This HuffPost Canada page is maintained as part of an online archive.

Pemberton Music Festival: Everything You Need To Bring

I've been to my fair share or festivals and campgrounds and over the years, and I've learned a few things about what to bring (the lifesavers) and what to leave at home. Here's what I plan to bring.
This post was published on the now-closed HuffPost Contributor platform. Contributors control their own work and posted freely to our site. If you need to flag this entry as abusive, send us an email.
PEMBERTON, CANADA - JULY 27: Coldplay performs on day three of the 2008 Pemberton Music Festival on July 27, 2008 in Pemberton, British Columbia, Canada. (Photo by C Flanigan/WireImage)
Getty Images
PEMBERTON, CANADA - JULY 27: Coldplay performs on day three of the 2008 Pemberton Music Festival on July 27, 2008 in Pemberton, British Columbia, Canada. (Photo by C Flanigan/WireImage)

It really hit me today that I'm going to the Pemberton Music Festival this week and to be honest, I'm not one bit prepared. Where do I start? LISTS. Lots of lists so that I don't forget anything! Grimes is blasting and I'm in the zone. Here goes nothing..

I've been to my fair share or festivals and campgrounds and over the years, and I've learned a few things about what to bring (the lifesavers) and what to leave at home. Here's what I plan to bring. I know the lists seem long and overwhelming, but everything on these lists is stuff I've used in the past. Once you get there you'll be drunk and not have a care in the world, so it's best to go prepared!

Keep in mind if you're camping it's NOT car camping, meaning you have to park then walk all your stuff into your camp site. I hope this list helps all you virgin festival goers out there, or people just double checking they have everything.

FOOD & BOOZE (CHECK OUT the Meal Plans post HERE)

1. WATER. Folks, it's going to get up to highs of 38! We don't want to ruin the party with people overheating from dehydration

2. Bring an empty water bottle to bring into the festival. There should be water stations so you can keep hydrated without breaking the bank

3. FREEZE WATER BOTTLES the night before you leave. These will act as ice packs in your cooler until it defrosts and you drink it. KILLING TWO BIRDS WITH ONE STONE! Thank you mom for teaching me this tip back in the day when we were Canada's Wonderland season pass holders!

4. Stovetop or portable BBQ and mini propane tanks

5. Hot Dogs, burgers, and buns

6. Canned stuff. Alphaghetti, ravolili, etc. It's disgusting how lazy one can get after drinking non-stop and sitting there in the smoldering heat. I'm fine with all these instant foods, but I went to Sasquatch last year with my friend Erin and her BF they made homemade guacamole, had coffee every morning, fresh veggies and dip, you get the point. I sat there and drooled as I ate the most depressing thing of my life...canned mac and cheese courtesy of Walmart in Bellingham. To each their own. haha

7. Mustard and ketchup

8. Instant oatmeal

9. Deli Meat, cheese, and bread

10. Plastic shot glasses

11. Paper plates and bowls

12. Plastic cutlery

13. Granola bars

14. Bread and PB and J. Andrew and myself lived off this at Sasquatch last year. To this day the noodles that we splurged on on our last day there were the best I've had noodles of my life..

15. CHIPS

16. Candies

17. If you don't want to be bloated all weekend so you can rock your super fun Forever 21 crop tops, then I'd suggest bringing hard liquor. It will be lighter to lug to your campsite, too. (I had to laugh out loud when I reread what I just wrote: "hard liquor will save you from bloating" -- after all the food suggestions I just made!. Oh well, every bit helps right? haha.) MAKE SURE YOUR HARD LIQUOR IS IN A PLASTIC BOTTLE. Security won't allow glass in the campground for obvious reasons, and if security is anything like Squamish Valley Music Festival last year, they will GO THROUGH YOUR TENT and take it from you if you have glass. I literally witnessed this. I hope Pemberton has their shit together and they don't go through people's tents. On that note, go to #6 in camping

18. Beer bong

19. Juice for mix

20. Pop

21. Redbull

22. Plastic Cups

23. Tongs

24. Tin foil trays. This is what I cook my canned good in on the BBQ

25. Can opener

26: UPDATE BOOZE ALLOWANCE

Each of the following is the maximum allowed amount of alcohol per person during the weekend:

- one (1) 40oz bottle of liquor

- two (2) 750mL bottles of wine

- one (1) 473mL case of twenty four (24) cans of beer

27. BBQ Lighter

CAMPING

1. If you can, try to get up as early as possible. If you're like me and have super kind friends that are going up earlier than you, ask them to set up your tent for you so you're not left stranded.

