Summer is in full bloom in Chicago! Long summer days ahead with endless sunshine. With summer, comes festival season and everyone is scrambling to buy their festival tickets as the dates get released. While it’s always very exciting, for a first-time attendee the process and planning for a festival can be a little overwhelming. It can be hard to know what to expect but with our help you can arrive prepared and ready for a great time.
Do Your Research
With all the excitement and chaos of festival season, most people tend to forget to do their homework! After purchasing your tickets, the festival organizers send out an information packet to prepare you for what’s to come via email. It may sound like a snooze fest reading all the rules and guidelines but it’s worth a read to know the ins and outs of what to expect. Be sure to research traveling to the venue, parking, amenities offered, food options and experimental booths to check out. Mapping out the festival grounds with the artists you plan on seeing is always a good idea.
Don’t Get Fancy
A festival is the perfect environment to show off those cute clothes you’ve been stocking up all winter long but no need to ruin all you high-end fashion goods. With all the madness that comes with a festival, if you value something, it’s not the best idea to bring items that may be stolen or trampled. Bring items that are fun and useful but in the long-run are disposable. Look at the weather for that time and pack accordingly! If you’re going to a festival where there’s predominantly dirt pathways, bring a bandanna or handkerchief to cover your mouth and nose – you really don’t want to be inhaling that stuff. Plus, the last thing you want is to have your vibe killed when someone spills a drink on your new Burberry shoes.
Bathroom Breaks
The bathroom “situation” is probably the biggest challenge of festival life is using the dreaded porta potties. With hundreds of people, bathroom essentials tend to run out. The best decision you’ll make is coming with a handy “bathroom kit” which would include toilet paper, soap and hand sanitizer. It’s bad enough to have to wait those long lines, you don’t want to show up unprepared.
Plan it Out or Go With the Flow
You either know you want to leave this set to get to the next, or you don’t. Don’t get into a crowd and then try to elbow your way out – you’ll make yourself some enemies very quickly. One of the best parts of the festival experience is experiencing new and unexpected things. If there are a lot of bands you know you want to see, have a rough idea of how you want to maneuver your way around. No point in getting upset if things don’t work out. Enjoy yourself!
Now that you have the guide to festival season down, The Underground is excited to showcase it’s Lollapalooza After-Party sets from July 31st to August 3rd! Join us as we host performances by Harry Hudson, Madds & VAVO just to name a few. Be sure to pull up and grab your table reservations while you can!
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