ACL Music Festival preparing for heat

AUSTIN (KXAN) - For those who live in Austin, dealing with the heat this weekend during the Austin City Limits Music Festival shouldn’t be that hard to do.

KXAN’s Chief Meteorologist Jim Spencer said the high temperatures should stay below the dreaded century mark.

For those out-of-towners who -- according to C3 Presents , the company behind the ACL Festival -- make up 53 percent of the attendees, here is some advice from those who have been through the scorching Central Texas summer.

“I have a plethora of bandanas that I keep wet and around my neck,” said Annie Angello

Another festival attendee said it’s all about drinking, and he doesn’t mean beer.

“Stay hydrated and stay in the shade as much as you can,” Philip Lee said.

Luckily, shade and water will be two things there will be plenty of this weekend inside the festival grounds.

Attendees are allowed to bring two unopened liter-sized bottles of water each. They can also bring in an empty water bladder and fill it up for free at one of several triple-filtered hydration stations being provided by Camelbak .

As far as shade goes, ACL has added 11,000 additional square feet of tents this year to help people cool down. The biggest additional tents are located just south of the food area.

Festival goers will also find more fans with misters attached to them throughout the park this year.

“ACL Festival is dedicated to keeping patrons safe and cool," said ACL spokeswoman Sandee Fenton in a press release. "This year's blazing temperatures have been taken into account throughout the festival production."

There will also be more medical help this year. Austin/Travis County EMS is adding more paramedics inside the festival to deal with both heat and other medical problems.

“We are all cognizant that it is going to be a very warm weekend,” said EMS Commander Eric Jakubauskas.

The best thing people can do, according to Jakubauskas, is start preparing now for this weekend.

“They just need to drink lots of water before, the days leading up to the event. When you’re here, take the opportunity to visit the mist stations they’ve set up and cool off, get in the shade or find a good spot in the shade to enjoy all the music,” Jakubauskas said.

If all else fails, just remember, one of Austin's best places to cool off is located right across the street from the festival. Barton Springs Pool will be open during the ACL and it costs only $3 to get in.