Overnight Outdoor Music Festival: What to Pack

 Summer music festivals have got to be the ultimate summer staple. There’s nothing like being out in the sun all day, drinking your favorite drink and listening to your favorite band(s) live. We make a point of going to at least one each summer, whether it be in the city or somewhere else. Last year, we were lucky enough to go to the first Veld Music Festival, a weekend-long EDM festival in Toronto. This year, I decided to switch gears and head on over to Boots and Hearts Music Festival, an overnight country festival in Bowmanville, ON. This is my first overnight festival, and I would be lying if I said that I am not BEYOND excited. Because we’ll be roughing it up for 4 days, close attention needs to be put on packing (something that we seem to be doing a lot of lately!) – I definitely wouldn’t want to be stranded in a sea of tents without a toothbrush! Andréa and I are both list freaks, so I’ve made a list of essentials that could be useful for any overnight music festival. Here it is! Xo

The “Big” things:

·         Tent (for VERY obvious reasons)

·         Tarp

·         Rope

·         Folding chairs

·         A few coolers (this way, food and drinks can be separated)

·         Sleeping bag

·         Air mattress (or any kind of padding that’ll make the ground a little less hard for you)

·         Stove and/or BBQ (especially if you can’t have fires)

·         Blankets (not only for when you sleep, but for when you just feel like sitting down and listening to the music)

The “Little” (but equally as important) things:

·         Bobby pins/elastics/headbands/hats (anything that’ll tame your mane)

·         In case showers aren’t available (or you don’t want to spend 30$ to wait in line for 3hrs): baby wipes, dry shampoo, face cloth, big towel, soap, extra jug of water solely used for washing hands, etc

·         Sunscreen

·         Hand sanitizer

·         Paper towel/ tissues

·         Toilet paper

·         For eating: plastic cutlery/plates/cups, napkins, disinfectant wipes

·         Garbage bags/plastic bags/ziplocks (all three can be used for numerous things: poncho if it rains, dirty clothes, anything wet, protect cellphone from damage)

·         Bottle/wine opener (although most sites will have restrictions, such as no glass bottles, you NEVER know when this’ll come in handy)

·         Lighter/matches

·         Bug spray/ citronella candle

·         Deck of cards

·         Reusable water bottle (all sites have water stations, so instead of paying 5$ for a 250mL bottle of water, you can refill your own at any time)

·         Flashlight

·         Speakers or battery stereo (on the flipside, you may want to bring ear plugs in case you want to sleep!)

·         Camera (with charger, depending on the length of the stay)

·         Phone charger

Pictures will be posted soon!