Without Porta Potties, Could Music Festivals Exist?

Music festivals are some of the most fun, energetic, and sometimes enlightening places for people around the world. They bring people from all sorts of backgrounds together for one purpose; listen to great music by some of their favorite, or yet-to-be favorite bands and musicians.

But when you bring that many people together in one place, whether it is in a downtown locale or in the middle of a field, they will need to ..well, go. And as a music festival organizer, you will need to be sure they have some sort of facilities to use during your event.

Luckily, most event organizers know this and have planned enough outdoor events in order to know how many people to expect and how to be sure there are enough restroom options available to them.

However, that is now. What about before? What did people do before the invention of the porta potty? Could music festivals exist without them?

Birth of the Music Festival

When most people think of the words “music festival”, they think of Woodstock, one of the most famous (or perhaps infamous) music festivals in America. While it wasn’t the first event of its kind, it was indeed a jumping point for many, many festivals that followed in its footsteps afterward.

So what was it like? Were there people sleeping on the ground? Were they heathens that just did whatever they wanted? And really, where did they use the bathroom? 

The thought of approximately 500,000 people just relieving themselves wherever they wanted, all willy nilly, isn’t a thought for the faint of heart. Luckily, that isn’t exactly the case. There were indeed portable restrooms at Woodstock in 1969, however, there weren’t enough for the huge crowd that showed up.

Initially, the organizers only expected roughly 10,000 people to come to the festival, but they were outstandingly mistaken. This of course led to a lack of space and facilities for the masses. In fact, just a few days before Woodstock was set to start, a lack of important items such as ticket booths and fences lent itself to no longer charging a fee so the organizers could focus on the food and music.

Fun Fact: Woodstock started out with only 600 toilets for their many patrons.

How Many Porta Potties Do You Need for Your Festival?

Generally, when planning a festival or any special event, you’ll need to plan for a certain number of porta potty rentals depending on the number of guests you are expecting.

If you’ve read our article, What is the Rule of Thumb for the Number of Porta Potties I Need?, you probably already know, but for time’s sake, let’s go over it again quickly here.

• You will need at least 2 porta potties for every 100 guests at your festival. 
• You’ll also need to add another portable toilet per 100 guests if you will be serving alcohol at your event. 
• Be sure to add one more if your guests will be staying at the event for longer than 4 hours. 

So based on these numbers, by paying close attention to your guest count, you’ll be able to accurately estimate your needs and from there, get quotes for renting porta potties. 

You can basically expect to need 1 portable toilet for every 50 people. So if you have 100 people estimated or registered, be sure to rent at least 2 porta potties, and one more if you plan to serve alcohol or the event is planned to be longer than 4 hours.

So Can Festivals Exist Without Porta Potties?

OF COURSE! However, they would definitely not be nearly as pleasant of an experience! Believe us! We’re not in the 1960’s anymore and we have many more options available for facilities available for rent, such as our restroom trailers (what we call the “VIPee” treatment). 

So when you’re ready to talk to a professional about your needs, give us a call. We’ll help you get what you need. 918-272-0568