With festival season on a serious wind down in America, we figured it was time to collect some of the best festival totems we could find on the Internets. Wait, what's a festival totem, you're asking? You've definitely seen them. Festival totems (AKA rage sticks) are simply images/objects that are affixed to sticks and are displayed for festival goers to gawk over/laugh at/get annoyed with because "why the fuck is this in the way of me seeing the show!??!" You know how it goes. And while some sites have given advice and tutorials on making these totems, DAD feels that you should be making the right totem.
First off, personal and sentimental items should be on a stick. Duct taping your favorite childhood stuffed animal to an umbrella stand and tearing up when "your jam" comes on might make your festival experience bright, but the bro with the neon pink shirt won't know how sentimental that is, and will more than likely be pissed at "that idiot with the ratty teddy bear in the air."
In terms of the actual image you choose to display, our opinion is the more random/meme-y, the better. Making festival totems of the DJ you're coming to see is cool—and DJs like Kaskade and Dillon Francis will definitely retweet your totem if they see them—but think about some shit that will have the randos out there popping. What about Tommy Pickles from the Rugrats? Ren and/or Stimpy? If you're a little more artistic, deadmau5 wearing a Mickey Mouse-inspired mau5head? Really think about a) what's popping on the Internets then b) how you can get it on a big-ass stick.
This next piece of advice could be the most important: try not to make your totem too cluttered. We've seen doge totems where there's all kinds of cursive writing around the image; that's cool, but the further someone gets away from you and your totem, the more people are likely to say "what in the fuck does that even say?" and totally neglect what could be a killer joke. Just like some tracks don't need too much muddying up the bounce, your totem doesn't need too many bells and whistles. Let a powerful image win on its own.
All totem makers should be cognizant of any size/material requirements that the festival you're hitting might have on festival totems. We've seen some spots say nothing over 10 feet tall, and that they should be made of lightweight material. Just be aware of this when you're coming up with that perfect idea... plus, the lighter the totem, the better it is for you. You'll be out there for a number of hours, holding up this awesome image for all to see. The last thing you want to do is go through all of that work and have your totem confiscated at entry or end up burning out from carrying this monstrosity all day.
And finally, while we would love to say "don't make your totems so big that nobody can see what the hell is going on," who cares?! We like a good totem, and don't mind having our views obstructed while you sway to a DJ set, especially if you've adhered to our words up above. Pasquale Rotella recently pointed out how you can't look at a festival like a concert; if you're going to an EDM festival to stare in awe at a DJ or stroke your chin and take notes on what's being played, you're doing it wrong. Have your fun, do your dance, and entertain yourself (and those around you) with a quirky totem.
