Festival Survival Guide

By: M Carolina Dutra

​With Lollapalooza's eighth edition in Brazil being right around the corner and Rock in Rio being just a few months away, it is the best time to share some tips and life-hacks to make your festival days the best ones. This applies not only for Lollapalooza, which will be the article's focus, but also to other festivals based on my personal and my friends’ experiences from the last couple of years.

How to get there:

• Your own transportation: I truly don’t recommend it, but it is still a popular option within people. It might be one of the cheapest ways to get there if you consider going with your own car/van/motorcycle/etc. In order not to miss any shows and not to spend too much time in traffic, make sure you leave at least one hour before the time you want to arrive. From my own experience, I would advice you to organize yourself better and leave in time to see the shows.
• The festival's official transportation: In Lollapalooza’s case, it is pretty expensive, but also consider using the festival's transportation as it is convenient and one of the safest options to get there. This is because the bus is able to access some shortcuts that allow you to arrive quicker in the venue. In cases such as Lollapalooza the transport is able to drop you off inside the venue so that you don’t have to walk all the way to the entrance (which can be pretty tiring, especially after the first day, and it is not really safe). It is also convenient because after a long, tiring, and fun day of festival you don’t have to worry about returning home. You can sit back and relax until the bus drops you off at the festival's bus stop (which in this case is a shopping center called Market Place).
• Public transportation: It is the cheapest option and probably the fastest way to get to festivals if you go by train. Even though it is not so safe, if you're careful enough it can be the best way to get to the festival, and depending on the where the train/metro/bus station is you might still have to walk a lot to arrive at the venue​​

What to pack

• Raincoat: Even if the weather forecast does not predict rain I recommend you to bring it, it is an essential as you never know when it might rain. Besides, having to be fully soaked for the rest of the day will be really uncomfortable to you, especially if it's cold.
• Money: Despite the fact that some festivals like Lollapalooza design your ticket in the form of a bracelet, which you can deposit some money to it, it might not work sometimes. Additionally, there might be an emergency after the festival had ended where you might need some money to pay a cab or buy a raincoat.
• Portable charger: Posting about how awesome your experience at the festival was on social media, is something that basically everyone does nowadays. So, you will probably run out of battery. To avoid facing any difficulties I strongly recommend taking a portable charger. 
• Tissues and hand sanitizer: I know it might sound weird to recommend you bring this along with you, but it is quite useful for festivals which only have chemical bathrooms such as Lollapalooza. These bathrooms are usually out of toilet paper and none of them include a sink to wash your hands. That being said, tissues and a hand sanitizer at least provide you the minimum of hygiene for you to get through the day.
• ID or the copy of an ID: It's something that you should always have with you in case of an emergency. For festivals it is an essential, so always bring it with you because you never know what might happen

What to wear and festival trends

• Fanny packs: Based on my personal experience, I can definitely assure you that fanny packs are the easiest way to bring your stuff along with you without having to put them in a heavy backpack which will keep bothering your back whenever you decide to dance.
• Sunglasses: Since these festivals happen during the day, sunglasses will help you protect your eyes from the sun while adding a stylish and fun feel to your look.
• Neon: Wearing neon clothes or accessories has been a huge trend lately, and festivals are the perfect opportunity to wear something neon as it totally fits a music festival's fun vibe!
• Glitter: It doesn't matter if it's in your body, your clothes, your nails, your face or even in your hair; glitter gives festival looks a much more fun touch, regardless of what you wear.