Can flower crowns be over? Like officially? It feels like they have been slowly dying for the past year, but they seem to be hanging on by one little thread, and I think it’s time we cut it and move on with our lives. It’s not that I have some weird hatred for them, it’s just that they are starting to get more and more played out and the spirit that made them such a fun way to accessorize your festival outfit is long dead.
I am so glad to introduce the newest segment of the blog: “Ask A Raver.” Since I started writing about raving, I have wanted to make this a part of the site, and I am so happy that it is finally happening. Every time I go to an event, I feel as though I always meet the most amazing people and learn new tips and tricks from them, and I wanted to create a platform for veterans, newbies, and everyone in between to share what they love about and have learned from raving.
T IS OK TO LEAVE A FESTIVAL EARLY. I feel like this is something that no one ever really says especially to people who are just starting. Some people even have a strange sense of pride about sticking it out to the end even if they want to (or need to) go home. Personally, I find that to be a little silly. Raving is like a marathon and the first couple of times you may not be ready to sprint the whole thing (even if you wish you could). Everyone starts out at a different level of endurance, and though you will build it up in time, it is totally okay if you aren’t able to make it all the way to the very end.
Fanny Packs or Backpacks? Here at the Glitter Gang, we are all about those serious questions (JK). An essential part of every festival outfit is going to be some sort of bag. I am a woman who doesn’t wear a handbag in everyday life and yet when it comes to festivals even I can’t avoid having a bag with me to carry the nine hundred and one things it takes to have the best festival experience possible (earplugs, gum, chapstick, Pedialyte packets, charging pack, etc.).
Bike shorts are probably the best thing to ever happen to festival fashion. It may be a bold claim but I one hundred percent stand by it. They are basically leggings’ cousin that no one paid attention to until they had a major glow up a few years ago. You get all the comfy benefits of wearing leggings while still showing off some skin and if that wasn’t enough, you basically get the bodycon look that you would get with a tight skirt or dress, but with way more mobility (which is a huge plus if you like to shuffle).
Raving is a lot of work. You need to make sure that you give your body what it needs beforehand and not just after if you want to recover well the next day. I know it can be hard to force yourself to eat a filling meal especially if you are like me and lose your appetite when you are excited. No matter what you end up deciding to eat please make sure that it has enough protein, carbs, and healthy fats to keep you going.
It can often be difficult to decide what tier of tickets you want to get for your next event. I personally always struggle to decide, especially when the options all seem to have so much going for them. In this post I break down the benefits of all the ticket types as well as what you (as a first time festival goer) should be thinking about before you make your decision.
Is raving in heels insane? This was a question I asked when I found myself scrolling through the shoe section of the Dolls Kill website and immediately fell in love with a pair of their boots. These boots were sick. They had black flames on them and massive, four-inch heels. I needed them, but the longer I looked at the height of the heel the more I began to wonder if it was insane to buy a something so high to wear to my next rave.
So you’ve got your tickets, your hotel, and your travel all settled, now all you need is an amazing outfit or three for your next event. If you are new to shopping for festivals, it can be a little overwhelming trying to figure out where to shop, what to wear, and how to put it all together to make a fantastic look.
If you have been debating getting a locker for your next festival, I would highly recommend going ahead and doing it! It is incredibly useful, and even though it may seem like something you can do without, I can attest to the fact that it will enhance your festival experience. Until you have gone to an event and been able to ditch everything you didn’t want to carry, you haven’t truly been enjoying life to the fullest (no, I’m not even exaggerating).
So, You made it to the end of the weekend! Maybe it was one day, maybe you had four days and three nights of fun. Either way, now it is time to get back to the real world, and that means recovering from whatever you may have indulged in. While everyone recovers differently, here are a few things you can do to make the transition back into the normal world a little less painful.
Festivals can be chaotic. It’s easy to underestimate just how easy it can be to lose track of your friends in the crowd. All it takes is for one person to be distracted when the group gets moving, or for one person to wander off, or maybe just get swept away in the current of the crowd. Depending on your personality, getting separated can either be the most awesome experience, or it can be a panic attack inducing nightmare. Either way, it helps to have a few strategies in mind so that if someone gets lost, you won’t have to spend the entire night trying to find them.
Budgeting for festivals can be a little tricky, especially when every event is amazing and you wish you could attend them all. However, if you really take the time to budget, you can save enough money to add festivals to your list, or even upgrade from GA to VIP at your favorite one. Sometimes the key is finding little swaps to make your trip a little more affordable, but mostly, it’s just down to being organized and planning ahead.
The bathroom situation at most events (especially outdoor ones) can be kind of rough. It really doesn’t matter how nice the venue is. If there are ports potties and thousands of people using them, after a certain point in the evening it’s going to get kind of nasty (sorry, but it’s true). So, with that in mind here is a little list of things you can do to try and make it not the worst experience ever when you are finally forced to hit the porta potties at your next event.
It has often been brought up that women at raves tend to be a little less than covered up. We’ve heard a number of reasons for this. The one we hear the most is that “They are trying to get attention from men.” That’s kind of depressing, so we decided to come up with a few reasons why women at raves aren’t wearing a ton of clothing (PSA: None of them are that we want to be hit on).
The thought of going to an event by yourself is somewhat daunting. It’s easy to get so swept up in fear that you won’t have a good time because you aren’t surrounded by a group of friends, that you end up giving up on the whole thing and staying home. Most people act like a group is the secret ingredient required to make a good time, but really the only person that controls your experience is you.
If you are new to the world of festivals, you might have been a little confused the first time you saw someone decked out in what looked like a bunch of friendship bracelets you made at summer camp as a kid. It probably seemed even stranger when you saw them trade bracelets after doing what looks like a secret handshake. Yeah, it may seem a little odd at first, but trading Kandi and the PLUR spirit are two of the things that makes this culture so magical. Let's start with the basics.
So, you're headed to your first festival. Maybe you're going with a huge group of friends maybe your going solo, but either way, there are a few things you should know and pick up before you head out to dance the night away.
