One of the big questions that gets asked during festival season is, “Can I bring my own food?” The answer to this question will vary based upon where you’re located. Typically, festivals do not allow you to bring coolers into the grounds, but again, this will depend on where you’re headed.
The best way to find an answer to this question is to check out the website for the festival. Most have an FAQ section where this type of question (and others that you might have) are answered in detail. If you can’t find this info easily on the festival website, then give the festivals customer service team a call. This can be an awkward thing to do (who talks on the phone anymore these days?!) but a few minutes of a phone conversation can save you a big headache later on. Being able to plan ahead will allow you to figure out what you need to do in order to get the most out of your next festival experience.
If food is not provided at the festival, you can bet that there will be a lot of food at the festival ready to be purchased. Food trucks, vendors, and snack carts are always staples of the music festival circuit. In fact, some food trucks have become so popular that festivals will advertise who the main food providers are at the festival. This way, you can be assured that you are going to hear good music AND have great food. The bigger the festival, the bigger the selection will be when it comes to the food trucks that will be there.
If you’re a foodie, or just want to indulge, be sure to check out who the expected food vendors at your next festival are. You might find that the food is just as exciting as the bands that will be playing. It’s all a part of the festival experience. Planning for the cost of food is important if you want to take advantage of this.
Follow the Rules
Let’s clear one more thing up before this post concludes: festivals are expensive. That’s okay; very rarely will you find the amount of fun and professional entertainment that a festival carries for the same cost of a multi-day festival pass anywhere else. However, because a festival can cost hundreds of dollars, it is often tempting to try and cut corners so that you can reduce expenses in other areas. Food is one of those areas where this is true. Saving money by bringing your own food can be an attractive choice, but it’s only worthwhile if it is something that’s allowed by the festival planners. Bringing food and drink into a festival illegally, only to get yourself thrown out of the concert grounds, would completely defeat the point of going to a festival in the first place.
The same goes for other aspects of festival going. Knowing and adhering to the rules might not sound like a good time, but it is the best way to make sure that you are there and enjoying yourself. Yes, there are usually ways to get around the rules, but in the end, they’re not really worth it. That goes for food, drink, camping, and more.