13 Things you need to know if you are a festival rookie

Festival season is upon us again and it is arguably the best time of the year (apart from Christmas). It is also the time where many newly-18-year-olds and ‘festival virgins’ will get to experience the good, the bad and the ugly parts of festivals! Here are our top 13 tips to survive your first festival…

1. Get in Early

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Like most concerts, festival tickets increase in price over time. Get your hands on those early-bird/pre-sale or first release tickets to avoid paying extra $ for the same General Admissions ticket and avoid #FOMO if tickets sell out.

2. Plan your day

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Arguably the most difficult part of festivals is getting your #squad to agree on which acts to see and which ones to miss. Talk about which artists are a MUST and which ones come in second…

Doing this before you get to the festival means you avoid missing any of the acts you really want to see and getting let on your own

BONUS TIP: To save precious phone battery for important things like snapchat, print out a few copies of the set times

3. Use the buddy system

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Festivals are notorious for getting lost in a crowd by yourself. If you are cool, you should be able to rock out by yourself.

However, if you are a festival rookie, this might be a daunting idea.

Find one person in your squad and stick with them the best you can.

Buddy-systems means COMPROMISE. While you might not get to see that one act you wanted to, being with a buddy will ALWAYS outweigh being without a buddy.

It also means you can share supplies… #canIhavesomewater? #wheresthevicks?

4. Drink lots of water!

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Stay hydrated kids!

Avoid paying $4.00 per water bottle throughout the day by bringing in a foldable water bottle and refilling it during the day

You can buy one off Ebay:

Alternate method: Buy a Powerade and keep the empty bottle

BONUS TIP: If you take a second and become friends with a security guard, they will become your main source of free water. Most security guards have access to a hose… you can ask if they will refill your bottle for you

5. And don't forget to eat

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Don't skip out on food throughout the day

6. Remember SLIP, SLOP and SLAP

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There's nothing worse than not being able to see the stage because of the sun!

Remember your sunnies

Remember your hat

Apply sunscreen

7. If drugs are your thing…

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Avoid 'carrying' your own drugs into festivals.... and this does not mean get your friends to carry them in.

Possession of drugs carries a 2 year prison sentence. You can afford the higher drug prices once you get inside.

ALTERNATE TIP: Don't do drugs…

ALTERNATIVE TIP 2: Drink alcohol instead

8. Take one at a time

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Australia's drug purity is THE WORST IN THE WORLD!

This means that from batch to batch the effectiveness of drugs and the time it takes to effect your body differs

Leave approx. 2-2.5 hrs between popping one pill and then another.

This will avoid the drugs hitting you at one time and potentially overdosing.

If your friend is vomiting, passed out or unable to keep their eyes open, alert security immediately

9. Follow an information blog

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KNOWLEDGE!

Blogs such as High on Life provides information about the way certain drugs and alcohol can affect your body, what goes in them and what to do in an emergency

These blogs also campaign for harm-minimisation techniques at festivals such as pill testing!

10. Remember the buddy system?

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Buddies will come in handy right about now….

11. Buy yourself a pair of Diffraction glasses

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These glasses diffract the light off the stages and create cool patterns before your eyes

Its $20 well spent

12. Sign the petition to change the way recreational drugs are policed in Australia

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These guys want to change the way drugs are policed in Australia…

Sign for a change for the better

http://www.druglawreform.com.au/petition

13. HAVE FUN AND LOOK OUT FOR YOUR FRIENDS!

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