What it takes to be a vendor at Firefly Music Festival

The Firefly Music Festival is just two weeks away, and it’s primed to bring one of the largest out-of-state crowds to Delaware.

Though the numbers dropped considerably last year (possibly because rock fans found the lineups to be a letdown after Paul McCartney headlined in 2015), for a couple of years there, Firefly drew more people to The Woodlands in Dover than would fit in Dover Speedway (90,000 people versus 85,000). This year’s Saturday lineup is headlined by Eminem, Lil Wayne and The Killers — not exactly up there with Beyonce, who headlined Coachella this year.

But even on a more laidback year you’re looking at more than 60,000 people. In a state with 950,000 residents, that’s a lot.

Firefly’s Market Vendor application is still open online, but if you want to be a vendor at the East Coast’s biggest music festival, you’d better be prepared. This is what it takes:

• $2,750–$4,500 (camping area starts at $1,750). A lot of money, but any vendor should make well more than that over the weekend.
• A sample visual display to show organizers before the application will be accepted.
• Products should be unique and have “positive social impact.”
• 10–14-hour days (up to 20 hours in the camping area).

Of course, if you get in, you’ll also get a nice bit of exposure.

Tickets are still available (though the early-bird discounts are gone), ranging from $129 for a one-day general admission pass to $2,499 for the Super VIP Pass (lodging not included).

If it’s all too much — the crowds, the costs, the hours — remember the Ladybug Festival, which is coming to downtown Wilmington on July 20–21 and Milford on Sept. 22.