How to Prepare for an Outdoor Music Festival: the One-Day Festival

With Megan off in San Francisco at the Outside Lands Music Festival for the weekend, and Rob Jones, Erica, Alyzee and I all heading for the Burnaby Blues & Roots Festival tomorrow, I have music festivals on the brain tonight, along with what I need to do to prep for tomorrow.  So given that, c     I thought I’d write a post on preparing for the outdoor music festival, specifically focused on the one-day festival.  Hopefully, Megan will give us a similar post, at a later date on the multi-day festival.

Now first off all, you want to check out the festival rules ~ what’s allowed in and what’s not.  In the case of Burnaby Blues & Roots that means:

• no alcohol from off-site
• no musical instruments
• no glass containers or cans
• no professional cameras
• no umbrellas
• no tents or tarps
• no banners
• no frisbees / throwing objects
• no hoola hoops
• no knives or weapons
• no laser pointers

• water – or at least a bottle to fill at the re-fill stations – sealed / empty plastic bottles are allowed
• a sun hat
• sunscreen
• rain gear
• a sweat shirt (in case it gets cold)
• blankets / low-back lawn chairs
• cell phone & charger
• camera (charged) & charger
• ID – for my beer tent wrist band
• cash (& bank card for the bank machine) – for food, beer & the artisans vendors
• snacks (fruit & veggies are usually the most popular, if it’s a hot day)
• a cooler to keep the food appealing

Next you want to get an idea of the set-up of the festival.  In the case of the Burnaby Blues & Roots Festival, there are two stages and eight-acts throughout the day, so our plan typically is to get there early and set-up a blanket by each stage, in addition to a few chairs and the cooler on top of the hill between each stage. This way we can wander back and forth between the stages with ease.  Plus it makes it easier to find your friends when we all inevitably end up separated.