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We don’t want to give too much away here, but the press pass is, especially at festival time, the golden ticket. Waft
this thing of beauty under a security guard’s nose and watch burly men in bomber jackets clear the way like the
parting of the waves. Journos generally get access to the site, part of the backstage area and a press room – read
rickety portacabin – from which to tap away at cheap computers in a bid to deliver copy that’s already hours late.
If you’re planning to go on a press ticket you need to be writing for someone. It can be online, it can be a magazine,
it can even be your student paper, but there’s one thing you have to remember when asking those lovely PRs for
your free lanyard: it’s all about coverage. You have to be able to offer column and digital inches. And don’t tell fibs.
This is all about the schmooze and capitalising on contacts. Get caught lying and they’ll never forgive. Or forget.
You won’t be the only person using this as the route in: Bestival receives 500 requests for just 200 press passes -
so you have to make a bloody good case, and be sure to turn the charm up to 10.
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Trading on your culinary skills is another way to get yourself in, and more importantly, get yourself
fed at festival time. There’s some graft involved, mind, but not much. For most festival caterers,
the minimum requirement is the Nationwide Caterers Association (NCASS) Level 1 qualification.
Visit the NCASS (http://www.ncass.org.uk/) website where you can bone up on the necessary food
hygiene course in just an hour or two. As a newly qualified clean food specialist guy, all you have to
do is get a job and you’re as good as through the gate.
One chef du fest who has enjoyed plenty of hot summers behind the grill is Peter Gordon from
Scotland. He started at Risotto2go (http://www.risotto2go.com/) and in the last two years he’s
notched up a bellyful of festivals. It’s the very definition of the free meal ticket. “It’s hard work,”
Gordon tells us in-between mouthfuls, “but you get crew camping, clean toilets and showers and
behind the scenes access. Trader privilege opens up a whole new world of possibilities.”
Remember though, you probably want to be at a stall that serves up the grub you like: if bloody rare
steak’s your thing you don’t want to be doing three long, hungry days at Schnaffle That Falafel. And
while you may not need Michelin stars for pies, curries and hog roasts, if a cheese and pickle toastie
is a challenge maybe you should consider taking your talents elsewhere.
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