Introduction
Float Fest is a music festival that has been hosted annually during the summer since 2014. It is the only festival in the world that combines the Texas custom of floating the river with live music. In 2018, Float Fest was highlighted in Spin as the “You’ve never been to a festival like Central Texas” Float Fest, which has successfully managed to yearly combine two of the most popular summer activities in the United States music festivals and lazy river floats was highlighted in the publication.
The outdoor two-day music festival was started by Marcus Federman, and it has found its permanent home in Gonzales, Texas. This enables the event to entertain approximately 20,000 music enthusiasts on each festival day, and it also provides camping and tubing amenities along the river. Weezer, Tame Impala, Snoop Dogg, Lil Wayne, Cage the Elephant, and many more national acts from the United States have performed at Float Fest. Float Fest has played host to a wide variety of national performers.
A river cleanup initiative called Keep the River Clean is also organized by Float Fest. This project involves cleaning the river with divers and boats before, during, and after the festival to ensure a clean and safe environment for attendees.
A Brief History of the Float Fest Music Festival
- The inaugural Float Fest took place in the year 2014. During its early years, it had its headquarters in Martindale, a tiny town that is close to San Marcos. But problems started in 2018 when Float Fest’s permission was revoked. The ruling was challenged, and the event continued, but the same challenges surfaced in 2019, and they were unable to be overcome.
- The residents of the area grumbled about the traffic and the excessive noise. Therefore, the Float Fest community decided that the best place to hold their event would be a ranch to the south of Gonzales, which is a town located roughly an hour east of San Antonio. However, due to issues with the weather and building delays, the festival was not able to take place in 2019, hence it was canceled.
- Because of the pandemic, the event didn’t make its formal comeback until 2022, which was also its first time being held in Gonzales. Additionally, Federman showed a resolute dedication to environmental preservation and the upkeep of the river. He added that there was a strategy in place to completely clean the river before, during, and after the event at this point.
- There were distinct actions taken to save the environment. For instance, the tavern that is located closest to the entrance to the river only serves beer in containers that may be reused. The bartenders permitted customers who did not bring their containers to buy a plastic water bottle, drink the water out of it, and then have it filled with beer.
- In addition, garbage bags made of mesh were provided to the floaters so that any cans that may have fallen into the water could be collected. The event’s title sponsor, Coca-Cola, spearheaded an effort to recycle, and bright red recycling bins were strategically placed throughout the concert venue to deter attendees from littering. Federman, the company’s creator, has been quoted as saying that the objective is to leave no trace of litter behind.
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When is the Float Fest Music Festival?
The annual Float Fest Music Festival takes place over the course of three days in the month of June every summer. At the event, you can anticipate an excellent roster of popular bands and artists to perform.
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How Many People Will Be at the Music Festival Float Fest?
In contrast to the number of people that attend larger music festivals like Coachella, the attendance at Float Fest is far more manageable. Despite this, they are increasing the capacity of the event so that 20,000 people can attend each day. Be prepared to encounter a large number of Texans with warm smiles and beer cozies.
How Much Do the Tickets Cost for the Float Fest Music Festival?
It may seem like camping and floating down a river are unconnected to live musical performances as far as activities go, but the Float Fest Music Festival has merged all three of these activities to create an experience that is unlike any other.
Since its start in 2014, the Float Fest Music Festival has been hosted annually in the state of Texas. This three-day event can give a river tubing musical experience that is unrivaled in its scope. You can purchase Float Fest tickets via the company’s website in a direct transaction.
There are a variety of ticket choices available, including full weekend passes, single-day passes, and VIP bundles. In addition, there are add-on options available for parking vehicles, tubing, and camping. Passes for recreational vehicles (RVs) can also be purchased. Concert tickets can be purchased for between $145 and $552 each.
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Where Should You Stay if You Are Attending the Float Fest Music Festival?
