Braving the Beats

A What The Festival survival guide.

FOREST GROVE: The crowd at What the Festival 2013.

You've been to Sasquatch every year since 2009. You've run around in a glow-in-the-dark loincloth for a week at Burning Man. You might even consider yourself a "festie." But you'll still be unprepared for one of Oregon's weirdest, wildest and finest festivals: What the Festival.

"WTF is not a run-of-the-mill concert or festival," says Glen Boyd, who created the electronic music-focused event in 2012 with his wife, Tiffany. "We wanted to do something in the Pacific Northwest that would be as focused as much on art and experiences as the music."

This week, 3,000 house-, dubstep- and trapheads will gather in the dry forest beneath the eastern face of Mount Hood to witness performances from the likes of Glitch Mob and Washed Out and Portland artists like Natasha Kmeto and Emancipator. In between, they'll be checking out the spa and hookah lounge, soaking in the giant wading pool and tripping out to creepy late-night vaudeville shows. If unprepared, your experiences may vary, so we put together a guide to help you make it out of Dufur with at least a few brain cells intact.


1. Food:

2. Hydration:
 

3. Shelter:
Dirtybird

4. The elements:
Woody Guthrie Presents the Dust Bowl: Live at Giza

5. Hygiene:

6. Dangers:

7. Intoxicants:
 

SEE IT: What the Festival is at Wolf Run Ranch near Dufur, Ore., on Thursday-Sunday, June 19-22. 18kknd. See whatthefestival.com for ticket prices and a complete schedule. 

WWeek 2015

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