The Ultimate Festival Checklist

We were thinking more about toting our chairs to the stage and toting our ice back to camp, but yes.  I do think Andie rides should take top priority. 

Noooooo!  That doesn't bode well for Andie's ride service.  But I am confident that this will last me more than 10 minutes.

I've never seen an ice truck near where I've camped at Lockn'. But I also haven't had to walk ridiculously far to a place to buy ice. In the past I've used a small wheeled cooler to haul my ice bags, but last year I was also filling my solar shower at the same station where I was buying ice. The wagon will make it easier to haul both at the same time.

My real intent with the wagon is focused around a smaller fest we're attending this summer that doesn't have car camping. And I realized today that it'll also be useful in Chicago to get from wherever I end up parking on the street to my friend's condo where we'll be staying. Fewer trips is always better. :-)

Use the dried ice and you don't have to haul much (or any) ice to your campsite.

We borrowed a neighbor's cart to get our cooler from the car to GA camping (everything else we carried, it wasn't far). It had huge treaded tires. I don't thinks Sue's little buggy could have carried the weight in our cooler.

My coolers have their own wheels.

With Worf's ankle being in such bad shape for the last few years, we've made a point of keeping everything at a size/weight that I could handle by myself.  Now that Worf is more mobile, who knows what kind of trouble we may get into. 

his ankle may be better, but i think his butt got hurt not too long ago. OOOOOHHHHH. just kidding, nothin but love for my klingon bro

I don't have a lot of food suggestions but I can offer some tips on keeping ice.

First you need to cool down your cooler before you pack it. The night before put just a bag of ice inside to cool it down. Chill everything before you place it in the cooler. If you put warm drinks/beer etc. in the cooler it will start to melt your ice. If they are already cold your ice will last longer. Use small tupperware containers to make your own ice or freeze gallon milk jugs. Block ice lasts MUCH longer than the cubed ice that you buy in the store. Freeze water bottles and place in the cooler. When they thaw you will have some cold waters. After placing your food/drinks in the cooler and adding blocks of ice fill in the gaps with cubed ice. For the first day try using a separate small cooler for your beer and drinks and don't open the cooler with your food until you have to. Some suggest using dry ice but this method is much cheaper and equally as effective. We take multiple day canoe/camping trips where there are no stores or ice so we have learned to make it last. Also don't drain the cold water from your cooler. It is almost as cold as the ice and helps to keep all of your items chilled. Keep a separate cooler of ice for cocktails.

HTH

Well said on the ice. I find freezing the one liter plastic bottles (tonic water size) is a manageable size for coolers, then for drinking water as they thaw. Carry a separate jug of room temp water for cooking, washing, etc.

I tried dry ice last year but wasn't really happy with it. However, it worked well on this rig: I took one of the 5 gallon water coolers, packed it with frozen ice bottles/blue ice, then topped with dry ice; that gave me solid frozen units on day 2-3 to replace the soft ones. Unlike canoeing, you can take a great number of coolers with you.

Ditto on splitting up the contents so they stay closed. I separated out food that really didn't need to stay that cold (condiments) from the bacon and cheese, too. Lots of coolers is the way to go; tightly packed smaller ones.

Source for cheap/free coolers: yard/estate sales. Abandoned at the last day of the beach week. Trash day.

Line the top of each cooler with a layer of newspaper. Keep them out of the hot car and out of the sun as best you can.

If you are buying loose ice, get it when you get off the highway and before arriving, rather than tote it melting all the way from home.

There are lots of very good vendors, not just "fair" food by any means. We've already decided to take less and purchase more from the vendors this year so as not to miss as much music. But, if you want to take your own food, I suggest making /cooking ahead foods you can freeze & pack and making foods that will keep well. If you don't want to miss many bands you will not want to be tied up cooking. I concentrated on high protein foods and made breakfast burritos, froze them & heated them at camp in a skillet. They worked great. I also made a quinoa salad which kept well for several days and ate that with pitas. Also, I made granola bars and took snacks like cheese sticks and apples & peanut butter. The web sites below are some I used for ideas. Reading the comments in each provide useful suggestions even if you don't use the recipes from the sites.
www.thekitchn.com/-good-question-10-145778
ohlardy.com/real-food-camping-planning-ahead-play/
thefrugalgirls.com/2013/05/camping-menu-tips-2.html

Re: How secure is VIP camping? Can I just leave my sleeping bag and tent for days at a time?

My take, your mileage my vary:

No one is going to mess with your camping equipment. I wouldn't leave valuables out; lock them in the car. Same for liquor. Beer in a cooler, or food sitting out, is probably safe but could be tempting to a drunk passing by. For them, do enough to keep an honest man honest, like put it out of plain sight or access to passers by.

There were some suspicious characters prowling around one night during a headliner concert. But again, if they were the thieves they seemed to be, they weren't after camping gear.

I came with the notion that stuff might get grabbed but after I got there, felt very secure--but my neighbor did chase off those nere do wells. I heard there were a lot of them "shopping" in GA.

They have a similar one at WalMart.