A beginner’s guide to Shambhala: Everything you need to know and more

The main event

So now, you’re across the border, your campsite is assembled, and it’s time for the main event to begin! Once you’re all set up, be sure to introduce yourself to your neighbors — Shambhala is easily the friendliest festival we’ve ever attended, and the people next door will be more than happy to meet you. As we noted, Thursday will feature two of the six stages with the Living Room and AMPhitheater open for business. It’s typically a more low-key night, making it ideal for exploring, meeting new people, and finding your bearings.

Thursday is affectionately dubbed “Day Onesie,” where thousands of people will dress up in pajama onesies, so be sure to pack one to join in on the fun. Shambhala favorites SkiiTour are also a can’t miss, with their yearly Thursday evening set acting as the unofficial opening ceremony for the festival. For that, the crowd will largely be decked out in ski goggles and snow pants, before Day Onsie festivities kick off once the sun goes down and temperatures dip.

Figuring out your weekend can be a stressful part of the weekend if you don’t have a schedule handy. Although there is now a cell tower installed on the festival grounds, reception can still be spotty at times out in the campsites, so plan to have set times handy somewhere offline, whether it’s on a laminated printout, or simply saved to your phone prior to the weekend. If you’re more a fan of having everything in an app, one intrepid developer created a handy ShambaTimes app, pairing wonderfully with the festival’s own official app.

DMNW Pro-Tip #5: Shambhala will often release PDFs of the whole schedule — we will include a link if/when those release so that you can print them out and laminate them for ease of access

For most festivals, you find yourself adhering to a strict timeline of needing to be at “x” stage for “y” artist, and we highly recommend doing the opposite of this for Shambhala. Let the music take you where it takes you. During the day, you can relax in the water of the Salmo River, while taking in the chilled-out beats of the Living Room stage directly next to you. Try and take it easy during the daytime hours; starting Friday, the music will go as late as 8:30-9 a.m. into the following morning.

Throughout the weekend, there’s a variety of special events outside of the music, almost completely organized by attendees. You can wear your warmest one-piece pajamas on Thursday for the official “Day Onesie” celebration, and first-years can join the “Shambhala Virgin Magical Mystery Train Tour” on Friday! A full list of special events can be found here, so pick and choose your favorites accordingly!