Festivals can be an amazing, life changing experience and to keep it on the positive side, we thought we’d review the fav 15 festival survival tips to make sure that not only will you survive any festival but you’ll thrive from it!

And, while we’re not promoting psychedelic use at festivals, it is a reality that psychedelics and festivals go hand in hand. So much so, that there are often organizations at the events to provide you with a safe place should you need it.

DanceSafe is one such company that promotes harm reduction, education and is often at festivals providing supplies and care. They have even been known to bring drug test kits. As Missi Wooldridge, past executive director, says “If we can’t keep drugs out of prisons, we absolutely can’t keep them out of nightlife districts and music festivals.” And she continues, “There’s a general lack of knowledge about substances. There’s an ever-changing drug market, impurity issues, potency issues, and no widespread tools, messaging, or services to help people make informed decisions.” And so that’s what they do.

Sara Gael, MAPS Harm Reduction Coordinator for The Zendo Project, describes how they provide confidential and compassionate care for individuals experiencing psychological or emotional overwhelm or difficulty, drug related or otherwise. “Unless an individual is engaging in destructive or harmful behaviour or is physically endangered,“ Sara says, “there is most often no need for medical or law enforcement intervention including restraint, sedation, or arrest.” So they provide “psychedelic harm reduction including a variety of methods to help prevent and transform difficult experiences while in a non-ordinary state of consciousness.”

Here’s how to stay safe, have an amazing time, and come home with great memories:

  1. Drink up. Heat stroke and dehydration are the top two causes of death and hospitalization at festivals, so bring lots of non-alcoholic beverages to help you stay hydrated. Also keep a close eye on your drink (any liquid like water or pop can be spiked) to avoid it being spiked with something you didn’t consent to.
  2. Cover up. Bring a hat, a light long sleeve shirt or shawl to cover your exposed bits and sunscreen so those exposed bits don’t get too red.
  3. Hearing health. Sound levels at events can be as high as 115+ decibels, which can cause damage within a few seconds. Bring earplugs to protect your hearing.
  4. Valuables. Don’t bring any valuables and lock up anything important in your car or lockers, if provided. Check on it frequently throughout your stay.
  5. Sexy fun. If you’re going to have it, bring protection.
  6. Name it. Put your name, phone number and postal code on everything you bring. This even reduces the risk of your stuff being stolen.
  7. One of the crowd. Go with a group, have a designated meeting place where you will be three times a day, like 2pm, 6pm and 1am, in case you get split up.
  8. Stay connected. Bring at least one phone (Turning off your wifi and data still allows your to make or receive texts and emergency calls) or a set of walkie talkies. There’s often charging tents at the bigger events.
  9. Buddy up. Have a festival buddy within your group to hang with and to watch each other’s back. If you get lost and are female, attach yourself to a group of women until you can re-connect with your group.
  10. Take a tour. Before the fun begins, introduce yourself to those camped around you and take a tour of the grounds to familiarize yourself with your neighbours and every place you may need to help you have the best time safely: food vendors, toilets, medical tents.
  11. Neighborhood watch. If you see something going on that’s not quite right, get help. Don’t assume that someone is already helping.
  12. Know your source. If you’re going to indulge, either take your drugs in with you or buy after you get in but either way buy from a trusted source. You can go a step further and bring a test kit – in fact, it’s recommended. Elephant tranquilizer can be a huge downer! (No pun intended)
  13. Pace yourself. People tend to take way more drugs at a festival than at home. With all the gzillions of happy folks there, it’s hard not to get caught up in the excitement but do your best to stay grounded and think things through.
  14. Supplement your high. Have the best overall experience by taking supplements before and after drug use. For instance, 5-HTP is a good way to mend the serotonin depletion that happens after using MDMA but as these people say, “Don’t take 5-HTP during rolling – after rolling is extremely beneficial, but not during. Avoid 5-HTP within 12 hours of rolling.”
  15. Peak experience. Again, check out the above site because they have a great list of recommendations as to dosage, timing, etc. to stay safe and happy.

We hope you found the fav 15 festival tips for survival helpful and, while this isn’t on the list, we also hope you have a blast!

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