15 Festival Essentials

As festival season is finally upon us (Hallelujah!!!) it is time to start pulling out the duffle bag and packing all that you will need to make the festival you are going to the best experience ever. As we all know Ireland is a country of many weathers and it can often be hard to decide what you need to bring. However fret not, as I have compiled a checklist of festival essentials that every festival-goer can follow, which will allow you to have a stress free, fun filled festival experience.

1. Bring Suitable Baggage

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For most festivals there is an unnaturally long walk between the car park and the camping sight, this walk of death usually lasts circa 15-30mins. With this in mind it is essential that your bag is easy to carry and is durable so that it wont break on the walk. A duffle bag, a rucksack or even a small wheelie case (however this can become dangerous if there is a lot of mud on the ground) can be a great shout when carrying all your belongings from the car.

2. Tent

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Unless you have been living under a rock, you know that most people sleep in tents when attending a weekend festival. The tent not only acts as a place to sleep but as a meeting point for you and your friends.

3. Sleeping Bag

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After you have partied hard all day, there is nothing worse then heading back to a cold tent, therefore a warm sleeping bag is essential for you to get your couple hours of beauty sleep.

4. Ticket

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Yes it is obvious, but essential, do not forget to bring your festival ticket because they will not let you in without it, which could result in a lot of tears. (we could do without that)

5. Put your Alcohol in Plastic Bottles

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For those of you who do not know, the security at the entrance to the campsite does not allow you to bring alcohol in glass bottles into the campsite. Therefore if you are drinking spirits put them in a big water bottle or to make it easier for you, just bring cans.

6. Bin Liners

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I cannot stress enough how handy a bin bag can be at a festival. They can be used for numerous reasons such as a a place to put wet and muddy clothes, a place to put rubbish and I have even put bin bags under my tent in the past to stop the rainwater seeping through. (it works like a charm)

7. Raincoat and wellies

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Even though it is Summertime it is important to remember that we do live in Ireland and it rains usually every week, so on that note I highly recommend bringing both a raincoat and wellies to any festival you are going to over the next couple of months. They will be a God send when the tunes are blaring but the rain is pelting.

8. Warm Clothes

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When the sun goes down in Ireland the cold sets in and in order to avoid both leaving the arena early, and hypothermia, I suggest bringing layers of clothing, including a jumper and a couple pairs of socks to keep you nice and cosy.

9. Portable Phone Charger

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There is nothing worse then when you loss your friends at a festival and your phone runs out of battery, or when you want to take a photo that will rake up the Instagram likes, but your phone is dead. To solve all of these horrific problems I suggest you bring a portable phone charger, which will give you weekend long battery for all your festival needs.

10. Torch

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Bringing a portable torch may sound far fetched but if you have ever tried to find your way back to your tent from the toilet at a festival you will understand the struggle. To stop you from enduring numerous bruises I suggest bringing a torch.

11. Dry Shampoo

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If there was one product made for a festival-goer it was dry shampoo, it brings your hair to life and eliminates grease, you really cant go wrong with it.

12. Wet Wipes

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Washing facilities range from festival to festival therefore in order to stray fresh throughout the day and night wet wipes are very handy to have as festivals can get a little messy.

13. Portable Speakers

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To keep the party going all weekend long I suggest bringing down small portable speakers to play at the campsite, trust me it will be a crowd pleaser.

14. Empty Water Bottles

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When you wake up after a night of drinking there is nothing worse then gasping for water that you don’t have. To avoid this inconvenience bring a plastic bottle down with you, fill it up with water, and leave it in your tent before you go out for the night. You will thank yourself in the morning.

15. Bring Sunscreen

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At last but not least, if all festival-goers prayers are answered, and it is a scorcher of a weekend, it is important to put sunscreen on to protect yourself from the rays. Sunburn is never a good look.