a survival guide of sorts.

summer is my favorite season.

i love the carefree, relaxed attitude of summer. here in minnesota everyone spends all their time outdoors during our couple glorious months of sunshine and positive temperatures. whether it's hanging out at the lake, eating on an outdoor patio, strolling through a farmer's market, or catching a movie in the park we do summer here. 

i love all of those things but i can't forget my favorite summer pastime; music festivals. 

some people hate them and i think it's just because they don't know how to survive them well. having been a festival attender for the past 16 years here are some nuggets of wisdom to not only walk away from a festival still intact but to enjoy it so much you wish it wasn't over. 

1. stay hydrated. when you're standing out in the hot sun for hours having a bottle of water handy is crucial. usually you can bring an empty bottle in to the festival and fill it once inside the grounds. or bring extra money and expect to spend a small fortune buying it. either way, you're gonna want H2O.
2. bring snacks. music festivals make me hangry real quick if i don't have snacks on hand. that guy in the crowd whose sweaty forearm keeps touching me is now 10x more blood-boiling than before my blood sugar dropped. trailmix, crackers, carrots, and apples are all solid options for quick snacks to stick in your purse/bag to tide you over til you get back to your campsite or leave the festival grounds for the day. unless you are rich enough to afford spending $10 on two tacos. also, have i mentioned recently that i am painfully cheap? 
3. wear comfy shoes. i am NOT saying you have to wear tennis shoes (i would never say that, even if we are playing tennis) but i am saying wear something that you will be okay standing in for hours. also, it's a good idea to wear closed-toe shoes...it hurts less when someone steps on your foot and your feet stay a bit cleaner and that makes you feel a little more human at the end of the day. my go-to: minnetonka moccasins. 
4. protect your skin from the sun. whether it's sunscreen, a big hat to shield your face, or wearing lightweight layers protecting your skin from the sun will make your experience way more enjoyable. sunburns are so painful and a cloud of sand being kicked up in a festival field feels like a thousand little knives on sunburned skin. this one is really more of a do as i say and not as i do thing since i walk away from every festival looking like a lobster. 
5. know the schedule. map out who is playing when and on what stage and know which shows you really want to see. there's a chance that multiple artists that you want to see are playing at the same time, this way you'll know that you either have to split your time and catch half of each show or forgo one show completely. if you know ahead of time you won't get to the end of the day and say, "frick. i totally forgot they were playing today, i wanted to see them!" 
6. take breaks.  if you're 14-20 and reading this, you're fine, you probably don't need breaks (i miss limitless energy). if you're older than that a break in the shade is a lifesaver. if there is no one playing at the moment that you want to see and you don't feel like you have to camp out at another stage for a concert later, find a shady spot (preferably one where you can catch a breeze that's upwind of the porta-potty's), grab one of your snacks and just sit for a few minutes. allow your ankles to return to their normal size, let your skin cool off, close your eyes (give them a break from the dust and direct sunlight they've been staring into), eat a granola bar and polish off your water bottle. even just 15 minutes can help you feel rejuvenated.
7. caffeine. coffee, pop, chocolate, whatever. don't use an iced coffee in place of drinking water, spoiler alert coffee dehydrates you, but a shot of caffeine in the late afternoon hours is a great necessary way to stay awake enough to enjoy the very last show of the day. 
8. get clean at the end of the day. especially crucial if you are camping at the festival. i know you're tired and it's 2am and the last thing you feel like doing is going to the public showers or trying to wash your hair with a nalgene but you will sleep better and not wake up smelling like a pile of trash if you've removed at least one layer of grime before you hit the hay. 
9. ignore the free hugs kids. okay, you don't have to be a wench and completely ignore them, but don't feel like you have to give them a hug if you don't want to. this is really more of a personal pet-peeve more than anything but i hate free hugs. i'm only saying that i think the festival experience would be better for everyone if we retired the cardboard signs and opted instead to only hug people we know. 
10. enjoy it. is it completely cheesy to write that? probably. whatever. seriously though, enjoy it. try not to let the rain delay or the fact that the food stand ran out of freezy pops cramp your style because you will never get to re-live that day. 

after years of mistakes sprained ankle because i wore flip-flops in the pit, got so sunburned my face swelled up and peeled for a week, drank out of a hose (not necessarily gross but it is when picked up off a festival ground) because i forgot a water bottle, and i have so many pictures where i look like an absolute trainwreck because i thought "i don't have to shower for four days straight, that's totally fine" i still love festivals but if you're the type that doesn't find bodily harm and dehydration fun those little tips will transform your festival experience and make you remember the real reason you went in the first place; the music. 

xo