A glance at the calendar shows it's here - the best time of the year: festival summer.
For many metalheads (and of course metal kids), festivals are an integral part of being a fan. Because festivals aren't just ""a quick afternoon to see a band"". Noooo, such a festival needs to be well prepared. For the common visitor as well as for us as traders on the metal market, there is a lot to do in the weeks before arrival. Boxes have to be packed, tent equipment checked, supplies and drinks bought, festival merchandise printed, signs and goodies prepared and of course one or the other decorative gimmick - I only say ""disco ball olé"" - must not be missing :-)
For some people, festivals are the ONE weekend of the year where they can really relax
Summer, sun, good music, camping and mostly bad mobile phone reception so you can't be reached anyway. Unfortunately, due to the covid pandemic, the festival season can't take place this year the way we're all used to, so today we're taking a look back and telling you about our best festival experiences. Because we've experienced a lot in the last few years. From bad weather with torrential rain and, of course, a lot of mud in the sales tent (Wacken 2017 ~ rain or shine) to the mega heatwave with a fortunately near-stand cooling in the lake (Full Force 2019) to the complete standstill on the entire festival site due to a terror warning (Rock am Ring 2017), which turned out to be harmless after all.
Great experiences, parties and, of course, lots of cool people.
In over ten years of Metal Kids, we have visited countless festivals and had lots of fun and great acquaintances. For our teams on site, a festival is much more than just setting up a tent and selling shirts. In addition to our merch stand, we also try to organise exciting activities elsewhere, such as our legendary Bobbycar race at Wacken and at the Breeze (in 2017) or the autograph session with Mr. Hurley (in 2019).
Speaking of races...
Some of you might remember or have been there yourself? The Bobbycar race at Wacken 2017 was a real highlight in our festival history. The participants had to drive through the EMP backstage tent on our Metal Kids Bobbycars, drink a beer as quickly as possible and then drive back again. That was a wet and merry event. There will be more about it here in the blog soon.
But what makes a good festival for our team? We asked:
Metal Kids: What is the best thing about the festival summer for you?
Patty: Phew, that can't be answered in one sentence. Somehow everything is great. At the beginning, of course, you're looking forward to getting out again. To the festival feeling, where the biggest worries are cold drinks and good weather. Then, of course, meeting all the people again, most of whom you haven't seen for almost a year. And the camaraderie among the traders is just great, we're like one big family. And, of course, there's the whole festival experience. Going to see a band or even having artists visit your stand. Those are always great experiences and nice memories. Every one of us has had contact with bands at the Metal Kids stand. From Subway to Sally, Caliban, Amon Amarth to ""incognito"" visits from artists who have bought from us themselves for their kids.
Metal Kids: Patty, how did the mud fight at Wacken actually come about? Was it silly nonsense, a lost bet or spontaneously out of a beer mood?
Patty: Actually it was a bet with Nino from Hall 15 (author's note: trader friend at the Metal Market) out of a beer mood during the morning boredom before the first people come to the stand. Nino had actually never rolled around in the holy Wacken mud before and I also urgently needed to do so again. No sooner said than done - the bet was on. On the same evening at 10pm I had to defend the honour of Metal Kids against Hall 15.
In the meantime, we are represented at festivals all over Europe. Whether at Hellfest in France or Download in Great Britain, you could find us everywhere at our Metal Kids stand. Of course, there was always enough time to enjoy the benefits of festivals and so friendships have formed over the years, whereby our Metal Kids family has grown steadily. We are already looking forward to hopefully being on the road again next year at many festivals and meeting many of you.
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