Festival in the garden: Here’s how to smash it

It’s time to party! Maybe the occasion is a birthday, anniversary or graduation – a great way to stand out from all the other parties this summer is to throw a festival in the backyard. However, organising a festival in the garden requires some skill and organisation. Here is a list of some important aspects to think about when organising a private festival. 

Taking care of the festival ground

When planning a festival, it’s necessary to take the garden into consideration. Small or big, that lawn is going to have a hard time, and it will need some TLC before and after the event. At most festivals there are always people who like to walk around barefoot, so before hosting any activities, it’s an idea to make sure the lawn is clean. It’s also important to make sure outside furniture is disinfected (there isn’t a single person worldwide who hasn’t become familiar with the relevant products over the last year), so it won’t be hard to know where to start. Is there a plague of snails or insects? This can be remedied with nematodes that are a 100% natural deterrent to anything attacking vegetation. Backyard ready? Now it’s time to tackle the fun stuff. 

Choosing a theme

Picking a theme for a festival is probably the easy part. Once the ambience has been decided, it’s fun to see everyone dressed up to fit. Perhaps some mates missed out on tickets to a favourite festival last year – here’s a chance to recreate the vibe.

Music

The only truly essential element of a festival is the music. Without musicians, it’s just a party! There are endless bands, singers and solo artists raring to go, and talented friends and Internet will be sure to provide plenty of options. Ensure you pay your entertainment fairly – after all, they’re the life and soul of your event, and after the year they’ve had, it’s the least they deserve!

Food and drinks

A festival simply isn’t complete without overpriced food and drinks. Hosts can ask close friends and housemates to help with preparing the food, but what if they’d rather spend their time dancing the night away? It might be worth considering renting a food truck – or multiple trucks, depending on the budget. For drinks, it’s probably not necessary to buy a bar – they’re easily built or rented. 

Planning activities

Any good festival organised will want to know that guests are going to have an awesome time. That’s where access to some additional fun activities come in. These can vary from drinking games to outdoor sports or even crafts. There are many different websites that provide games and activities for festivals – perhaps a photo booth or table tennis? For the DIY enthusiast with time beforehand, it might even be fun to come up with and build some games beforehand.

The importance of decorations and lighting

Decorations and lighting are key when organising a successful festival. Lighting can create a stunning experience after the sun has set. For hosts who want to go hardcore, why not hire a laser show and UV lightning? But it’s important to keep in mind that a lot of lights need a lot of power, so hiring an independent generator might be sensible, and the neighbours might need warning.

That’s a start to organising a festival at home. Let the fun begin!

The editorial unit