They’re Floatin’ in Texas
When it comes to Texas based music events, the shoes are definitely large to fill.
Texas is home to many different types of music events, festivals, and gatherings alike. So, to be able to hold your own in the state that claims “everything is bigger”, is no easy feat. Well, San Marcos’ home festival, Float Fest, does just that! 45 minutes south of Austin, is where you can begin your journey down the hidden gem that offers so many aspects for anyone looking to enjoy their time in Texas.
With early arrival to the festival, one might expect to be halted in extremely gruesomely long lines. To our surprise, this was not the case here, as we were in and on our way to setting up for the weekend, in under an hour. After getting setup, we were nothing but excited see what the festival had to offer. We were greeted with yet more flowing lines of entry, and no hiccups when it comes to music entrance. Upon entry, all of the staff, from gates, all the way to bar and food access, were extremely friendly, and super attentive!
After being in the good ole Texas heat for a bit, we decided to check out the river hang out spot. The festival offers a walkable entry to a part of the river where its not restricted to “floating”. Greeted by loads of people, we were weary of if we were going to be able to “cool off”, however once again we were exceeded of expectations. The river hang out area was an extremely relaxing spot, to catch a break from the 106 index heat that Texas was bringing us. We later decided to venture on the buses, and give the “Float” part of Float Fest a go ahead and see what it was all about. Lines to get onto the shuttles were long, but surprisingly moved fairly quick with over a dozen buses shuttling people back and forth. As we hop off and approach the tubing entrance, theres definitely no shortage of tubes, to say the least. Within 15 min, we were off the bus and had our butts in the water, enjoying the super refreshing waters of the river. The initial float is around 2 ½ hours, but after start to finish, you end up around the 3 hour mark, but definitely worth the ride! One of the highlights of the festival, is the volunteers that spend hours in the water, collecting any sorts of trash that you look to off load, or any that is accidentally left behind. This festival definitely knows how to “Keep it Clean”.
As we headed back for music, we were greeted by amazing sound quality, and no sound bleeding issues from the other stage. The crowd was also super vibrant, and for such a large festival, always had plenty of elbow room no matter where you ended up at.