Hey everyone, I just bought my ticket and camping pass and I cannot wait to see you all for my SECOND TBF!!
I remember last year, my first year, I had a zillion questions and I would scour the message board to try to figure out as much as I could. I'm posting some things here that I wish I had known, or that at least offer some extra info. For those of us who travel to festival alone, I know that having as much information as possible going in can make it less scary.
1. I camped in Mary Ilium and I loved how it let me kind-of get away from the busy bustle of the festival from time to time. It's quiet and very outdoorsy but still a definite community. I wholly recommend finding some shade to pitch your tent - the afternoon sun can be brutal and sometimes it's nice to return to a cool tent to take a nap. There's plenty of shady areas in Mary Ilium.
2. You can park your vehicle near your campsite until Wednesday/Thursday (at least you could last year) even if you do not have a vehicle pass. This makes it easy to set up and then drive into town to pick up groceries and bring them back if you arrive on Tues or Weds. I hauled my food and beverage from home but this year I'm just going to buy it in town when I arrive and bring it back to my tent.
3. The weather can change dramatically several times each day. Cool crisp air would quickly morph into blazing sunny afternoon then a monsoon would roll in and then it would be frigid cold. I learned quick to take all kinds of clothes in my backpack to the Festival grounds in the morning because it is kinda a pain to take a bus back and forth to Ilium. Sometimes the bus lines can get really long.
4. Hats! I learned the hard way how important a hat is. I was one cooked bird after the first day of music! Also good: a mister or spray bottle filled with ice water to help cool you down.
5. Binoculars! There's not a bad seat anywhere at the festival, but binoculars really enhanced my Festival experience when I wasn't close enough to see the performers very well.
Most of all, I think anyone who is perusing this message board, wondering if they should just go ahead and buy a ticket to this Festival, YOU SHOULD. And maybe you think, "Well, I can't go alone" or "I can't go alone my first time" just take it from me, YOU CAN and YOU SHOULD. I met some of the best people in the world last year and I can't wait to go again. A LOT of people go to TBF alone and the great thing is, you can keep to yourself if you want (sometimes I just like to bliss out to live music for hours by myself) but you can also just go up to people and ask to share a corner of their tarp and in a few minutes, you've got a new friend. Festival people are the most laid back, happiest people around and while there
are some grumps, you should know that for the most part you will be among most kind-hearted people and it will do your soul a world of good. You may arrive alone but you won't be lonely for a second.
I will try to post some more tips/suggestions/thoughts for newbies as I think of them and if anyone else has thoughts to share, please do! The nice people on this board really did make all the difference in my deciding to go last year.
Listening to:
Pink Martini - Splendor in the Grass
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