Summer Festival Essentials 🎉

Hi everyone! I hope you’re all doing well.

Today’s blog post is in prompt order after the weekend just passed, as I attended Wildlife Festival, just outside of my hometown, Brighton.

I’ve wanted to write up a ‘Festival Must-Haves’ post for a while now, because, well, after attending about 8 (ish) festivals in my 19 years of life, I feel like I have some experience on what to bring, and what certainly not to bring.

My first festival, I believe, was a weird/hippyish family festival called Larmer Tree. I have to admit, it was a lot of fun, but I was about 14 years old and therefore wasn’t partaking in some of the deadly sins I do at 19, such as sneaking in my own alcohol (oops) or spending a small fortune on laughing gas balloons.

However, I attended Wireless when I was about 16, and again just last year. My first visit to Wireless festival is probably where most of the ‘dont’s’ will come into this little write up, because frankly, my friends and I didn’t know what on earth we were doing. You will see, just read on to get a feel for our embarrassment.

So, I’ve devised a little list of ‘essentials’ for festivals; whether it’s just a day festival such as Boundary Brighton, or an entire weekend of booziness such as V Fest, you will want to abide by my Festival bible!

 

1.  A Bum-Bag

Trust me, this essential is labelled No.1 for a reason. Girls, do not make the mistake I made at Wireless 2014 and bring an ENTIRE HANDBAG with you. Yes, I bought my every-day handbag, full of crap like I talked about in my ‘Whats In My Bag’ blog post. Not good: being hands-free is one of the best things about festivals!

It was my first proper festival so my friends and I had absolutely no clue of general festival etiquette. No Dayna, you cannot dance in a loud, heaving crowd with a 10-tonne weight over your shoulder.

All I remember is feeling severely shocked and dismayed that our little ‘bag pile’ in the centre of  a huge mosh-pit was getting violently trampled over to the sound of Kanye West’s ‘Black Skinhead’, and my new shopper was covered in muddy trainer-marks. Sigh… so young and naive.

 

2. Sufficient Funds

Obviously, this second point is far easier said than done. Festival tickets are extremely pricey as it is, but inside is even more extortionate, so you don’t want to find yourself ordering a £10 drink and then reaching into your pocket to find a grand total of 10p.

However, try your best to save a little dollar if you know you have a festival coming up. Do you really need your 4th Nandos of the week? I mean, yes, obviously Nandos is always necessary, but how about pocket that tenner for your Summer plans instead? You won’t regret it, especially when you come to slowly realise that the price of a burger in a festival is on par with your yearly salary.

If all else fails and you can’t gather enough dosh for the big day (like I couldn’t for the weekend) sneak your own drink in. Shhh… but, there are ways. Just saying.

 

3. The 3 Vital Toiletries

This one applies more to a weekend/3 day festival rather than just a 1 day one, but still take note. Obviously, festival showers and loo’s are gonna be pretty grim, and your washing regime will become sparse. Deodorant is a given… I mean, you wear it on an everyday basis anyway, so come festival weekend you need to be smothering the stuff on like there’s no tomorrow.

But… I’ve come up with 3 specific toiletries you absolutely NEED to take away with you: dry shampoo, hand sanitiser and baby wipes.

Dry shampoo is obvious; there’s no way I’ll be washing my hair every day when I go to Creamfields in August, but there is equally no way I’ll be walking around the campsite looking like I’ve massaged my skull with Vaseline. Hand sanitiser is a given – the state of some festival toilets I’ve witnessed have made me want to gag and wretch and throw up everything I’ve ever eaten. Please, keep some anti-bacterial gel with you or you’ll probably contract some sort of undiscovered, life-long illness. And, lastly, baby wipes: let’s just say, you’ll be sporting a slightly whiffy aroma after a day of sweating in drunken crowds and spilt beers. Baby wipes will be your saviour.

4. Glitter, Gems, And ALL Things Bright

I mean, this isn’t really an essential but an ABSOLUTE NECESSITY. You’re at a festival: live it up and wear something you’d never usually be seen dead in! Fluorescent, metallic, leopard-print… whatever it is or how random it is, go for it.

I hate to go to a festival and see someone wearing jeans and a t-shirt. C’mon… chuck some glitter over ya head, stick some gems over ya brows… the list is endless, but oh-so-fun, and dressing slightly more eccentric is one of the most exciting parts of a festival, isn’t it?

There are tonnes of places you can buy festival makeup or jewellery for cheap, so you won’t feel like you’ve wasted money on something you’ll clearly get no other use of. Or, dig out some old crap you’ve got lying around in your drawers. Eyy, bet you’re relieved you didn’t chuck away that old rainbow scrunchie or that Hawaiian flower necklace now, aren’t you?

 

5. A Hand-Mirror

If you’re like me, you’ll often find yourself visiting the ladies on a night out or at a meal purely to check your face in the mirror and top up your powder, not because you, well, need the loo. At a festival… well, let’s say this is a no-go. Unless you want to queue until you wither into a skeleton and Jesus is resurrected, don’t go until you have to, especially not for the sole sake of topping up your lippy.

Take a handy mini-mirror and no matter where you are, check your makeup is still on fleek. Being knocked around in a violent mosh-pit during Stormzy? No fear, grab your mirror and stare until you can’t anymore (because you’ve realised your winged eyeliner has smudged and you’re about to have a mental breakdown.)

 

6. Last But Not Least… Your Ticket!

A pretty obvious one, but… please, don’t be the dickhead of the group and forget your TICKET. Whether it’s a print-out, a wristband or whatever, make sure it is your priority before you leave for wherever to avoid severe disappointment.

Most importantly… happy festivalling and stay safe! (Kind of.)

I hope you enjoyed this post guys, and it gets you in the mood for Summer!

Speak soon,

Love, Dayna x