The festival season has finally come to an end, especially now that Ottawa Folk Fest has come to a close. Ottawa Folk Fest featured an impressive line-up including Lorde and Foster the People. For those of you who experienced Folk Fest this year, there are a few things that you should have probably brought in order to ensure that you had the absolute best and most stress-free time possible. Keep these in mind for next year!
WATER WATER WATER:
There’s nothing that dehydrates quicker than dancing your heart out amid a crowd of energetic festival-goers. Don’t pay for over priced water and soda, just bring your own water, and save your money for more important beverages: namely, beer. You are allowed to bring non-alcoholic beverages into the park, so take advantage of this, but do not attempt to sneak in anything forbidden or you may not get in at all.
A schedule of events:
Don’t be left out of super cool and interesting acts just because you weren’t aware they were around. Folk Fest features acts on multiple stages at all times and there is even a section of free stages. Don’t be afraid to go out of your comfort zone and check out some new and little known talent over at the free stages whenever you can. Acts such as the Juno award winning Strumbellas will be playing for free Saturday at 8:30 pm and trust me, this alt-folk band will have you dancing around in no time!
A small purse full of touch-ups:
Picture this: after a long day of concert attendance, you’re walking across the festival and you happen upon the cutest boy you’ve ever seen, of course you make your way over to introduce yourself, when you realize that you’ve just spent an entire day sweating and your hair looks like it was styled by a toddler. With a purse full of your basics, you can quickly whip yourself back in shape and be ready for whatever may come your way that evening, stress-free.
Comfortable shoes:
I cannot stress this enough, but please do yourself a favour and do not attempt to wear heals. I do not care how adorable they are, or how comfortable they feel while trying them on, you will regret it and a festival is not the time to be concerned with foot pains, or taking your shows off and exposing your feet to countless traumas. Wear a nice pair of sandals or Keds or flats, just do what you can to ensure that your feet are going to be having as excellent of a time as the rest of you.
Festivals are all about enjoying music, unwinding, and generally having a good time so make sure that you and your friends are prepared for whatever comes your way! This was the last Ottawa music festival of the summer, so I hope you made the most of it and had fun! Make sure to keep these tips in mind for next year!