How to activate your next festival with the ease and care of Austin City Limits

The last time I went to a music festival, I was a footloose and fancy-free twentysomething. I woke up late, threw on some glitter, grabbed my keys and was out the door. Last weekend at Austin City Limits (in where else, Austin, TX) was a whole different story. After months of planning, my friends and I had a focused and thorough game plan. The group chat was all in agreement: our bags were packed with sunscreen, hand sanitizer and extra toilet paper; we acknowledged the importance of hydration and supportive footwear; there would be no shows before 4pm; and no, we could not get Tex-Mex for lunch on Saturday, because everyone knows you can’t have that much dairy before a full evening of activities, hello! Beyond the checklist, expectations had to be set. We were prepared to stand in line to get into Zilker Park, the site of ACL, for at least an hour each day. Once inside, we wouldn’t fight the teens for a good view of the stages, but instead stand back from a safe distance, with the water stations and porta-potties in sight. (I swear, we’re actually very fun people…)  But all of our worry and obsession...