Suggestions....

[skirob]

For those that have attended in the past, help out ye fellow first timers here and let us know what not to forget.

[kag]

Rain gear, rain gear, rain gear (tall rubber boots for stomping around, DRY tent, etc)

Tarp thing to lounge under when just hanging out

Chaises lounges (not sure how to pluralize that ;-) instead of just lawn chairs

Ear plugs for when you are ready to sleep

Toilet paper

Beer & food & water - enough to share with friendly neighbors

Bug spray and sunscreen

baby powder and handy wipes

[kczmrski]

baby wipes... these are so wonderful to use in the morning

toothbrush/paste

bringing a case of beer...bring two cases of water(can never have enough)

sunscreen, cowboy hat...anything to keep the sun off of your face

tall, rubber boots for the mud...although if the weather is like last year(hopefully) you won't need them. they will also come in handy in making the morning trip to the port-o-johns

a disposable camera is good. leave the professional stuff at home. too much of a hassle. can't bring those into the event areas and who wants to lose an expensive camera or have it stolen.

oh, if he looks like a narc then he is a narc. look for the club kids with hats on crooked, baggy patchwork shorts, scruffy face, the more fucked up looking the better (and safer). ecstacy is called molly or rolls.

a grill? do you want to mess with cooking/cleaning or do you want to spend two bucks on veggie borritos a few times a day?

take a nap at some point in the day

clean underwear

[stiqit]

Lots of clean dry socks.

[Ian]

A couple of those little 1-AAA-battery Maglites. Stick one in your watchband and it's hands-free illumination wherever you reach. Super-handy in the portajohns at night.

I can't overstress how handy a GPS receiver is, too. It's easy to get lost in the camping areas (everybody's stuff looks alike in the dark). It's worth buying an inexpensive unit just for Bonnaroo.

[Randall]

Do not forget to bring a rainfly for your tent. I also second the suggestion of a multitude of clean, dry socks. I recommend a wide-brimmed hat with venting.

Don't forget to sleep. Or ...

If you are in or with a band, see if the "chill tent" has the iced yerba mate hook-up. This will help you forget to sleep. Or heck ... just make sure you find the chill tent.

Take some time to wander around the place.

[mar]

I say, forget the socks. Wear your tevas/chacos/crocks. Get muddy!

Freeze bottles of water and use them for some of your ice. Keeps your food cold, without getting it soggy. And as they thaw, you drink 'em. We did this last year and it worked great.

Take some water for not drinking. Depending where you're camping, water can be mighty far away (Ian trekked almost a mile one year and the sulfur smell of the water was awful).

Sun showers are wonderful!

I think one of the most important things is to just know that you can't do/see it all. There's just too much. We try to make a rough plan for the day, and then just go with the flow.

If you're trying to hook up with others at the festival, your cell phone probably won't work much after say, noon on Friday. Walkie-talkies work better.

[Silent K]

bringing a case of beer...


Make sure you bring CANS. They will confiscate any glass and will drink it in the VIP area.

[Ian]

I'm repeating some suggestions here, but here's the minimal essentials list:

Sunscreen (and lots of it, because you're going to see people there who didn't bring any and you're going to want to give them some)
Water
Hat/sunglasses
Toilet paper (even if you don't need it, you'll become someone's best friend by handing them the roll at some point)
Flashlight
Swiss army knife w/corkscrew & bottle opener
Poncho (the basic Stearns poncho is Bonnaroo-tested and approved; available at Walmart, etc., also useful as ground cover to sit on, supplemental tent rainfly, etc.)
Trash bags
Absolutely staggering quantites of alcohol

Footwear: river sandals or crocs (Birks are worse than useless if it rains) and hiking boots or waders. Bring lots of socks if you like, but to me, that's on the priority list right up around, oh, pillowcases.

Like Mar said, your cell will be pretty useless once eighty thousand people are there calling their friends to say "Dude! I'm at Bonnaroo!"

Get one of those five-day-rated coolers just for frozen water bottles - you can put about forty sixteen-ounce bottles in one. And load up your freezer early; it takes a good two days to freeze that much water.

A five-gallon can of water just for washing dishes & filling a sunshower is a good idea. And fill it up before you get there.

There was something I meant to mention about a GPS receiver, but I forget what it was.

[Wombat]

Rv.

[Pecktacular]

For those that have attended in the past, help out ye fellow first timers here and let us know what not to forget.

Transmission fluid
Oil
Water for your car
*Don't blast your AC while sitting in the traffic...please, people, pleeease! Trust me on this...It will be hot, but windows are just as good. If you need to pull over and let the car rest, DO IT!; who cares if 1,000 people pass you, you will probably want to get inside the camping area. I had to pay for a new transmission in 2004, and trying to get your car fixed while enjoying a festival is tough--not being able to transport your stuff into a campsite is worse.

[jack frost]

I would avoid buying any "molly" ecstasy unless the person selling it is a friend of yours or was recommended by someone else who has already done it. Molly comes in poweder form and there are lots of things it could be, many of which you do not want in your body.

The ideal thing to do would be to bring a home ecstasy testing kit.

Or just buy mushrooms or blotter LSD. The former is pretty hard to fake and with the latter, either the blotter will have LSD on it or it won't - anything else you could put on a square of paper that small would have no effect on your body whatsoever (that whole strychnine thing is an urban legend; the amount of strychnine that could be contained on a tab of LSD would not do anything to you at all).

[Mykhailo]

The trip checklist of an old girlfriend:

1. Money
2. Drugs
3. Tickets

[chickenman]

Along with all of the important bring-alongs, there is something else to consider...

My wife and I have been the last three years, but last year we did a lot of research on all of the acts that we didn't know. Then we prepared our own schedule that included our priorities. It wasn't a strict schedule of exactly what we wanted to see but just a guide to let us know, at any given time, what our #1, 2, 3 priorities were. This worked great and I think we got the most out of the shows that we could. The Roo site has links to most/all of the acts' websites. So, I suggest taking some time and listen to all that you can. That way, you won't miss a band that you really would've loved.

oh, yeah, raingear.

[Mac Comer]

Make sure that you bring a backpack that you can carry at least one gallon of water in...Bonnaroo doesn't really provide that many areas for water(especially when your making your way up to the front of 70,000 people). I usually pack a 12 pack and some snacks too!!!