Camping on the expansive Cool River Ranch is your best hope for finding a place to stay. If the party doesn’t keep going until the wee hours of the morning, you’ll be able to get some rest and refuel thanks to the nighttime temperatures falling into the 70s, which are included with your ticket. If you would rather stay in a hotel that has air conditioning, there are lots to choose from. There are party buses that travel to and from the festival all day long. If you are in Austin or San Antonio, the two cities that are closest to San Marcos, you can make use of these party buses.
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What Makes Float Fest Unique?
The only other outdoor music festival that includes river tubing in addition to live music and camping is called Float Fest. Tubing is a hobby that is very exclusive to Texas, and Float Fest is a fantastic way to make it feel more like a native-and-go style of tubing. You have zero tolerance for summer temperatures that make you feel as though a damp woolen blanket has been put around you. The thought of it makes you feel physically ill. Even at night, the weather in Texas in July is typically hot and humid. While floating along a river may seem like the ideal way to beat the heat, doing so might cause people with sensitive skin to blister and peel.
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Things to Consider Before Going to the Float Fest Music Festival
Clothing
When you go to Float Fest, you won’t need much luggage because all you’ll need is a bikini or beachwear to wear. Dress in lighter colors if you would rather not participate in the tubing. Apply a generous amount of sunscreen, and make sure to bring a change of clothes as well as a light sweater for the evenings when the temperature drops.
In addition to carrying additional clothing, you should also bring garments that can be layered because the weather can change dramatically from day to night. For example, the temperature might be a comfortable 80 degrees Fahrenheit during the day, but it might drop to a chilly 30 degrees Fahrenheit at night. When you combine that with the fact that you will be sleeping outside in a tent, you will likely need to bring along clothes to keep you warm. Keep the number of clothing you bring to a minimum, but be sure to have a selection of hoodies, long sleeves, and tanks on hand.
Stay Hydrated
It’s easy to become dehydrated without realizing it because the symptoms don’t always appear right away. It happens when your body loses more water than it is taking in, and as a result, it does not have enough water to function correctly.
This can lead to symptoms such as headaches, dizziness, and fatigue. You will likely spend most of your time at the Float Fest Music Festival, which takes place throughout the summer, outside, in the bright sun, surrounded by other people, and it may get quite warm.
If you are put in those kinds of situations, you will perspire more than usual, which will cause your body to lose both water and electrolytes that are essential to its function. You will experience dehydration if you do not replace the water that you are losing at the same pace as you are taking it in.
Consume Food to have Enough Energy
Before beginning a long session of dancing, moving around, and moving from stage to stage, it is vitally crucial to ensure that your body has been well-fueled. First things first, get your day off to a healthy start by eating a hearty breakfast that includes protein, carbohydrates, fresh fruits, and vegetables.
If you find it difficult to eat fruits and vegetables, you could try drinking a fruit smoothie that is filled with protein instead. It does not take much time, and it provides your body with the nutrition it needs. It is essential to consume carbohydrates composed of whole grains and protein in a lean form.
Carbohydrates made from whole grains will keep you feeling fuller for longer, allowing you to spend more time taking in the sights and sounds of the concert. Because your body needs more time to break down the food when it digests whole grains, your energy levels will remain stable for a longer period.
If you want to keep your fists pumping and not feel sluggish, the best foods to eat are lean proteins that are low in fat. Protein sources that are high in fat are not only weighty, but they also have the potential to give festival-goers an unsettled stomach.
Invest in Waterproof Shoes
Repeatedly moving from the water to the land and back again can be hard on your feet, and you need them to be in good shape if you want to dance without restrictions.
It is highly recommended that you purchase some comfortable water shoes. You didn’t even need to take your shoes off to go tubing down the river, walking around the campground, dancing in the water, or running on dry land.
Bring Extra Cash
Bring along a bag that you can easily sling across your shoulder and that has enough space to hold the majority of your daily necessities, including cash. Plastic is not an option when it comes to the festival preparations. It’s a good idea to have a fanny pack, but a tiny bag that’s waterproof is an even better choice.
