By Loana McCabe-Gould
June is just right around the corner and festival season is in full swing! I just came back from a successful weekend at EDC two weeks ago, and I know quite a few people just came back from Lightning In A Bottle last weekend. Today I’ll be talking about Paradiso Festival, which is happening in less than three weeks. Paradiso is the festival that I’ve been calling “home” for the last three years, and it has a special place in my heart.
Date/ Location
Paradiso is a two-day camping festival held from June 15th-16th. Since most attendees of this festival camp, many people arrive on Thursday or early Friday morning, and head home on Sunday. The festival is held at the beautiful Columbia River Gorge, which is around a 3-hour drive from Seattle, WA.
Photo by Little Machine Productions
Tickets
Both GA and VIP tickets are still on sale, but I would not sleep on getting them, since this festival has sold-out the past few years.
GA Tickets
GA tickets will give you the basic amenities at the festival and you can get them if you are older than 18 (this festival is 18+). If you feel like treating yourself, there are two types of VIP tickets that are available.
Celestial Package
The Celestial VIP package is available if you are older than 18. This VIP package gives several amenities including a separate VIP entrance, some exclusive VIP lounges and viewing areas, in and out privileges between the campgrounds and the festival, and access to water stations and bathrooms available only for VIP ticket holders. On top of those amenities, you can also save time with expedited entry to rides, attractions, and artist meet and greets. Lastly, the package comes with a commemorative laminate and lanyard, a gift bag, and a silk screen t-shirt, so you will have some awesome memorabilia to take home after the festival!
The Paradiso Experience
The Paradiso Experience is available for those who are 21 and older. On top of the amenities that are included in the Celestial package such as commemorative merch, expedited access to attractions, etc, The Paradiso Experience also includes a Paradiso water bottle, access to the Cliff House (air-conditioned with a cash bar and a beautiful view of the Columbia River Gorge), complimentary parking, and access to private bars only available for this VIP package.
Camping
Paradiso has four different camping options. All camping options except Standard Camping is sold out at the moment, but I’ll still list out the camping options in case there are some of you that want to keep these in mind for next year! Camping spots in all four options allow one vehicle per a spot with a limit of six people per camping spot.
Standard Camping is definitely where the party is and is a great fit for you if you are looking to dance the night away even after the festival is done! Campsite activities are held at Standard Camping (there was a Silent Disco tent last year along with some other activities) and there are also food trucks available as well! Premier Camping includes larger camping spaces (25’ x 50’), free showers, and shuttles to the festival grounds. Gold Camping also includes larger camping spaces and free showers. Gold Camping is located right in front of the festival grounds, so it is extremely convenient if you don't want to walk a lot to and back from the festival grounds. The last camping option is Terrace Camping. This option has 18’ x 50’ camping spaces, an awesome view of The Gorge, free showers, complimentary pastries and coffee in the morning, and shuttles to the festival grounds.
Photo by Parallax
Lineup
Although the full lineup has been announced a while ago, stage-specific lineups have been announced over the last couple of weeks. Here are the lineups that have been announced so far.
Wreckage Stage: Axel Boy, Ekali, Eptic b2b Must Die!, Feed Me (DJ set), Fury, MC Dino, G Jones, Gramatik,, Graves, Halv & Space Case, Kai Wachi, Magalodon b2b Krimer, Midnight Tyrannosaurus, Minnesota b2b Buku, Monxx b2b Pogman, Netsky (DJ set), Nosia, Pendulum (DJ set), Planet of the Drums, Subsonic Drops, Troyboi, UM.., Valentino Khan
Digital Oasis: AC Slater, Autograf (DJ set), Captain Hook, Claude Vonstroke, Daktyl (DJ set), Darren Styles, Drezo, Droeloe, Gabriel & Dresden, Grum, Hotel Garuda, Justin Martin, Kidnap, Lady Faith, Matroda, Moon Boots, Said the Sky, Sonny Fodera, Subset, The Crystal Method, Tollefson
The lineup for the third stage will be announced soon!
I’m extremely excited for this year’s lineup just because of the wide variety of artists playing this year. Although I’ve loved the previous lineups as well, it looks like I’ll be spending my time equally between all three stages this year. Some sets that I’m looking forward to this year are Rezz, Virtual Self, Granja White Night, Ekali, Troyboi, Said the Sky, and Darren Styles.
Things to Bring
Photo by Parallax
Outfits
The Gorge is such a beautiful venue, and it’s a perfect for a photo op to showcase your outfit! I personally tend to stick to two-pieced outfits instead of bodysuits for Paradiso (porta potties can be a pain sometimes). One thing to remember about the Gorge is that it can be very hot during the day, but gets chilly during the night. It’s good idea to rent a locker at the venue (available on the Paradiso webpage), in case you want to stash warmer clothes like jackets, kimonos, or even onsies!
Hydration packs
Hydration packs are always a good idea at festivals! Paradiso has several free water stations in the festival, so you will have plenty of places to refill your pack. The festival starts mid-afternoon and ends at 2 am, so it’s a good idea to pack everything you need for the day (GA tickets don’t allow re-entry).
This will be my third Paradiso, and I’m so excited to be going with my friends! If you have any questions about Paradiso or want to check out my past outfits, please feel free to check out my Instagram page and DM me at @loanabanana82. You can also find more details about the festival at http://paradisofestival.com/ (definitely read up on the rules and regulations so you know what you can bring into the festival). Hope to see you all there, and please say hi to me if you see me!