“A festival goer gets a water container filled at Lollapalooza Thursday, August 1, 2019, in Chicago. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)
Some things about Lollapalooza never change: the crowds, the snaking lines for beer and hot dogs, the music pumping from all corners. But regular Lolla attendees have noticed at least one change this year. It’s never been easier to fill a water bottle, and never more encouraged; “Hydration Stations” line the park, blue-colored booths staffed with volunteers and ambassadors from Love Hope Strength, who man stations in three different shifts and promote registration for their bone marrow database.
This year, according to Farid Mosher, senior crowd services manager of C3 Presents, Lollapalooza’s sustainability efforts were placed in the spotlight. The goal was to improve hydration in order to reduce single-use water bottles and focus on “what we can do to keep our fans hydrated and focused on the experience, which is the music.”
There are 32 hydration units overall, each with four spouts. The units, which were increased by 20 percent this year, are in six separate locations throughout the park (including the field surrounding the T-Mobile stage and adjacent to Buckingham Fountain).
New this year is the fact that there are two separate “super stations,” each with 12 units, amounting to 48 total faucets on all sides of the booth. One is near the Perry’s stage, which, according to Mosher, was a strategic choice.
“People congregate in certain areas, and it sounds like with Perry’s specifically, we have a lot of people who need that,” Mosher laughed, referring to the stage’s size and rambunctious nature.”