Pack a Water Bottle and Snacks That Will Not Perish
Even while it is impossible to bring fresh food to a festival that lasts for three days, that does not imply that you should leave your house without any snacks to keep you powered up. Bring along some snacks that won’t go bad, such as granola bars, nuts, and dried fruits. Bring along a water bottle that you can reuse and fill up at any of the event’s water stations or on the festival grounds themselves. You won’t just be helping the environment, but you’ll also be able to save money at costly stands.
Get Enough Rest
Even though you don’t want to overpack, it’s a good idea to have a few things on hand for when it’s time to sleep. This will help you feel more rested when you get up in the morning. Even if campers around you are cranking up the volume on their stereos, you may still be able to get some shut-eye if you wear comfortable earplugs. They are also useful during the day, especially if you find yourself standing too close to the sound system that the band is using.
Sunscreen
You will be outside in the sun for the vast majority of the time when you are attending the Float Fest Music Festival. To begin, you should select a sunscreen that has a decent sun protection factor (SPF) rating. The majority of dermatologists advise using sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or higher. Applying it after your moisturizer and waiting half an hour before going outside is the optimal way to use it. If you plan to spend most of your time in the water swimming, you will need to reapply it every two hours.
When you cover your face, eyes, ears, neck, and scalp from the potentially damaging effects of ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun by wearing a hat with the rest of your attire, you can reduce the likelihood of skin cancer. Even while you will still need to apply sunscreen, you should consider wearing a hat as a sort of protective insurance addition to doing so.
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Facts You Might Not Know About the Float Fest Music Festival
- Because of the pandemic and some major construction delays, the Float Fest Music Festival was forced to take a break for three years. Float Fest, a well-known event that combines floating on water with musical performances, returned in 2022.
- The Float Fest is somewhat of a small event compared to other festivals. The event has a maximum capacity of 20,000 participants. Unlike at many other music festivals, the performance times for the various performances at Float Fest have been organized so that there is no overlap.
This means that attendees will have the opportunity to watch every performer that is set to appear at the festival if they so want. The Water Stage and the Sun Stage are the only two stages. Due to the rigorous time restrictions, there were no conflicts in the performance schedule, therefore each act was quickly followed by the next on the stage opposite it.
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- Fans that attend the event will have a variety of fantastic choices available to them for on-site lodging given that there are more than 450 acres of natural trees that create shady canopies around the bulk of the camping spots.
- Those who have purchased a VIP Music Ticket have the option to also purchase a VIP Camping Pass. This pass grants access to private showers and amenities, as well as the closest proximity to the main festival grounds and tubing entry. Prices vary according to location, and each camping spot is 20 feet by 20 feet. This space can accommodate one car and/or one or more tents, depending on their dimensions.
- The Float Fest ranch provides a two-mile tubing experience that has been substantially upgraded. Because the Guadalupe River winds in a horseshoe shape around the whole festival site, both the access and exit points to the river are ideally situated within easy walking distance of one another.
Conclusion
Float Fest Music event is for you if you are a Texan and want to visit a fun, easy, and cool summer event, or if you are an out-of-towner and want a real Texas experience without all of the heat. Float Fest Music Festival takes place in Houston, Texas, and features a variety of musical acts.
The lineup is kept to a minimum since the organizers of Float Fest consider tubing down the San Marcos River to be an equally essential component of the event. You won’t have to rush from stage to stage like you do at other festivals, which means you won’t have to worry about missing half of the set you were hoping to watch.
Float Fest is the only music festival that allows you to use a tube while you dance to the music. If you are searching for a festival that will leave you feeling relaxed and revitalized, not to mention sun-kissed, then you should attend Float Fest. Put on your bathing suit, load up the cooler with ice, and make your way to the Float Fest.
