Last Friday I went to Sun God Festival and it was crazy fun!
Extra-long post coming up~
Every year UCSD has a giant music festival called "Sun God Festival".
It's named after the Sun God, which is this really big mosaic-bird statue on campus
(there's a bunch of large art-monument type things around my school in random spots).
This is literally the biggest social event at my school!
People are tbh pretty quiet year-round, but almost everyone goes crazy this one day.
The school also does a bunch of events/promotions leading up to the festival - one thing is
hiding a bunch of little paper "sun god babies" around the school, which you can find and
redeem for discount coupons on sgf merchandise.
Professors even tend to cancel classes since students pre-game/ditch/etc. before the event.
Every year there's also people in weird costumes/bodysuits, and people pulling pranks. It's kind of a thing that somewhere on campus, someone streaks through a lecture.
Tonnnssss of really great outfits! Major hipstering this year tho - flower crowns, ripped shorts, ombre/chalked hair, and midriff tops everywhere.
I thought I should make a post of what I went to this year, and a runthrough of
how the whole thing works! There's also a list of tips etc at the end of the post, for people planning to go. c:
If you're a student you get a free wristband - they hand out around 20,000 every year.
Students have to wait in line to get one on the day before the event, and the line is pretty insane.
I went at about 2pm to get mine - the line went from Marshall Field
all the way to the Village housing. (If you pay $65 for a band or pay membership to
Society 60, you're guaranteed a band - Society 60 members get theirs a day ahead of the distribution date.)
look at all the people dear god
On my 1st and 2nd years, I picked up a wristband on the second day. (I missed it 3rd year ;-; )
But this year and last year they ran out on the FIRST day, 3 hours before
the boxoffice was even supposed to close!
The wristbands are always really pretty, and they have a different theme each year.
I think it was a jungle theme for 2013 - the last few years were an ocean theme,
galaxy/universe theme (the one I missed out on, poooo), and last year's 30th anniv. theme.
They also give out little "survival bags", with a list of emergency/campus phone numbers in case
you or your friends get drunk or are in trouble - really helpful!
There's also a pamphlet of your student rights, a list of the festival rules,
and a couple of condoms (hheheh condoms).
The major attractions are the bands - I didn't really know any of them that much. ;-;
This year we had Kendrick Lamar, Porter Robinson, and others - but we went earlier on to see
Andrew McMahon (my friend really likes him and I think I might check his music out now).
My personal fave thing at SGF is the light shows!
(It was too dark for good pictures and I only had my iphone :c )
They have a lot of lights - lasers, screens, and really pretty and cool light effects!
Both stages (especially the EDM stage) have blacklights, so it's a popular thing to
wear blacklight clothing or face/body paint!
My boyfriend let me draw on his face with blacklight paint c:
Last of all is the food trucks and vendors - there's a long stretch of road where they set up.
They pretty much sell every kind of typical "festival" food you could want.
Everything's really pricey though! I got a funnel cake and it was $8, ok but kinda soggy. ;c
Besides food, there are a lot of stalls selling independent-brand clothes (shirts etc).
This year there was a stall selling rave clothing and equipment, like light gloves and such.
And there's always the student outfitters stand, which sells SGF-related merchandise.
This year's the last year I can go free as an undergrad. I'm really happy
I decided to go, it's really so much fun and a chance to loosen up.
I'm not on point about the performers, and tbh I had a pretty tame experience
(my bf doesn't drink, & our group wasn't raging-drunk).
But it was great to go hang out with friends, listen to good music,
and dance around & be silly and crazy!
Here's some tips for people planning to go - whether incoming freshmen, or guests:
- MAKE SURE YOU READ THE RULES ON THE SGF SITE. MAKE SURE YOU READ THE RULES ON THE SGF SITE. MAKE SURE YOU READ THE RULES ON THE SGF SITE. They are *extremely* strict about particular things like bags, water bottles, etc. and if there's any kind of problem, YOU HAVE A VERY GOOD CHANCE OF NOT BEING LET IN.
