Soft Color Guide: Festivals

Me and Whitney, posing after we "decorated"
ourselves.

"Stay right there, Lindsay, the chalk looks really

cool!"

Whitney, Hailey and me after we emerged from a color throw. The guy on the right is a total diva.

Whitney in the car, looking gorgeous, even dozed in chalk.

It's the beginning of the year, which means the festivals have begun! Although a lot of them happen towards the beginning of the summer season, some have sprung up already. Last weekend, I went to the Festival of Colors, a hindu tradition, and had a blast! After coming home and reevaluating my choices, I decided it was a good idea to share some of my tips for festivals.

Firstly, there are two types of festivals. The first kind is the one where it's very simple and respectable, and people aren't getting dirty or high. For example, here in Utah, we have the Festival of Tulips, which is where gardeners showcase their tulips. The other type is like the Festival of Colors, where they're a ton of teens and young adults, people don't care how you look, and you don't care either. The tips for these festivals are very different, but the two most important rules are:

• Arrive and leave early. You don't want to get stuck in that incredibly large line, unless you really don't give a crap.
• Dress appropriately. You think this would be obvious, but I can't tell you how many girls I saw wear the full-on false eyelashes and 5 inch heels to the Festival of Colors. Festivals are very relaxed (unless you're going to the Vogue Festival. Then by all means, bring your newest Chanel bag.), so make sure you dress relaxed, not like you're about to go to the club.

Now, I'll just go over some tips for the more "intense" festivals, since I'll assume most of you are young and intense!

Rule #1: Bring water. Oh, and snacks*.

You don't want to get dehydrated whilst grinding against strangers. Make sure you bring as much water as you'll need. And even then, bring an extra. Even if you won't need it, you'll certainly make someone else's day a bit better. Not to mention, festivals can charge an outrageous amount for a bottle of water.

Now, on the snacks. I only put the asterisk there because it's more optional than the water is. Make sure you eat before you leave. It doesn't even have to be complicated. A simple PB&J is what I had for lunch, which is probably the best thing you could bring. If you are going to bring a snack, I would suggest that you bring something that only requires one container/bag. My friend Whitney was a genius and brought Goldfish crackers, which she shared with the group. I remember reading in Alexa Chung's book, "It", that she did not need to bring her mom's combo of hummus and carrot sticks to her festival. It's too much of a hassle. So if you are going to bring a snack, make it very simple.

Rule #2: Think of others.

This, like the dress code rule, shouldn't need to be talked about. You should already know how to behave. It's okay to let loose and to include strangers, but remember that there are some thing you just should not do. For instance, I had a fistful of yellow chalk thrown into my eye, right after we passed some girls and they informed me that I "needed some yellow". I know she did not mean it intentionally, but it all went straight into my eye, and I had to move next to the temple and away from the crowd to get it out. So if you go to a festival like the Color Festival, and you decide to throw some color on strangers, make sure its not near their face. Let their friends do that, so at least they won't rip your head off.

Rule #3: Bring wet wipes. Lots.

I can't tell you how thankful I was when I remembered to bring some wet wipes (and some panty liners and tampons, although I didn't need them) when I got the chalk in my eye. I was also very grateful when I had to blow my nose and get all of that powered gunk out and could use a wet wipe to wipe my face down. You can bring face wipes or some travel Cottonelles, or even both! Aaand last but not least:

Rule #4: Have fun!

This is the most obvious rule. Remember that during these festivals people don't judge you, and you shouldn't judge them! Don't worry about what other people are doing and, as tempting as it is, stay off your phone! You're allowed to take pictures, but don't be glued to Snap chat and Instagram afterwards. Just enjoy what you're doing at the moment, because the things on Facebook and Twitter aren't near as important as spending time with your friends.

A very bad photo of the Lotus Krishna Temple in Spanish Fork, UT (the website here has a better photo). Taken by yours truly during the 1:00 PM color throw.

Hope these tips have helped! What have you done during festivals that you've regretted/been thankful for doing? I would love to hear some of your tips and stories down in the comments!

Lots of love! X