Festival season is a special time of year for every dance music fan, and the opportunities for Northwest festival-goers are more than abundant. From SASQUATCH!, to Paradaiso, to Pemberton and beyond, there’s no shortage of music festival options in our corner of the country. Deciding which festivals to attend, how to get there, what to bring, and seemingly countless other questions are all potential stressors on ravers come festival season.
Lots of factors need to be taken into account when planning to attend a festival. The length of the festival, the location, and the specific items allowed at each festival, are all aspects of festival attendance that are vital to festival enjoyment once it (finally) comes around. Environmental impact is not to be forgotten either, as oftentimes these festivals are located in some of the most beautiful, and delicate, areas of the Northwest. The history of negative environmental impacts from festivals is no secret, and that responsibility lies with the festival-goer.
As a general rule, follow ‘Pack In, Pack Out’, when trying to decide whether or not to bring an item. This means that, if you can’t or don’t plan on bringing it home after the festival, then don’t bring it with you. That means that, if you want to take a case of bottled water, bring a trash bag and pack out all of your empty bottles with you when you leave. Things like paper, plastic, and metal last years as litter and nobody wants to cause damage to a place bringing us so much joy.
‘Pack In, Pack Out’ is an effective way of minimizing the inevitable amount of trash and waste that will be left by attendees throughout our beautiful venues during festival season. With that being said, make sure to take each specific festival’s rules and allowed items lists into account when packing for your festivals. They may not be our favorite part of the festival experience, but they’re necessary.
Outside of what to bring, we’ve also come up with a list of what not to bring on our festival adventures this summer. Comprised of items that are often confiscated, unnecessary, and wasteful, these things should be left aside when packing your goods for festival season.
Important things happen in Pacific Northwest nightlife, and DMNW will send you alerts!