- For GUESTS: Tickets this year were $65 and sold out in 5 HOURS. Get there early and be ready for a line!
- BRING A REUSABLE WATER BOTTLE. Unless you want to buy one for about $5 at the water stall, you'll pay $1 per (nonreusable) water cup that you drink. They'll ask you to dump out whatever you have in your bottle, but you can get unlimited water refills inside the festival. You also can't even bring *SEALED* water bottles (think Aquafina) into the festival, they'll ask you to throw them away.
- BRING A *VERY* SMALL BAG. Like really small - think like those tiny cross-body mini-purses. You really won't need anything besides a small camera (no pro cams), phone, water bottle, and wallet with some cash. Don't bring anything you don't plan to use - they also don't allow pocketknives or anything that might qualify as a weapon.
- I had a square bag that was less than 12"x12" (the limit for other dance events) and it was hard to get into SGF - I literally had to take everything out of my bag and show them I wasn't dangerous, before they let me through. They turned away a girl ahead of me in line because she had a shoulder tote.
- EXTREMELY DRUNK/HIGH PEOPLE in the crowd. There will be a LOT of them, especially as it gets later and later. If this offends you, I really strongly suggest you not attend, or attend for only the first 2-3 hours. Most people who show up at opening are sober. (Key word here is MOST.) Keep in mind though that music entertainment doesn't start until late in the day; at opening, there's only a couple of DJs, the performance tent, the vendor street, and the bounce house.
- If you plan on drinking or getting high, please be responsible and look out for yourself, or better yet go with someone who's sober who can look out for you. A lot of people go home in an ambulance each year for things from passing out to alcohol poisoning; know your limits!
- PEOPLE WILL SMOKE IN THE CROWD. Cigarettes AND pot/other things. Again, if this is something you really don't want to be around, stick to the early events.
- BE AWARE of your surroundings! The crowds are huge and not everyone is respectful - sober or not. I've heard that people have gotten pickpocketed. Keep an eye on your things, and bring only the bare minimum of what you'll need. There are security guards all over; if you feel threatened, harassed, or such please go for help!
- BE RESPECTFUL OF OTHERS - one of our group rules was "If you're old enough to drink you're old enough to think!" That being said, keep an eye out for your friends and ask them to do the same for you if you get tipsy etc. (Please don't harass anyone. Really. :c Not cool. There were a lot of girls groped/grabbed at this year, although guys weren't mentioned I will assume there's an equal chance for them too.)
- GETTING HELP: They usually hand out a list of emergency phone numbers, so have those handy or save them on your phone just in case. If you go with a group of friends, it's a good idea to have a meetup place and have everyone's phone numbers, in case someone goes AWOL.
- HAVE CASH. The food trucks and vendors may or may not be able to accept debit cards, tho the two I went to did.
- FOOD CURFEW - if you're sticking to a budget, it's better to go for food at one of the nearby dining halls or student markets. The Village Market, Cafe Ventanas, and Goody's Market are all within reasonable walking distance of RIMAC field. All campus dining halls will close really early on SGF, usually around 8pm - at that point your best bet is the Price Center.
- Next year UCSD is a SMOKE-FREE CAMPUS - don't bring cigarettes/etc because you may actually be kicked out!
- WEAR CLOSED TOE SHOES AND BRING A JACKET. 90% you'll get your feet stepped on, multiple times, if you go anywhere near the dancing stages. It was really overcast both 2012 and 2013, but San Diego weather is notoriously unreliable. It also tends to get really cold and misty as it gets dark, so you'll appreciate a jacket if you stay late.
- If you miss out on buying a band, and they run out before you can get yours, you could probably buy one - there's a LOT of students who don't really care to go and sell their bands. However it's all luck whether you can get it cheap or really pricey, or free if you find someone nice....or if you can get one at all!
This was a pretty long post but I hope it helps!
SGF is the only music festival I've attended yet, I haven't had much time
to go to concerts because of school and work applications. ;c
You can check out this year's event's site
here.
