WAYHOME at Burl’s Creek Park (8th Line South, Oro-Medonte), Friday to Sunday (July 24-26). $289.99-$599.99 (includes camping). wayhome.com.
WayHome will be sending droves of Torontonians northward this weekend to catch Neil Young, Kendrick Lamar, St. Vincent, Sloan and more than 60 other acts on four stages set up between campgrounds, silent discos, markets, food trucks, art installations and hiking trails. Here are five tips to help you navigate Canada’s newest mega-festival.
WayHome will be sending droves of Torontonians northward this weekend to catch Neil Young, Kendrick Lamar, St. Vincent, Sloan and more than 60 other acts on four stages set up between campgrounds, silent discos, markets, food trucks, art installations and hiking trails. Here are five tips to help you navigate Canada’s newest mega-festival.
DON’T HARSH MOTHER NATURE’S MELLOW
Music festivals, even the ones most attuned to minimizing their carbon footprint, still do a number on nature. They’re like the Wild West of entertainment events: tens of thousands of humans letting loose, all crammed into one place. But you can do your part to keep damage to a minimum: don’t litter, use the same water bottle all weekend, put things in the right bins, carpool and if you’re a smoker, bring a container to stash butts in.
PREPARE FOR ALL TYPES OF WEATHER
Especially if you’re camping. Sunscreen, shades, a big hat and hydration will help you deal with the sun. A decent raincoat and rubber boots make a huge difference when it pours. It would likely take a lot of rain to stop Neil Young, so don’t let it stop you from enjoying his set.
BRING A DISPOSABLE CAMERA
Memories only go so far. A disposable camera is a cheap way to capture festival moments, like your friends covered in mud or the beer you had with Courtney Barnett. They’re best used in strong daylight you’ll need the flash if you’re taking low-light pictures. But unlike your camera phone, a disposable makes film prints you can hold onto forever.
BUDGET FOR COOL STUFF
WayHome has partnered with Etsy to bring out 20 local sellers, which means you’ll be able to buy vintage and handcrafted one-of-a-kind items to flesh out your weekend hippie garb. And if you spent the extra bucks, the Drake is catering all the VIP areas, with late-night feasts and breakfast in bed delivered straight to your tent. (Full disclosure: author washes dishes at Drake 150 and can testify first-hand that the food is delicious.)
DON’T BE THAT PERSON
Last week, WayHome joined a rapidly growing number of festivals in banning First Nations-inspired headdresses from the grounds. But you weren’t going to bring one anyway, because there’s no way that in 2015 a smart, sensitive person like you would own or wear anything that could be construed as offensively appropriating a culture you don’t belong to. Right?
WayHome at Burl’s Creek Park (8th Line South, Oro-Medonte), Friday to Sunday (July 24-26). $289.99-$599.99 (includes camping). wayhome.com.
music@nowtoronto.com | @mattgeewilliams
