SUN’S OUT, GUNS OUT…
YAAASSSSS!! It’s almost that time of the year again when tens of thousands of local and foreign partygoers descend upon our little island for one of Europe’s best festival circuits! Whether you fancy the “nouveau burning man” stylings of All Together Now (Curraghmore Estate, Waterford, 4-6 August) or you are trying your darndest to manifest tickets to the perpetually sold-out Electric Picnic (Stradbally Hall, Co. Laois, 1-3 September) there is an Irish festival for all flavours!
SAFETY IS SEXY…
While the prospect of dancing uninhibitedly to Travis Scott and Lil Uzi Vert at Longitude (Marley Park, Dublin, 1-2 July) is at the forefront of your mind, let’s put on our adult hats for a minute and talk about festival safety!
Heat stroke and sunburn probably aren’t the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of an Irish summer, but anybody who has ever been to a festival here has seen the poor souls stuck in the EMT tent for those exact issues. It is doctor-recommended that you drink around 3 litres of water a day (Mi Wadi optional). When you are active and in a scenario that causes the body to run at a higher temperature, you should drink upwards of 4.5 litres. While totally deadly, doing the robot and the funky chicken takes considerable energy.
Believe it or not, but from time to time, people have even been known to drink alcohol (GASP!) at festivals. Alcohol acts as a dehydrator, so if you’re planning on a couple of tipples while watching your favourite band, make sure you’re hugging that water bottle like it was your first crush. Staying well-hydrated also helps lessen the harmful effects of sun on exposed skin. Speaking of…. BRING SUNSCREEN, and I mean real sunscreen. SPF15 just isn’t going to cut it for a hot weekend in July or the glorious back-to-school weather during EP. You want the good stuff with an SPF of 30 or higher. Apply it before you leave the house/tent and re-apply at least every 2 hours. A festival is a marathon, not a sprint! You don’t want to look like a lobster before the first day’s headliner even takes the stage.
Along with continuous sunscreen slathering, you’re going to want to protect your little noggin’! I know it took you an hour to get that sultry festival wave in your luscious locks, but you’re going to have to throw a hat on top of it, and no, a flower crown isn’t going to cut it. Bucket hats are a festival mainstay, and for good reason. They cover your whole head and have a 360-degree brim to help keep the UV rays at bay!
HEY BUDDDDDY!!
Festivals can get wild, after all, that is a lot of their appeal! So, it’s best to “know your limit and play within it.” Understanding the venue and where your tent is pitched is a good way to help keep your wits about you. Having a “buddy system” in place with your friend group is also a great way to stay safe and will ensure you’re not bored out of your skull when you’re standing in line for an hour to use the toilet. Speaking from experience here, you will definitely appreciate having somebody you trust there to pull you out of the pit after you take a nose dive while crowd-surfing.
Now, this should go without saying, but still needs to be said. Never drink from an open container that isn’t coming from a source you implicitly trust. Drink testing strips are a nifty product for staying safe at festivals (and, honestly, any night out). Check Your Drink is a company that sells drink testing strips at pharmacies nationwide. They only cost a fiver for 5 strips and give immediate results. They test for GHB and ketamine, these two troublemakers account for nearly all reported cases of spiking.
IT’S SOLD OUT 🙁
Now that you know how to stay safe, how about actually getting in??? Electric Picnic sells out almost immediately, and many other festivals are at risk of selling out as early as January or February. Nothing, and I mean nothing ruins a bank holiday weekend like being the odd-duck-out and sitting on the couch while all your friends are out raising hell and making lifelong memories. Luckily for you, that is where WrkWrk slides in… FOMO be damned! We support numerous festivals across Ireland this summer and are always looking for Bar Staff, Wait Staff, Stewards, Pourers, and Retail Staff to make these events one for the history books! You get to soak up the atmosphere while honing your skills and getting paid. You’ll be among the rare few leaving with a fatter wallet!
Oh, and if you see me there this summer, come and say hi! I’ll be the one looking alabaster from the sunscreen and wearing a rainbow bucket hat. Shouldn’t be hard to spot!
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