Tent for a Festival

Hi everyone. I'm so excited that I have a big event booked. This is the first time I will need a tent. All the others have been indoors so I never found a need for a proper setup. Does anyone have any advice about which tent is best? I've been looking at the 10x10 ones. Thanks!

Those white "Pop up" tents are great and easily set up and torn down. A little bit more price wise, but really nice and a great investment for other jobs.

Definately pay the extra to get a white 10x10 easy up. Some festivals are very particular about your set up- even down to the color- so go with this and you'll be gravy.

Make sure you choose one that is standard- and have the legs be verticle (easy -ups are great) If you have slanted legs you often can't fit inside the 10x10 space. I also love having one that can accommodate the available accessories, wind sheilds etc. Having your own tent is great! Hope you love it!

I have been selling stuff at craft fairs/festivals for years and I've been told by many people that the Caravan brand is the best as far as being sturdy and lasting a long time. It is more expensive, but it's an investment. They run about $200 at Costco or you can get another EZ-up type brand for $100 or less. I got one on sale at Kmart for $70 and it has held up pretty well so far! Mine is a Shade Tech.

I agree that you should get a straight leg one, not a slanted leg one. Also, you might want to consider weather (wind, rain) and security (will it be up over night?) and think about weights and/or sides. Those are add-ons. I do like the rolling case on mine so I don't have to actually carry it everywhere.

Thanks everyone! I was wondering what the difference was between a "pop-up" and an EZ Up? I read the other threads here and Metina advised not to get a pop-up style. I took a class with Sandy Johnson from sunshineentertainmentco.com and she has so many awesome tips on how to improve your setup. She explained everything from lighting to how to transport everything in one trip. The one thing I missed was what kind of tent was best. Thanks for all the help!

I made weights for mine that are out of the way.... I took 4" PVC pipe and cut into 4' lengths, filled with concrete and put an eye hook in the top while the concrete was wet. We tie rope through the eye hook and hang it from each corner of the tent. Really works and is up out of the way!

Pretty sure EZ up is just a brand name of a pop-up.

If you can, pay for a 'pro' tent, they are tougher, heavier and generally last longer. I have a 3mx 3m one which had done me for 3 busy years and then been used by family/ let up in the garden the last 2 yrs I was in Hong Kong. Its starting to go at the seams but I can just get a new cover.

And always get a white roof - have been given navy, green and orange to work under and its awful, either dark even in sun OR the colour cast makes it impossible to see what your paint colours are let alone take any useful pics.

Cat x

I had an EZ up from Walmart that got trashed last year at one of the festivals here... now I have a Caravan one from Costco. It is a little bit bigger when folded but it is much sturdier. A possible alternative to weights on the bottom and something I'm going to be looking into is getting some of those screw in stakes that you use to tie up a dog or hold down a swing set... much easier to transport and very secure.

We use EZ-Up tents and directors chairs. Very easy to set up, ours came with sides, an awning and a banner to put our name it. Was well worth the money.

We were specifically told at one event that we were not allowed to stake our tent, not even just with those little straight spikes that come with the cheap tents. And sometimes we have been in paved parking lots... I need to get better weights, we just used milk jugs filled with sand and tied them on. I like the idea of the concrete in PVC pipes.... sounds very compact!

Yeah, the farmers' market that I work is on concrete but there is a steel guard rail against the building behind where we set up so I tie on to that and the market has some pier blocks that they share as needed with the vendors.

I tie my tent to my ankles, sure it makes a tangled mess and it takes me 5 hours to unknot but other than that it's been a real gem. Exceeeept for that one time a large gust of wind came in from the north and placed me on the roof of the local wal-mart. I made the most of it and took some delightful birds eye view photos.

Get an EZ up, in white - you'll be fine.

They sell great weights made specifically for those pop up tents (EZ-Up is the brand name but is used as a generic term like Kleenex)

http://www.rewci.com/weplsetof4fo.html

For a job next month I have to bring a tent, and I have never tried that before. How long does it take to set up and take down? And can you do it alone? How big is the easy-up tents when packed?