Many festivalgoers look up to the sky to find their friends in the crowd, scanning for a particular meme, artist reference, sports team or anything else that fits on a pole.
Festival totem poles and flags are used for practical navigation, artistic and political expression and catching artists’ attention. Making appearances across EDM festivals and even as early as Woodstock in 1969, totems and flags remain an important part of the festival-going experience.
At this year’s Austin City Limits Music Festival, attendees brought humor and style to their poles and flags.
On Friday, the day before Sabrina Carpenter headlined ACL, festivalgoer Ada Jobel held a totem referencing when Carpenter chugs an espresso martini during her hit song “Espresso.” The totem featured a large helium espresso martini with a pink ribbon and rose gold streamers attached to a silver pole, decorated with lights and more cardboard glasses tied around its base.
“We made it on the car ride from Houston to Austin,” Jobel said. “I was thinking, ‘What are we doing this year?’ I want something Sabrina. I was like, ‘Espresso.’ We do drink espresso martinis. That’s our thing.”
Jobel said making poles to display at ACL provides a tradition for her and her sister, making a pole for the festival every year since 2018.
“My sister made (an) Astros one,” Jobel said. “That one was there for as long as (it) could (be). It wasn’t a successful year for us this year, so that’s why we changed it up.”
Flags provide an opportunity for festivalgoers to represent their favorite teams as well as their favorite acts. Longhorn fan and alumnus Bill Kaigler showed his school spirit the day before the Texas v. OU game with a burnt orange flag featuring a longhorn emblem.
“My father-in-law went to the University of Texas. Sisters, wife, daughter, everybody’s gone to Texas,” Kaigler said. “It’s a great place.”
Kaigler, like Jobel, said he and his family bring a flag every year. For the past six years, Kaigler has shown love to the University at ACL.
“We usually have a Darth Vader flag that says, ‘The eyes of Texas are with you,’” Kaigler said.
Walking around Zilker, totems and flags provide great photo opportunities and conversation starters. On Friday, festivalgoer Denise Lopez paused for passersby to capture an image of her unique flag, featuring a monkey meme with a finger in its mouth, situated next to the phrase, “LOKIAR?”
“It’s a classic Spanish meme,” Lopez said. “It means ‘go crazy’ in Spanish, and everyone likes a little cheeky monkey. So we knew everyone needed to be a cheeky monkey today.”
With three days of non-stop music, celebration and excitement, totems and flags allow ACL attendees to express themselves in ways beyond outfits and makeup, building traditions with their loved ones and making finding friends in the large festival crowds a possibility.
