KEEPING THE SQUAD TOGETHER

Festivals can be chaotic. It’s easy to underestimate just how easy it can be to lose track of your friends in the crowd. All it takes is for one person to be distracted when the group gets moving, or for one person to wander off, or maybe just get swept away in the current of the crowd. Depending on your personality, getting separated can either be the most awesome experience or it can be a panic attack inducing nightmare.

Either way it helps to have a few strategies in mind so that if someone gets lost you won’t have to spend the entire night trying to find them.

1. Set a meeting place

   This is pretty basic, but it helps to set a meeting place before you even enter the festival. Take a quick screenshot of the digital map and circle your meeting place, and then send it to your group’s group chat so that everyone can see it. This way if you notice that someone has disappeared you can all head straight for the meeting place and be certain that this is where they will go.

2. A Buddy System

   Yeah, it may seem a little like overkill when you mix a buddy system with a designated meeting spot, but it never hurts to have a second line of defense (especially if you are with that one friend who ALWAYS wanders off). When you first get into the festival, everyone should pick a buddy. This way before the group moves from one stage to another, everyone can double check and make sure that no one is missing incredibly easily (especially if you have a large group). Another advantage of the buddy system is that if anyone does get separated, they won't be alone, because their buddy will be with them, and they can make their way to the meeting place without getting distracted.

3. A Totem

   While it’s probably only practical for larger groups, a totem is another easy way to stick together. It could be a sign, a flag, or anything to catch the eyes of your group members. The biggest advantage of this one is that it is easy to see from far away, and is clearly visible in a crowd.

4. Group Chat

   This one can be a little tricky, but it doesn’t hurt. Depending on where you are, and the size of the event cell service might be basically non-existent. Either way, it’s not bad to have everyone join so that if someone does get separated and text the group, there is a better chance of someone seeing it and responding.

5. Make A Group Schedule

   This one takes a little bit of effort, but if you can get everyone to agree to spend half an hour before you go to the event to hash it out, it is another way to keep the group together. Take the time to go through the lineup and figure out which sets everyone wants to go to. Then you can text the set times, stages, and performances that everyone wants to see into the group chat. This way if anyone gets separated, all they need to do is check the time and the schedule to figure out where the group went.

6. Have A “Designated Driver”

   This is another one that it doesn’t hurt to have. If you have any sober ravers in the group, consider having one of them act as the group’s ‘designated driver.’ They can keep everyone on the schedule, double check that everyone has their buddies, send updates to the group chat, and so on. If they don’t want to do it for the whole festival, then group members can alternate.

I hope that this will give you some easy ways to help keep the group together at your next festival. You certainly don’t need to use all of these ideas, but one or two of them can help to make sure that you don’t spend your evening hunting down a lost friend instead of listening to your favorite DJs.