Your Guide to Festival Intention Setting

This blog post is brought to you by the launch of my own Festival Intention Setting Bundle featuring three guided meditations and a digital journal for you to tap into and cultivate some festival intention setting magic for your next festival. Available for purchase at $11.11.

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I’ve been going to major festivals since 2017 and have been majorly immersed in festival culture since my first Coachella. I used to view festivals as escapes from life until I began my own personal development journey later in 2017 when I was questioning working 40 hours a week for a paycheck, looking forward to the weekend, and repeating each and every week. It really had me wondering is this really it? As I’ve grown in my own journey and started making changes in my life, I started viewing festivals less as escapes and more as celebrations. It’s allowed me to find this beautiful space to channel personal development in my daily life and through festivals. Making festivals have much more intention and transformation behind them rather than escapism and partying.

I’ve started to blend the practices I use in my day-to-day with my festival habits in taking care of myself. One of the powerful tools I use is intention setting where I set intentions behind my festival experiences. It’s allowed me to cultivate a deeper purpose or meaning as to why I am attending this festival and what I really want out of this experience. I’ve shared this practice with festival goers at Electric Forest and Groove Cruise in my own workshops and virtually in online workshops. This guide is going to go over the importance of festival intention setting and how you can channel it.

What is festival intention setting?

Festival intention setting is the practice of defining your focus and purpose, whether it’s for a specific festival experience or simply how you want to approach your overall festival experience. Unlike goal setting, which emphasizes the outcomes you want to achieve (that may not happen), festival intention setting focuses on understanding the deeper reasons behind your desires and emotionally aligning with what you want.

By cultivating a festival intention-setting practice, you can better align with what you wish to gain from this particular experience. While a goal outlines what you want to accomplish, an intention clarifies your motivation and approach. For example, if your goal is to attend a festival, your intention might be to immerse yourself fully in the experience and connect with others throughout the festival weekend.

Why is it important?

Festival intention setting can be a powerful practice because it helps you detach from specific outcomes and release expectations. With clear intentions, you can feel at ease and empowered as you navigate your experiences. When I began setting intentions for a festival weekend, I gained clarity about what I truly wanted to get out of it.

Instead of just aiming to have fun and dance, I aligned my intentions with intentions like releasing, healing, or connecting. This approach made the festival experience much more meaningful and deepened my engagement, as I could always refer back to the intentions I set at the start of the weekend. It also helps you embrace whatever experience unfolds and let go of rigid expectations. Festival-goers often set high expectations and leave feeling disappointed, but intention setting helps alleviate those feelings.

How to do it?

To start setting intentions for festivals, take some time to sit quietly and connect with yourself. Even if you’ve never meditated or journaled before, you can easily try this practice. Set aside some peaceful time for yourself before the festival weekend. Begin by taking a few deep breaths to calm your mind and minimize distractions. Then, consider the following questions. You can reflect on them in your head, jot them down in a journal, or type them into your phone.

Festival Intention Setting Prompts

What am I looking forward to at <insert festival>?
How do I want to feel while at <insert festival>?
What do I want to experience at <insert festival>?
Who do I want to be or embody at <insert festival>?
How do I want to take care of myself this weekend?
What am I calling in for this weekend?
What am I releasing for this weekend?
What mantra or affirmation do I want to tie these intentions to for this weekend?

This practice might feel uncomfortable at first, but don’t be discouraged. Find ways to remind yourself of the intentions you set as the festival weekend unfolds. Especially with a multi-day festival, each day offers a fresh opportunity to embrace your intentions, regardless of what happened the day before. I hope this guide serves you well and you can try to do this practice on your own or use my Festival Intention Setting Bundle to assist.