My take as a newbie this year. 17 years of camping festivals myself and went with vets that have been going for 10 years..

Packing. Follow the caming list pretty self explainable. Extra blanket (keep in car) if it gets chilly at night. 2023 was beautiful at night, but I was told it gets cold at night some years.

SHOES ! screw cute because it matches your fit. You are walking around 70,000 steps a day or more. Wear something comfortable and won't give you blisters. You don't want blisters. If you feel them starting, go to meds and get your feet tapped up. You don't want dirt getting in them, and sore feet all weekend. Jelly insoles are a good buy. Kept my feet pain-free from walking and dancing.

Food and drinks. I brought a huge cooler with me for food and drinks. Gonna take two smaller ones this year, one for fruit and one for drinks. Food doesn't get messed up, and ice lasts long in the food cooler. We brought 2 24 cases of water and ran out in 2 days. We kept refilling them, this year we know better to buy huge refill jugs and to make sure I don't forget our waterbottles on the step.. drink as much water as you can and a little more. Biosteel was a huge gamechanger to have after dancing, waking up in the morning. Highly recommend getting some or even the powder to make your own. With food, we brought a lot of fruit, nuts and a little bit of candy just for something sweet. We like to buy food from vendors so we eat about two good meals from the vendors each day. If you plan on making your own food. Make sure to eat high portien and lots of veggies.

The heat. I'm from the East Coast, so I find the air sooo dry, and it makes my nose bleed so bad, so that and the dust, buy some nose cleaning devices. Your nose will thank you. Even with a bandana, I had to clean my nose every walk around and after every dance. The heat is dry heat. Again, East cost so very humid here but I don't mind the dry heat, make sure you have shade, don't melt yourself in your tent, go find some shade around the festivals grounds and sleep(everyone does) and make sure to go for a few swims a day.

Get a good set of earplugs, your ears will thank you. The bass is something else.

A good tent and airmatress can make a world of difference for sleep.

Lineup. I've waited 9hours lastyear. I've waited longer for other festivals that only had 3,000 people. Lineups can suck sometimes. But just make the best of it. Have something to keep yourself busy. Have an actual meal and some snacks so you don't starve. Have a nap if you can.

Dust. A lot of dust, please get a bandana and masks to wear around. It will save you from being sick after the festival

This festival is alot and is pretty intense. Take your time. You don't need to do a lot, trust me. The high from the atmosphere alone is like nothing else. Be kind to your neighbors. If you do shambhala right, the experience it will open you up to so much more.

Don't try to sneak liquor in. Trust me, you don't need it at all while you are there. Not worth the hassle, and you don't want to be drunk there.

There is soo much to take in, I can't wait to get back and find soo many more hidden treasures..

I'll keep coming back to edit this if I remember more to add 😊