Name: Maria Jimenez
Age: 20
Year: Junior
Hometown: Manalapan, New Jersey
Major: Public Relations and Spanish
Her Campus (HC): How many people did you attend the festival with?
Maria Jimenez (MJ): It was my boyfriend and six other friends.
HC: Was it difficult to coordinate with so many people?
MJ: Not really, we met at someone’s house in the Tampa area and left from there.
HC: All of you guys camped for the weekend, correct? Tell me a little bit about that. Were you prepared?
MJ: Yes, we camped. We got there kind of early. The gates opened at noon but we were there at 11:30 a.m. It was weird because we were farther from the venues than people who got there later than us, so it was a little backwards. As far as being prepared, we were but some of my friends weren’t at all. They had planned on buying food from the vendors but it was super expensive and the lines were long so we made burgers and hot dogs for them. They nicknamed my boyfriend “Camp Man” because he had any supply or snack they wanted.
HC: Was there anything you didn’t really expect or didn’t foresee?
MJ: There were really high winds that we didn’t expect so our canopy broke from the force of the wind but that’s about it.
HC: Did you bring anything that you thought you would need but really didn’t?
MJ: Probably just too many snacks. When I was hungry, I wanted meals not just snacks. Also, warm clothes. Festivals outfits aren’t cut out for the cold nights.
HC: What was your shower situation?
MJ: I did not pay for the shower at the campground. I just brought baby wipes and dry shampooo. I made it work!
HC: What was your favorite part of the festival as a whole?
MJ: The Porter Robinson set, pulled pork tots, Amish donuts and hat pins. My boyfriend and I made a hat pin and stickers to trade and sell at the festival. We met so many cool people and traded for cool pins and accessories. Check out our start up business! Wubs /\ Dubs on Facebook, Instagram and Etsy.
HC: Sounds awesome! So obviously you would go again, right?
MJ: Oh, absolutely!
HC: By the end were you just so exhausted and ready to go home?
MJ: Not really, but I will say that the last time I used the PortaPotty I thought, “Thank God I don’t have to deal with these anymore”. I also ended the weekend with a really awesome performance. We saw Blunts & Blondes on the Incendia stage, a beach stage with the fire (I’m pretty sure I left with no eyebrows). It was cool because they did back to back with Boogie T. and Ganja White Night. It was overall such a cool experience.
HC: Thanks for sharing with us here at Her Campus! Hopefully next year will be just as great!
All photos Courtesy of Maria Jimenez