If you’re a Festival International aficionado, you should know by now that the tickets are gone pecan.
The new wristband replaces the need for tickets at beverage locations and works with Festival merchandise purchases.
But how does it work, exactly?
Short answer: You download the Festival International 2018 app, then fill out a registration form for your wristband and load money onto it using your credit or debit card. You can load more money onto your "digital wallet" whenever you want to. When Festival is over, you can pay $5 to get a refund of any money you loaded on it, but didn’t spend.
Longer answer: You can do all that, but — you don’t have to. According to organizers, you don’t have to register your wristband to use it, and you don’t ever have to use a credit or debit card to load it. People who don’t have a smartphone, or who don’t want to use the app, and/or who don’t want to give anybody their credit card can also use the wristbands. All you have to do is go to one of the "Top Up Stations" at the festival and load money onto your wristband using cash.
The aim is to offer options for everybody who enjoys attending Festival, regardless of their comfort with technology.
"We are very excited about this innovative new experience that is coming to Festival 2018. Big thanks to our RFID sponsor, IBERIABANK, for helping us make this happen. We know that change is not always easy, but our staff has been working on this process for the last four years and we are sure that this system will bring ease and efficiency to our festival." says Marketing Coordinator, Carly Viator. "These changes will improve the experience for both sides of transactions. Vendors won’t be stressed by counting and weighing tickets anymore. Patrons can avoid making constant stops at the ticket booths and ATMs. We are all saving time and cutting down on waste with the new wristband system and that gives us more opportunity to enjoy Festival."
If you have questions, you can visit the wristband page on the Festival website here.
