Vendors tend to be one of the highlights of music festivals. While the music is the main draw, many festival fans find that the excellent food, souvenirs, and other items that are up for sale at these festivals have a tendency to really enhance the experience that they have. This has grown to be so important of a component of the festival industry that a lot of festivals will advertise which vendors and food trucks will be present, just in case that might persuade a few more people to purchase festival tickets.

What you get out of your festival experience really depends on what you want. Some people head out to festivals for just the music, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. That’s the whole basis of creating these festivals, after all. But a lot of people are looking for a bigger experience. Festivals are a ton of fun, and although they revolve around music, the music is just a part of what’s available out there.

Whether it’s a t-shirt from your favorite band, jewelry, or something else, hitting up Vendor Row will be a fun experience. A lot of times, you won’t even need to buy anything to have fun here. The ambience that’s created by having so many unique vendors piled together gives some festivals a unique, bazaar-like quality to them. It’s a one of a kind thing, and it’s become a huge part of enjoying yourself at a festival.

Bringing enough cash to be able to have fun with this side of things is a big part of having a good time. This might require planning ahead on your part. Either way, being aware that this side of festivals exists is a good way to get ready to have a even better time at the next festival you attend.

Food and Drink

Food trucks are one of the most exciting features of music festivals. Food trucks are regional, and the best ones will differ depending on where you are in the country. What’s great in Los Angeles will more than likely not be available when you’re in Boston. If you’re not sure what’s big in the area that you’ll be staying in, check out local reviews. There are a lot of sites (like Yelp) that are dedicated to ratings and reviews. Some of the bigger cities even have dedicated websites to letting people know what’s going on in the food truck circuit around them. Believe it or not, this is a growing trend in the U.S., and food trucks are increasingly growing in popularity.

The best way to approach buying from a food truck? Know what you want, what your meal requirements are, and then find the truck that meets those criteria. If you have food allergies or intolerances, your choices will be limited, but some of the larger festivals will take these things into account when selecting which food trucks will be present.

A lot of festivals also have beer tents. If you plan on hitting one of these up while you’re out enjoying yourself, be sure to bring your ID card with you and plenty of cash. Because you are a captive audience when you’re at a festival, prices for drinks (and food, too) tend to be a bit higher than if you were to purchase these things from a traditional store. While that’s kind of annoying, it’s one of the realities of the festival experience.

Bringing your own food and drink into a festival tends to be prohibited. However, some festivals make exceptions for this. Be sure to check out the rules for your specific festival if you’re curious about this.