Breakaway Festival Is On The Way – 5 Tips To Help You Thrive At Belknap Park This Weekend
Breakaway Festival kicks off this weekend in Grand Rapids, on Friday and Saturday August 19-20th at Belknap Park.
The festival features headliners The Chainsmokers and DJ Snake, and Oliver Tree. As well as several huge name artists like TikTok icon Yung Gravy, Two Friends, and Jai Wolf and more.
If you already have your tickets, you're probably excited. (If not, you can still pick them up on their website or at the gate until the event sells out.) and if you're curious about going, here are a few tips I can give you as a festival veteran on how to survive the weekend with the least resistance.
Plan your day so you don't waste time
I've been to a lot of festivals in various states and on different grounds. And I'm going to be a little honest here, Belknap Park is far from my favorite when it comes to layout.
While, you can argue that it's really badass to watch bands from the hillside if you don't want to mess with the crowd, there is a lot of walking involved.
Parking is extremely limited nearby, so you may want to plan to park a few blocks away (which is free street parking!) and walk to the venue. But, that does fill up throughout the day, so if you don't plan to get there early, be prepared for more of a hike.
Follow their socials
One of the easiest ways to keep up to date with any breaking news (good, or bad) at Breakaway is to follow them on social media. If there is a last second change, you'll find it there first. Their handle is @BreakawayFest on Insta, TikTok, Facebook and Twitter.
Personally, I always follow festival twitter accounts because they tend to be the most reliable, but an insta story update can always be quick for you too!
They also have an app you can download to get push alerts and maps, if you don't mind saving something to your phone for a one weekend event.
Bring Cash
Yes, a lot of vendors take cards. Yes, cash sucks and is a pain in the ass. But, it's 50000000% better to have cash on hand in case of the worst case scenario: internet problems. Or worse case scenario, you find someone you want to purchase from and they don't take cards.
Plus, if you're leaving tips, it's nicer to do in cash because the vendors and workers get to keep more of it generally. So, be a good human and carry a couple of $20s to be safe.
Don't forget the sunscreen, earplugs and water
I already know how cringe it is to sound like I'm your mom, but trust me on this one. No one has a fun time at day two of a festival if they're burnt, hungover or worse, still can't hear from the day before.
If you're drinking adult beverages, try to do a bottle of water between every alcoholic drink you have. You're already battling the heat, you don't want to have a nasty hangover or worse, hurt yourself. And I used to be the worst about ignoring the earplug advice, but I now hear a constant ringing and I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. You're already ruining your earbuds with air pods, save yourself where it's easy to do so.
Have fun, don't be a hater
As the queen of making fun of everyone and everything, leave it in the car. Music festivals are a place where everyone can get together and just vibe. Sure, you'll see some weird outfits and people who are off the rails, but that's not for you.
Most importantly: don't kill anyone else's vibes. If you see someone who needs help, step up. If you're in the pit and someone falls, pick them up. We're all here to have a good time, and we all love these artists. There's zero reason to be a buzzkill, and you look worse than you realize when you're the one negative person in the crowd. Hype other people up, and most importantly: have fun! Good luck this weekend, and if you're bringing your mom, make sure you keep her away from Yung Gravy.
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