Canalside Summer Concert Series

Canalside has finally announced the $5 summer concert series! Summer is the best time of the year because of all the fun things that happen around town. Concerts, food trucks, 5k's, Buffalo is so fun! If you guys have never been to Canalside to walk around or to attend a concert you definitely should this summer.

The new lineup that they created is extremely diverse and ranges from old school rock, to hip-hop and then popular jam bands. It's a lineup that suits everyone! The best part about it is that when the concerts happen every Thursday it only costs $5! That's such a good price for seeing some live music with friends by the lake. If you buy your tickets ahead of time you even get a free drink voucher which is also really nice. ;) There are also tons of little food pagodas and shops to walk around and look at as well. Lots of summer fun on the way!

Flow toys and the flow community!

So you guys are probably a bit confused on what a "flow toy" is. Well, flow toys are a type of art that uses props such as hula hoops, fire fans, poi, dragon staff, levi wand and so much more! It's a very popular community within the festival scene. I personally have been hula hooping for the past 2 years and it's been such a fun learning experience. Here's a little video of what hula hooping looks like in action.

Hula hoops also come in LED versions so at night time you can frolic around and hoop with pretty lights. For the day time they come in taped styles with rainbow, reflective and all kinds of other colorful options. Poi is also a very popular flow toy and i'm always so fascinated when I see people flowing with them at festivals.

Within the flow art community I have learned so much from other people! The community is so large and there are multiple facebook groups that are just dedicated to hooping. One of them specifically is called "The Infinite Circles Community. Flow art's are so fun and I wish more people got around to getting into them or just appreciating them. It's kind of funny when I walk around with my hoop on campus and random people look at me like "What? shes holding a hula hoop?" But, Then they see me using it and end up coming up to me and saying it's something they have never seen before!

Music Festivals 101

Camping music festivals can be a little intimating especially when it's you're first time attending or you haven't camped out much! Being at a 3 day festival sleeping in tents can be a little difficult during bad weather conditions, keeping things dry, or bringing things that can help shield from the sun are also equally as important.  I've created a list of tips on what to bring, and other things for your festival plans this summer! 

1.  Pack light! I can't stress this tip enough! I've learned through my own experiences that bringing more is not in fact better. For example my first year attending Camp Bisco I brought a huge tote bag filled with tons of clothes, shoes, and accessories when in reality I only wore about 5 of the clothes I brought and 1 pair of shoes. It was really a pain having to drag my huge bag up a mountain along with camping gear, coolers, etc. So rule of thumb is to back 1 backpack filled with pre planned items you know you will NEED! Trust me it'll save you so much energy.
2. Decide on what your wearing BEFORE you go! Let's be honest as girls what we're wearing is the first thing we're thinking of after we buy those tickets! What I like to do is plan out 1 outfit for each day of the festival and then pack an extra pair of warm pants and a sweater that I can throw on at night when it gets a bit chilly. When planning your outfits make sure you try on the whole thing before the festival meaning with accessories and the shoes you want to wear. Just to make sure you love it and aren't having second thoughts come festival day! Also pack rain boots! I wish I would of thought of this last year after being stuck in a 3 day thunderstorm at Electric Forest. I ended up having to go barefoot the entire festival stepping in a muddy swamp! 
3. Put you're pre-planned outfits in gallon sized zip block bags! This is probably my favorite tip and what has saved me through rainy festivals where my tent has flooded. When you put you're clothes in zip block bags it keeps all the moisture out so even if your tent get's flooded all of your clothes will still be dry! Also be sure to pack extra socks and extra underwear because you just never know what can happen! 
4. Bring a canopy and tapestries to give shade! This tip is crucial for having a good time at your campsite without baking in the hot summer sun. You're campsite ends up being your home for the weekend so making it as comfortable as possible is the key. Having a canopy provides a huge area of shade for you and your friends to sit. The tapestries are used to create "walls" so that the sun cannot get inside. Also you could use extra tapestries to sit on at your campsite or to bring to the festival grounds so you can take a break and sit while enjoying the music! 
5. BRING EXTRA WATER! Water is going to be your best friend the entire weekend and you definitely don't want to have to spend $7 on a water bottle inside the festival because you ran out :( Instead of buying cases of water bottles which will create a mess at your campsite, buy big gallon sized containers that you can constantly fill up at water stations! 
6. Buy an extra gallon sized water bottle that you can use as a shower! The truth is at music festivals you don't really get to have a proper shower. So, my tip is to buy an extra gallon water bottle, poke 2 holes in it, and let it heat up in the sun for a few hours, and then get into your bathing suit and have someone pour it over you so you can somewhat take a decent "shower." This will make you feel so much better and cleaner it's saved my life a few times haha.
7. Pre make food and buy things that don't need to be kept cold for long! This is key for not having to buy over priced festival food. I like to bring fresh fruit such as bananas, apples, and oranges that don't necessarily need to be kept cold for long. For more filling foods bagels, pop tarts, granola, sandwich supplies, and making salads are a good option too!
8. Lastly bring your good vibes and bring good people with you! this is so so important. The people you surround yourself with will be the people that make your experience the best that it can be! Take care of yourself, your friends, and your neighbors. If you see someone struggling offer them some water and positive thoughts. Have a safe and happy festival season!!

 

Can't afford an expensive music festival? Work exchange programs are worth checking out!

Music festivals can get very pricey. Roughly the average cost ends up being about $300 for just the ticket, that doesn't include transportation money, food and other supplies you might need for the weekend being camped out at a festival. What is really nice about festivals such as Electric Forest is that they allow you to work and get paid at the festival while still being able to attend and see you're favorite artists! This program is called the WET program and it stands for "Work Exchange Team." You can apply to just work it and not have festival entrance when you are not on shift, or you can buy a special WET ticket that is extremely discounted that allows you to be an attendee and get to camp with your friends and still enjoy the weekend when your not on shift. This ticket costs $180 and the normal E forest ticket costs $400! That's a huge deal and you're still getting paid for working!

 Another festival called Camp Bisco allows you to do promotional work for them in return they give you a FREE ticket! This program is called the ambassador program and the guideline is that if you sell 8 tickets you will receive a free GA ticket plus camping. When people buy tickets from you they are getting an additional $15 discount which is super nice because it makes people want to buy the tickets in order to save! My friend couldn't afford a ticket this year but really wanted to attend so she sold us all tickets and even sold 9 and ended up getting some cool upgrades because she sold more than the minimum!

 it's so possible to attend music festivals even if your tight on cash for a while. You just have to look around on what kind of programs they offer for free/discounted tickets! I'll provide some links with all the information :) 

Electric Forest WET: /https://www.electricforestfestival.com/participate/plug-in/work-exchange-team-fanstaff-positions

Camp Bisco Ambassadors: http://campbisco.com/join-the-fam-earn-a-pass/