How To Breeze Through Festival Season With A Chronic Illness (Part Two) 💫

Hello, hello, hello, 

I hope this post finds you fine and dandy.

Today, after returning from the amazing State Fayre festival yesterday evening, I thought I'd do a prequel post to my 2019 penning 'How To Breeze Through Festival Season With A Chronic Illness'. So, without further ado, this is part two - almost seven years later, written by someone with even more disabilities now. 

In my previous post, linked here I talk about the importance of:

- Picking a festival that works for you.

- Always requesting additional support where needed.

- Going to a festival means going with someone who will understand and respect your needs.

- The importance of choosing the right accommodation.

- Planning your time wisely.

- Staying hydrated.

And whilst all of these points still stand, and are important pre-cursers to anything I build on in this post, I wanted to delve into some of these points in a little more detail. 

💙Some festivals are more accommodating than others - research plenty.

Since my last post I have attended a huge well-known festival in the UK, as well as State Fayre - a relatively small festival in Chelmsford, Essex, and I can say without a doubt, as someone who has now attended six festivals, smaller festivals tend to be much more accommodating. 

The larger festival I attended a few years ago had very little support in terms of accommodations. The stages were spread across miles of uneven and differing terrain and they only had two golf buggies to transport 60,000 festival goers across 4,000 acres and one of those broke down.

State Fayre was already a million times better from the offset, as all three main stages were easily walkable (within five minutes of each other). Despite holding half of what the larger festival held in terms of attendees, they catered for everything you could possibly want in terms of disability access. This included seating at both ground level and raised level for disabled guests at both of the main stages, whilst prioritising the raised levels for those whom were permanently wheelchair-bound (something I completely respected as an ambulant disabled person who still had prioritised seating at ground level, away from the crowds). 

An access ticket was given through sending documentation to Nimbus, who then gave me a pass demonstrating my access needs for the next three years, to avoid me inputting all of my information again for another festival. They asked for my needs in great detail; how I am affected by crowds, if I am wheelchair-bound or ambulant disabled, if I need access to toilets urgently or casually - and this enabled all of us at the festival to get the tailored support we needed. We had parking close to the entrance and every single member of staff on the access team were helpful, friendly and welcoming. 

Not all festivals are as accommodating as this and as tickets are something to save for, why would you want to go to a place where you do not feel welcome or respected. Why pick a poorly organised festival over somewhere that, by giving you all that you need to stay comfortable and well, means that you can see more of what you love? 

💙Take all the aids to help you have a better experience.

Some of the things that really helped me included: noise cancelling ear plugs, blankets to make the platform chairs comfortable, a large water bottle to stay hydrated, a sun hat and portable fan. 

The ear plugs didn't just protect my ears from loud frequencies, but also helped massively to block out background noise whilst walking through the festival site. This meant that more of my energy went on experiencing the music itself and less on filtering out other sounds. 

As we attended State Fayre during a heatwave, a sun hat and fan were essential, especially as most of the shade was already in very short supply. A sun hat stopped a migraine happening, due to side effects of medication mixed with heat and so was absolutely worth taking, alongside a water bottle that I refilled at the refill points a few times a day. Blankets were essential to pad out chairs on the raised platforms, to avoid exacerbating tight muscles and we just kept these in the car during out time away to avoid forgetting them.

Other items that I am so glad we took included insect repellent without fragrance - meaning it didn't trigger Severe Asthma, bite relief cream and two fans for our hotel room. As we were in the grounds of a large stately home, I underestimated just how many mosquito there could be, which resulted in me getting bitten thirteen times on day one. Due to my Mum remembering insect repellent (and one that we both could use) I didn't get bitten for day two and three. My other advice is to bring - not just antiseptic cream - but also tailored bite relief with antihistamine included. This cream was so welcome as it stopped the redness, itchiness and puffiness so quickly,  without which our remaining time at the festival would most definitely have been impacted. Both fans were used repeatedly as the heatwave meant that our first day temperature reached thirty-seven degrees Celsius. As most small Bnb's in the UK do not have air-conditioning in the event of heatwaves, we saved ourselves many sleepless nights and subsequently more illness, by being prepared. 

When you attend a festival it could be warm, rainy or cold, so it is just about thinking of the items that enable you to have the best time.

For a festival in the rain I would take a light weight, easy to fold down, rain mac. This avoids carrying anything heavy but staying dry which equals staying well. I would also wear a good pair of waterproof boots to prevent cold feet and to protect yourself from mud. I may take a small microfiber towel just to keep myself dry, so again warm and to clip my hair back to avoid cold and wet hair making me feel worse. If I was going to a festival in the cold I would take thermals, a portable hand warmer and would probably also take a hot water bottle that I could fill every morning in my hotel room. I would take hats, scarves and gloves and ensure I had every part of my body was covered in layers which I could remove easily if I warmed up. 

Having items that could make a huge difference to feeling well and staying well with any chronic condition, means that you can use all the energy you have on enjoying yourself, without having to find the energy and money to find and source the items whilst away from home. 

💙Make use of any additional support offered to you. 

Something that came with my access ticket and provisions was access to an accessibility map, which demonstrated all the support available across the festival site. 

This map was so helpful in understanding where each of the largest stages had their access seating, but also where the sensory tent was located. 

This tent was situated the furthest possible place away from the stages and was tucked away by the entrance. It was a large tipi that offered rest in a quiet space for those with neurodivergence or energy-limiting conditions. It was manned at all times by a friendly staff member who sat just outside to give attendees space and time to relax, with earplugs and water offered upon entry.  

The space was well-ventilated with many silent fans, there was a large selection of magazines available and lots of comfy seating. Beanbag chairs enabled the user to curl up with a mindfulness read and switch off from the high-energy environment outside. I read articles on composting, reading and meditation whilst in here for forty minutes and I loved what a peaceful place it was. There were tents available for those who needed a dark place within the tipi to recharge, as well as sensory stimuli such as sequined mats and brushes for those who needed to decompress. Noise cancelling headphones were available for those who didn't have them, alongside a table and chairs for those who wanted to focus their mind and even have a game of chess. 

The sensory tent helped me massively, as did the no-noise policy and the taking off of all shoes prior to entry. Something about placing my socks on the ground and curling up in a clean, calm environment made me feel so much more 'me'.

My only regret with the sensory tent is that we didn't find it sooner and so I recommend checking if the festival you are hoping to attend has these provisions in place, sooner rather than later. This experience was really impactful for me and everything I did after being in the sensory tent felt a lot less overwhelming. I would also say, if a festival has these essential 'extras' then it can tell you a lot about what is being prioritised for the festival-goer and what support you are likely to receive. I was very impressed with how well access needs were catered for at State Fayre.

The overall message to take from this post is to always make the most of any and all support offered to you, if it will make your experience even slightly easier or slightly better. Stating your needs in any environment can be confronting for yourself and others, but those who are worthy of your time and money should be receptive and willing to support you. By looking at the areas of support that would enable you to attend and enjoy live music, it means you are able to have a joyful time that is as unimpacted by your illness or disability as is possible. 

If you are attending a festival this year or in the future, I hope you have the very best time. 

Thank you so much for reading and I hope to write again soon, 

Mol x