Summer is upon us and the UK is boasting a full itinerary of music festivals. If you’re looking for an unusual way to get to know someone, consider going on a festival date.
No, not the hotel booking kind. The ‘I’m not really sure this is such a great idea’ kind of reservations. If you are baulking at the idea of heading into a muddy field with a complete stranger, armed with nothing more than a lukewarm beer, and a shared love of music, read on. Your reservations about this date plan are completely legitimate, but thankfully there are ways around them.
Don’t shackle yourself to someone for a three-day stretch. Head to the festival on a one-day only ticket, so you can spend a few hours together before returning to the peaceful space of aloneness.
Book a budget hotel near the festival so you don’t need to camp. Camping results in damp clothes, a musty smell, greasy hair and zero sex appeal. Leave your hotel looking fresh as a daisy, enjoy a few drinks and some great bands with your date, before retiring back to your room for a refreshing shower. If you do decide to take things further, you can head straight for the bath together to wash off that post-festival stink.
Limiting your alcohol intake and alternating with soft drinks is always sensible on a date, but is even more important at a festival. High temperatures will make you dehydrated, meaning it will take fewer units of alcohol to get you drunk than it would usually.
It is possible to dress in a festival-friendly yet subtly sexy way. Hitting the festival scene is super-popular with celebs. For fashion guidance, research the outfits they’ve been spotted in. Wellies are essential, as is a waterproof jacket.
At the outset, you need to establish where you both stand in respect to moshing. The date will not work well if one of your spends an hour leaping about amongst strangers, before emerging smothered in sweat and beer, expecting a cuddle. Lounging around on the edge of the action, listening to the music at a safe distance is a more romantic way to enjoy the date.
Agree where you will meet in the event of separation, which is fairly likely to happen at least once during the day. You aren’t babysitting a young child, so there’s no need to flee to the meeting point the moment you notice your date is absent. Arrange to meet at your agreed location, after a band’s set. Even if you get split up, you can enjoy the music before finding each other again, and you may enjoy that little bit of alone time.
If you met on a common interest dating site for music lovers, tickets to a festival will likely be a welcome surprise, but do check before you buy. Fields, sweat, and iffy burgers aren’t everyone’s idea of a good time, and your date may feel pressured into agreeing if you have already bought the tickets.
Attending a festival is akin to an endurance exercise. There will be enormous queues for the toilets, and by the time you make it to the front they will be repugnant. The beer will be warm and festooned with blades of grass. You will be too hot / too cold / switch back and forth between the two, throughout the day. But for outdoor music lovers, this is all part of the magic. However, if this sounds like a bizarre form of torture to you, do NOT agree to a festival date. Mumbling and grumbling throughout the day will erode your sexiness and your partner will not get to see your true self. Wish them a fantastic day, and arrange a different activity for you to enjoy.