How to Stay Safe During Festival Season
Festival season is upon us, and with it comes new fashion styles, new favorite artists, and the opportunity to have a great time with new friends. Festivals have so much to offer, but their excitement shouldn’t come at the expense of your safety. Once you’ve figured out your festival survival kit, check out these four tips from Alexa Bauman, a safety expert from Kiwi Searches, a site people can use to stay safe when meeting new people or when traveling.
“Festival season is one of the best times of the year,” Bauman said. “But even though festivals are filled with fun, excitement, and music, you need to keep yourself safe while having a great time.” Here are some tips to help you enjoy the season stress-free.
1. Find safety in numbers. It might sound cliché, but it’s true: If you attend a large event with a large group of people, you decrease the chance of something bad happening to you. There are two important components to this tip. First, use the buddy system; even if you’re in a large group, find one friend who will check on you and vice versa so no one gets lost in the crowd. Second, be sure to go with a group of people that you know and trust. “Even if you don’t know your group very well, do some research on them ahead of time,” Bauman said. Just to be safe, it’s worth asking other friends about your group, looking them up on social media, etc.
2. Create a meet-up plan. There are certainly huge safety advantages to attending a festival with a large group of people. However, one unfortunate side effect of doing so is running the risk of getting separated. That’s why Bauman recommends this tip: Before you even get to the venue, decide on a meet-up plan in case anyone from the group gets lost. “Cell phones are great, but they don’t always have reliable signals, so be prepared if you can’t get in contact with your friends at any given moment.”
3. Keep your emergency contacts handy. Even as you take precautions against bad situations, you truly never know what might happen. Before you head to the festival, write down a list of emergency contacts and keep them on your person; if you’re feeling tech-savvy, make them your phone background. This way, if the worst does happen, passers-by will be able to notify the right people quickly.
4. Hydrate! It might seem simple, but drinking tons of water throughout your festival experience will keep you safe, healthy, and happy. Especially at hot, outdoor festivals like Coachella and Lollapalooza, it’s important to put your health first and ensure that your body is getting all the fluids and nutrients it needs to power you through all the dancing you’re bound to do.
How do you stay safe at big events? Let us know @BritandCo!
(Photo via Getty)
