It may have been a while since you went to a music festival so you may be a little rusty on how to go about all of this. So with only 24 hours before the start of the Green River Festival that takes place Friday through Sunday at the Franklin County Fairgrounds, let’s take a look at some of the items you need to bring to help you have the best festival experience possible. Some of you tend to go overboard and approach going to a festival like you are moving into a new apartment. Do you need to bring all that stuff? Of course you don’t, so read on for the essentials you do need.
TICKET/ID: Don’t forget your ticket, this sounds like one of those stating the obvious things, but they are easy to forget. Nowadays, you can print them out, or load them onto your phone, yet you can still forget to perform these tasks. And while you are at it, make sure you have your ID on you. Since many of you will be parking off-site do not leave your printed ticket/phone in your car when you hop on your shuttle.
FACE MASK: I never thought I’d see the day I was urging people to bring a face mask to a music festival, but welcome to 2021. Masks will be available at the festival, but it makes more sense to bring your own. And you might want more than one, just to be on the safe side. The wearing of masks will be required on the shuttle busses, at the Yankee Candle Family Village, and in rest rooms. They are strongly encouraged to be worn in crowded areas such as food/drink lines and standing in front of the stage. And I shouldn’t have to say this but please properly dispose of masks. I think the Greenfield River Festival crowd is good about picking up after themselves, but I’m so sick of seeing masks all over the ground that I have to mention this.
HAND SANITIZER: There will be hand sanitizer available at the festival, but like with the face masks, I say to bring your own. When it comes to portability, the kind that comes in the little spray bottles is perfect. I’m a fan of the Mrs. Meyer’s brand because it smells so good.
WATER BOTTLES: Hydrate! Hydrate! Hydrate! There will be water stations at the fairgrounds, and even though it’s not supposed to be super hot this weekend, you still want to drink plenty when you are out in the sun.
SUNBLOCK: I’ve been on the receiving end of more than one Green River Festival sunburn, so I speak from experience when I say bring your sunblock. Even though it’s late in the summer and there’s a good chance it will be hazy out; you still need the protection. And you might want to grab some bug spray while you are at it.
RAIN GEAR: Fortunately, the heavy rain that came with Hurricane Henri has ended, but there could be some showers this weekend. Those plastic rain ponchos that come in little pouches are one of the best investments you’ll ever make. If you have one, bring it if you don’t swing by your nearest drug store and pick one up.
CHAIR/BLANKET: You’ll want to bring something to sit on, but be reasonable — no chairs that are the size of thrones and no blankets that can comfortably hold 10 people. Chairs should be under 30 inches and blankets no bigger than 8-by-10 feet. And the same goes for coolers; keep them small.
CREDIT CARD: Many of the vendors will be going contact-less and so plan on paying with plastic. And this isn’t for all vendors so bring a bit of cash too. And if you can swing it, don’t bring your own food and purchase from the many great local vendors instead. They have struggled through these difficult times as much as the musicians have.
OPEN MIND: One of the best things about the Green River Festival is you get to experience new music. I’ll never forget the year that country music artist Tyler Childers played and after his set I met a couple in the parking lot who had come to see Childers and now were leaving. “Don’t you want to see any of the other acts,” I asked. “We wouldn’t like any of them,” they answered in assured voices. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing and all I can say is don’t be like these people. JD McPherson, Low Cut Connie, Red Baraat and the Avett Brothers are some of my favorites that were complete unknowns to me until I heard them at the Green River Festival.
KNOW THE PROTOCOLS: Everything is different in this COVID-19 world of ours, and you need to keep that in mind as you head to the Green River Festival or any musical event for that matter. The first thing you need to do is go to the website and carefully read all the protocols and guidelines so you know what the expectations are. And be patient and understanding with your fellow festival goers, these are trying times.
So these are just few suggestions to help you have the fun weekend that you’ve been waiting for!
Sheryl Hunter is a music writer who lives in Easthampton. Her work has appeared in various regional and national magazines. You can contact her at: soundslocal@yahoo.com.