2. DO NOT for the love of God choose a spot beside the honey buckets AKA the Port-O-Potties. This is the one place that is NEVER quiet. So unless you don't plan on sleeping for one minute during this 96 hour festival I'd recommend going the extra few sites over to avoid this area. It's also smelly. Toilets and 38 degree weather. NO THANK YOU

2. Tent

3. Sleeping Bag

4. Air Mattress

5. Duct tape. In case your tent has mystery holes in it like mine :(

6. A luggage lock. I always lock up my tent before heading into the festival grounds. My friends and I store our cooler in the tent. It just doesn't feel right abandoning your liquor when there's thousands of drunk people around. Trust issues much? lol

7. Headlamp so you can see where your damn Advil is buried in your bag in the middle of the night

8. Pillow

9. Shoes. Bring a pair of shitty shoes you don't care about anymore even if they're not your #FestBest. They will get dirty and you'll probably want to throw them out after

10. Flip flops for the campsite/showering

11. Plastic bags for garbage and dirty clothes

12. A cooler

13. Lawn chairs or a Tommy Bahama beach lounger chair (built-in cooler included. Thanks, Costco)

14. A fold up table

15. A tarp to put under your tent just in case it rains

CLOTHES & HYGIENE

1. It's going to be HAWWWWT and SUNNY. Bring a HAT(s). Drinking all day in the sun and having your head exposed is asking to get heat stroke. I don't want sound like a grandma over here but I've experienced over-drinking in the heat before and it is no fun later in the day nor the next morning. The last thing you want is to be waking up in the middle of the night with the cold sweats

2. Shorts. I'm bringing four pairs of shorts

3. Tanks and crop tops

4. T-Shirts

5. No dresses. You're not going to a club. You're going to be sitting in grass cross legged, jumping up and and down and possibly crowd surfing. Do you really want to be flashing what your mama gave ya?

6. Pajamas

7. Swim suits. DID YOU HEAR THERE'S GOING TO BE A WATER SLIDE?! #STOKED

8. Underwear. Four days. Do the math

9. Toothbrush and toothpaste

10. Hair ties, head bands, floral head pieces, bobby pins

11. HUGGIES. The more hygienic version of an Italian shower ;)

12. Soaps and shampoo if you plan on showering

13. Deodorant

14. Sunblock

15. Aloe Vera. If #14 fails you

16. Sunglasses

17. Birth control pills!

18. Band-Aids

19. Bug spray

20. Hand sanitizer

21. Twine. Can come in handy in so many different scenarios

FUN, RANDOM BUT NECESSARY THINGS TO BRING

1. As I mentioned under FOOD & BOOZE: Beer bong. LOL

2. Download the Pemberton app. It has everything from schedules and maps to vendor info. My friends and I have already "favourited" which artists we plan on attending

3. A backpack/fanny pack. Handy to bring in for the day to carry things like THAT LUGGAGE KEY, an empty water bottle, wallet, camera, phone and charger, sunblock, etc. You're also allowed to bring in a sealed bottle of water. If you're super cheap and don't want to spend lots of money on alcohol you should probably check this out

4. HAIR CHALK. Well technically you would need this before. But if you want to temporary dye your hair, use pastels from Michaels. I'm going to follow this tutorial :)

5. GLOW STICKS

6. A helium balloon. This is seriously a life saver. When you're hammered at the end of the night and have to walk through 10,000 camp sites, you can easily spot yours if you tie a balloon to it. Hopefully nobody steals it or the sun doesn't melt it! In the past nobody has stolen my balloons

7. Portable phone charger if you have one

8. Portable speakers for when you're just not ready to go into the festival

9. DO NOT FORGET YOUR WRISTBAND AND YOUR ID

Hope this list helps you guys! If I'm missing anything comment below and I will add it in! :)

This blog originally appeared on bolandia.com.

Close
This HuffPost Canada page is maintained as part of an online archive. If you have questions or concerns, please check our FAQ or contact support@huffpost.com.