Are You Festival Ready?

After two years without festivals Ireland is exploding with music and art and every weekend this summer boasts a whole array of cool and classy festivals - Are you ready?

Some of us are a wee bit rusty as it has been a while since we lugged our tent and cans across a field, and for others, this will be their first festival season! Very exciting!

I contacted my most experienced festival-going friends, and between us we have come up with THE BEST GUIDE to Irish festival hacks - So whether you will be going to EP or ATN or Body and Soul… make sure to have a read of these excellent hacks to ensure you have the best possible time.

…

Prep work - What to bring

• Baby wipes. Always have baby wipes on you and in your tent!
• TP (the portaloos run out super quick!)
• Sun cream - lots of it
• Insect repellant! No itching, no stinging, no problems!
• 
• Glitter! Get yourself some bio glitter so that you can sparkle and shine while knowing it won’t harm the environment!
• Power banks - Your phone will thank you
• Disposable Cameras! Loads of fun, keeps you in the moment, and I promise you will LOVE it when you get the photos developed - why not plan an after-festival-photo party with your mates for when they get all developed! You can pick up a disposable camera for about a tenner, and if you really enjoy it, get yourself a reusable camera and some film to use across the whole summer! (Hot Tip: Black and white film makes everything look timeless and more flattering)
• 
• Socks! I have been told black ones are great for hiding cans in…”for the smuggling” - Also put a nice comfy pair of socks in a zip lock bag and keep them for the day you pack up for dry, clean, comfy feet all the way home
• Face mask - avoid that pesky morning light at 5am and sleep whenever you want/need
• Ear plugs - for when you need 20 winks
• Lots of layers - it gets cold at night!
• Wellies and/or good strong boots - protects you from the rain, the mud, and all those stomping dancing feet.
• 
• An awesome hat - One for the daytime, and one for the cooler nights
• YOUR TICKET - I know it seems obvious…but you would be amazed!
• Lights for your tent! Put them on the guy lines so you don’t trip over them in the dark, it makes for a magical atmosphere, and helps you to find your tent in a sea of tents! (They are also fun to wear at night!)
• 
• A blow up pillow, OR a pillow case - fill it with your clothes and voila!
• Bin bags. Large black bin bags. Use them to keep stuff dry, as a bin, over your sleeping bag if it’s super cold or super damp, as a poncho in an emergency… as an easy way to pack your stuff at the end when your head isn’t really working properly
• Lots of Dioralyte - you gotta stay hydrated to have fun!
• Snacks. Lots of snacks for when you don’t want to queue but you’re getting a little hangry
• Yoga mats or camping mats for under your sleeping bag
• Bring a small torch, ideally a head torch, and save your precious phone battery! (Make sure the torch has batteries)
• Frozen bottles of water. They keep your cans cool, and once melted you have lovely cool fresh water to drink

Arriving

• Arrive early if you can. It means you get to choose a good camping spot, and you have plenty of time to settle in, explore, and get to know the festival grounds before they get thronged
• Get yourself a trolley! It makes hauling stuff from the car or bus so much easier, and you will thank me when you are bringing all your stuff back after a long and fantastic weekend!
• Choose your camping spot wisely. Near the facilities and main path, but not too near! You want to be able to find the toilet at night but not smell it! OH, and under a tree seems pretty and cool, and easy to find, until it’s the middle of the night and every Tom, Dick and Harry are peeing against it.
• 
• Choose your meeting place
• Turn on your Tinder - it works at festivals ;)
• 
• Too hot? Too cold? Hair all sweaty? Bring your Snuzzles! They will wick away all the heat, keep you cool under the hot sun and protect your head and neck from sunburn. In the cooler evenings they will keep you warm and snug, and they can be used to tie up your hair, or as a head band: THE festival accessory
• 
• Wear a bum bag or a wrist pocket or both! You have everything to hand, and attached to you so you can’t loose it, and it’s unlikely it will get stolen.

• Wear a small light back pack or tote on your shoulders to store larger items (ahem, drink) - when it’s empty, fold it up and chuck it in or attach it to your bumbag.
• Wear funky bright colours and clothes! It makes you easy to spot, easy to recognise, easy to remember! We all make friends with the people wearing fairy wings, tutus and mental leggings! And it makes you easier to spot in a crowd! (Good thing Mad Jessie is having a MASSIVE sale on funky leggings from June 1st!) 
• 

Booze booze booze

I begin this section with a disclaimer - It may be absolutely against your festivals rules to bring or sneak or smuggle in alcohol, so if you get caught do not blame me!

“Zip lock bags to sneak naggin’s into the main arena”

“Booze and food colouring in mouthwash bottles”

“I snuck some spirits in ziplock bags in my bra once. We brought straws to make it easier!”

“Remember the girl at the festival who smuggled in a naggin in her beehive?”

“Fill a bag with drink and put it in a Pringles tube, and put a few crisps back on top”

“My mate once brought poitín in a (non used!) colostomy bag”

“I’ve heard of people using syringes to make super boozy oranges to bring in. Now that’s planning!”

“I would also suggest putting thought into the breakfast can. Need to have something that you can easily drink lukewarm and when you're feeling tender”

“I had some friends who lived near the festival site. Weeks before set up they would go and bury a load of drink by a tree and try and find it again once they got into the festival. Sometimes it worked… other times it didn’t!”

Enjoy the Festival Experience!

Be Kind

Have Fun

If someone needs a hand, give it to them

Make new friends

Have a laugh

Sharing is caring

PUT THE PHONE DOWN!

Bring home all your stuff: leave only footprints, bio glitter and good memories!

What are your Festival Hacks? Share the love and let us know in the comments!

Know someone who could do with reading this article before they head off to their next festival? Don't forget to share it with them!

Looking to buy leggings, totes or Snuzzles for your festival experience? You are in the right place! Madjessie.com has all your funky festival needs sorted (psst! And our SALE begins June 1st!)