How stringent are Music Festivals?
 

I'm going to my first Music Festival (Pitchfork)... and i was wondering how stringent are they on alcohol? The website says that everyone will be searched on arrival.

Has anyone been to Pitchfork in the past?

i've never been to Pitchfork but any festival i've been to has patted me down at the gates and did so to everyone else. contraband is removed and not returned. if you're lucky you get to keep entering the festival, if you make a scene you get to go home.

there are ways of sneaking alcohol onto the field but it's a hassle.

I haven't been to Pitchfork but I've been to other festivals in Chicago and I'd say you're better off not trying to bring in alcohol. Just buy beer there.

They pat down and i'm guessing check inside backpacks?

From what I remember, yes. It's really not worth the risk.

I hate being 19

I didn't realize you were underage. In that case it's REALLY not worth the risk.

Haha yes, i figure since it's not just some local show i shouldn't risk it. Broken Social Scene and Modest Mouse!!!

It must really suck going to a festival in america and being under 21.

Do some festivals over there forbid you from bringing in alcohol? You can bring all the drink you want into festivals over here as long as you don't bring it in glass bottles. They usually pat down everyone and search the odd bag for drugs or glass bottles but every time i've managed to sneak drugs in :) For large festivals they usually don't have the time or patience to search people properly.

Alcohol at festivals here is banned to but I have always managed to sneak it in. Not because I'm underage, but because I'm poor and the booze is always so bloody expensive. I can only speak to Australian festivals, yes they are stringent, but no they are not that stringent that they go through every single item in your car like a police raid or something.

Once we simply put all the booze at the very bottom of the pile of all of our camping stuff. We told the officials that if they took everything out could they please put it back because it took us ages to fit everything in the car. They waved us on. I usually put mine at the very bottom of my clothes bag, concealed with clothes or a towel or something. They never find it. They're not going to go through absolutely everything you own.

Some people I know have gone to ridiculous lengths though, like filling up tissue boxes with goon bags and then sealing them up again, stuffing booze down the middle of their rolled-up sleeping bag, pouring booze into coffee thermos...

That being said, if we ARE caught with alcohol on us, it is just confiscated - no fine or anything. Even if there are underage people it's doubtful they'd book us or charge us or anything, they'd just confiscate the booze. So I'm not sure how it works where you are, it's not worth risking it if you can get fined...

Drugs I would never, ever try to bring in because they have sniffer dogs everywhere, and those dogs are amazing.

Nice. So much for America being the land of the free...here you are forced to buy overpriced booze from the on-site vendors. That goes for pretty much everything. Amusement parks, movies, etc.

The particular festival in question in the OP wouldn't have cops searching cars since its in one of the largest cities in the US and I doubt many people would drive. Actually, that said, I've never heard of them searching a car at any much event anywhere I've ever lived in this country. You definitely get patted down at the gate though, by and large.

Ahh okay, I see. Over here most music festivals are camping ones where you have to drive, mainly because they are in the middle of nowhere and mainly because you need your car to transport your tent etc. So as you drive through the gates you hop out, they pat you down, have a quick squiz at your car, and then you continue driving through the gates and find a spot to park your car and pitch your tent. It seems logical to check everyone's car.

For music festivals that aren't camping ones, no cars are checked, that would be silly. They just pat you down.

Thats exactly like Rhythm and Vines in NZ. Its in Gisbourne so you have to drive all the way there. Alcohol ban is pretty lax, but they serious if your underage. Like rip up your ticket and your out serious. The booze has always been easy to sneak in, just hide it in your bulkiest bag and do the doe eyes. Works every time :D