After having a blast at weekend one of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, I learned some valuable lessons about the food, fashion and music. Here are some tips and tricks to keep in mind for those getting ready for weekend two, happening April 19 to April 21.
For all the first timers to-be out there, make sure you are prepared. I cannot stress this enough. Everything you can fit in your suitcase will probably come in handy at some point. Out of the whole group, I was considered the over-packer, but the band-aids and Costco sized bags of different snacks came in handy by the last day.
Make sure you are actually prepared to camp. Three days might seem a small amount of time, but you'll need a tent with a lot of space and a tarp. A huge ice cooler is not an exaggeration. Food inside Coachella is super expensive and lines are endless.
Do not forget to bring your sunscreen and lotion because you will get burnt at some point. Everybody walks around in bathing suits, shorts and bandeaus, and even though it’s fashionable to show your skin, chances are that sunburns will be inevitable.
Now for the actual festival, skip the schedule. This will not work out and chances are that you will lose all your friends at some point and end up listening to Band of Horses by yourself. The general crowd at Coachella is full of the nicest people you will ever meet. Your campground neighbors will become your new best buddies and everybody will help each other. Be prepared for no sleep, with after-hours dance parties and dodgeball tournaments.
Take the daytime easy, sunbathe, have a few laughs and start heading to the festival around three. This is the time when most of the good bands start playing and it's helpful to take a sweater for later at night. Coachella fields are likely to get really windy and cold at night; being in a bathing suit at this time will make your night hard to endure.
Be trendy and bring options. H&M and Urban Outfitters seem to be the brand of choice when dressing for Coachella. Have fun with color and remember you can never look out of place here. Everybody does their own thing, and the variety is what makes the fashion music festival worthy. Nobody cares about what you wear, so this is your moment to be adventurous and pair those boots with a high-low skirt and a bandeau top. Chuck Taylors, combat boots and sandals were favorites. Skip the backpack and bring a cross-body bag and pack some hand sanitizer, money, identification, phone, charger and baby wipes. Make sure your bag is small so you will be able to dance your heart out without the fear of losing your valuables.
The H&M booth supplies free water, manicures, free face products and free hair braiding services. The tent is also equipped with a great DJ and all sorts of power outlets; while you wait for your phone to charge, strike up a conversation and make new friends. Coachella is all about making new friends and just having the best time of your life.
Engage in the Activities booths; you never know, you might be upgraded to V.I.P., which is what happened to me. Seeing celebrities in that area is very common, and the rose garden is beautiful. Best of all, the bathrooms are actually clean.
Take in the music to its fullest level. Try listening to new bands, you might like them, or you can stage hop and try something else. Come up with a meeting spot for a specific time, before Passion Pit or Vampire Weekend comes on, so you can jam out with your friends and dance to the music.
It is easy to get frustrated when you lose your friends and the weather is intolerable, but it’s best to just let it go and have fun.
The people you will meet are what will keep you coming back. The lineups are usually great and the closing acts usually offer some kind of surprise. Phoenix brought out R. Kelly and brought back a plethora of late '90s to early millennium memories, and the best happened when the lead singer crowd surfed to the back of the crowd.
The most important rule at Coachella is to have fun and let yourself go. There is so much to do, and you will never be bored. I ranked this experience second only to when I studied abroad. If you want to try a music festival but don't have tickets to weekend two of Coachella, there are still many options, such as Lollapalooza in Chicago.
Reach blogger at rlopez20@asu.edu or follow on Twitter @RosieLopez14.
