With how residents made the most of the Escapade Music Festival last June, it’s clear that Ottawa is ready to enjoy more festivals and programs. Escapade ran for three nights straight, and while the 66,000 people in attendance certainly went home satisfied with the rush of music and entertainment, many also felt the tremendous effect this had on their bodies afterwards.
This is a common occurrence. After all, not many people are used to keeping their bodies in a constant state of high energy to keep up with the events of a multi-day festival. Thankfully, this can be better mitigated by preparing your body in advance. Curious about how this can be done? Keep reading for our simple tips
Familiarize yourself with the program
While this step isn’t always necessary, this ensures that you’re able to maximize your festival enjoyment. Many tend to miss sets of their favourite artists because of distraction or fatigue. And realistically, it’s impossible to catch the performances of the entire lineup while also enjoying the rest of the festival.
Familiarizing yourself with the program ahead of time allows you to mark when you need to see an artist or entertainer. You can plan your day’s itinerary around these crucial sets to avoid overexerting your body.
Plan months ahead
Suppose you’re ambitious and hope to catch at least the majority of the lineup while enjoying the rest of the festival attractions. In that case, it’s crucial to prepare your body for months ahead from a physical standpoint.
Lack of sleep, lack of nutrition, screaming, shouting, and dehydration can result in what Dr. Jamie Rutland describes as the festival flu. Here, the hours of exertion take their toll on your physical and mental well-being and leave your body vulnerable to illnesses.
Thankfully, multi-day festivals are often announced months or even a year in advance. This gives you ample time to build endurance as well as resistance.
Start with diet. Consume nutrient-dense fruits and vegetables at every meal to boost your immune system.
For more specific guidance, it is always worth consulting experts. Weight loss app WeightWatchers has an individualized PersonalPoints plan that is loops in dieticians and behaviour change specialists to consider your body’s unique conditions and budget. This can be tweaked under the context of attending a multi-day festival to emphasize consuming liquids every day, and you may be advised to avoid alcohol or processed foods that weigh your body down in the meantime.
Programs like these require weeks of preparation ahead of the event to maximize their effects. Festival-goers could be advised to start exercising and incorporate walking long distances into their routine in anticipation. Thankfully, Ottawa frequently holds exercise programs that are free and accessible to all — check out the recently released Better Strength, Better Balance! program by the Ottawa Public Health, which aims to increase citizens’ muscle strength.
Extend the festival feeling
If you find yourself tired but thoroughly enjoyed after your first few multi-day festivals, you’ll probably be waiting in anticipation for the next event. Why not extend the festival feeling by volunteering to help at the next one?
This will help prepare your stamina and mental strength by building your experience of what to expect. In our previous article Volunteer at a Festival, we listed all sorts of possible jobs that may be perfect for you: hosts, site crew, food and beverage crew, family zone assistants, admin coordinators, and many more. See the next festival from another perspective, and it’ll be a fresh and new experience all over again — one that your body is more ready for.
Thorough preparation will allow you to enjoy the festival properly and worry less about the aftermath. After all, festivals only come once every couple of weeks or months. It’s best to make the most out of them, and the health gains you make in preparation will continue to benefit you for the months to come.