will work out astronomically cheaper if shared.
So whichever festival you’re going to this summer, whether its Leeds and Reading, Glastonbury, Rockness , Bestival or anywhere else have fun and make it one to remember.
