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Fall Festival Season

Cooler days and nights mark the return of festival season here in Texas. Every weekend you’ll find festivals large and small, devoted to craft beer, wine, roses, pumpkins, scarecrows, barbeque, and, of course, music. There are huge festivals like Austin City Limits presenting a veritable alphabet soup of musical genres on multiple stages as well as more intimate festivals that focus on Celtic, Jazz, various styles of American Roots music and even Metal. Check your local papers or online listings for festivals near you. You may be pleasantly surprised at what you find.

No matter what type of music, food, drink or fun you’re eagerly anticipating, here are a few items that will enhance your festival experience.

Sunglasses and Sun Hats

When festival day dawns, everyone hopes for a beautiful sunny day.  The weather may be perfect, but don’t forget your sun protection! Protect your precious eyes from the dangers of UV rays with a pair of quality sunglasses. Whole Earth offers a choice selection of sunglasses featuring optical quality lenses with assorted tints and coatings that both protect your eyes and enhance your vision. Think of a sun hat as a shade tree you can wear. The wide brim helps to protect your eyes and keeps your head cool, especially if the hat has vents.

Sunscreen, Lip Balm and Bug Repellent

And even if it’s cloudy, don’t forget to use sunscreen and lip balm! Without sunscreen, you may be nursing a bad case of sunburn by evening. Keep lip balm handy and use it often to keep your lips soft and pain free. If you forget, we have skin care products to help chapped, cracked and painful skin to heal quickly. We also have bug repellent to keep ticks and mosquitoes at bay. Don’t want to mess with sprays and lotions? Wear bandanas, shirts, pants, lightweight jackets and more that are infused with skin safe bug repellent.

Charger

Phones get a workout at festivals. Taking photos to share on social media, texting to find friends in the crowd, chats and checking email can deplete battery levels before you know it. Keep your phone alive with a pocket-size, battery backup charger. It’s a small item that’s great for festivals, and you’ll be glad to have it stowed in your bag for everyday use on those days when you’ve forgotten to charge your phone.

Outdoor Sandals

Festival grounds can be grassy, dusty or muddy and combinations of all three. One day it’s beautiful and the next, down comes the rain and turns the field into a muddy mess. Save your shoes and opt for a pair of outdoor sandals that are made for water, mud, rock and sunshine. They’re comfortable, can withstand the elements, and your feet can breathe!

Water Bottles or Hydration Packs

When you’re out in a crowd listening to music, it’s easy to get dehydrated before you know it. Taking refillable water bottles or hydration packs will help to keep you quenched and cool. Some of our water bottles are insulated and will keep your coffee hot or your drink icy cold. Larger festivals often have filling stations where you can refill your water bottles or hydration packs for free. A refillable water bottle is also handy for everyday use or for travel. Think of all the plastic bottles that won’t be headed for the landfill when you go refillable!

Blankets and Collapsible Chairs

At festivals, you want to stake a claim to a parcel of the field so you can stretch out, set up chairs and even have a cooler near at hand if it’s allowed. Whole Earth has special blankets that include extra padding and a waterproof layer to keep the damp from seeping through. We also have a variety of fold-up chairs that can be carried in their own shoulder bags.

Small Flashlights and Headlamps

If you’re at the festival after dark, a small flashlight may be useful for finding your way back to your car or campsite. Want to keep your hands free? Use a headlamp!

Rain Poncho

Like a good Scout, you want to be prepared for bad weather. Being prepared may be enough to keep the sun shining and the rain off in the next county. If you don’t want to pack a rain jacket, a rain poncho packs small and will help keep you dry should the worst case scenario come to pass.

Small Daypack

A small backpack is useful for carrying your phone, wallet, meds and many of the items we’ve described above. Some festivals limit the size of backpacks that are allowed in the venue, so be sure to check out the festival’s webpage and their FAQs.

And finally, be sure you have your ticket or digital link safely in hand before you leave home!