Festival International's new wristband system makes purchasing easier

Enjoy a new way of experiencing Festival International de Louisiane this year with the festival's improved technological advancements. The 2023 festival is committed to making your experience the most convenient ever.

Every year Downtown Lafayette comes alive for the celebration of Festival International, and this year is even more exciting with the new and enhanced wristband system, access to free Wi-Fi downtown, a mobile app that allows getting around much easier, and live streaming to anywhere in the world.

The most exciting upgrade is provided by First Horizon which introduces the RFID wristband technology. The new and improved RFID system allows users to register their wristbands with a debit/credit card online without having to stand in line. No more refunds are needed with the new RFID wristband technology innovation.

The bands are the same as the previous year. Bands from 2022's Festival can be reused this year. If you're not sure about connecting your debit/credit card, just look for the cash signs throughout the festival. To avoid waiting in a line, set up an account and register your wristband online or in the mobile app. Along with the enhanced wristband system, the free Wi-Fi access is a promising way to avoid phone connectivity issues.

With over 100,000 people downtown it can be a little difficult to browse the mobile app or use the internet to reload your wristband due to cellular connectivity issues. In response, LUS Fiber provides free Wi-Fi in the downtown area to alleviate a lot of communication stress.

"A couple things have advanced from a connectivity standpoint. If you rewind to seven to eight years ago, when you put 100,000 people downtown the cell towers would get bugged out, and you couldn't get cell coverage. So having the ability to communicate regardless of coverage failure while all of this is going on has been very huge and helpful," said executive director, Scott Frehan.

The free Wi-Fi allows the benefits of sharing videos and pictures on social media, contacting someone, and a great way to navigate your way through the festival when using the mobile app.

The Festival International team has worked with LUS Fiber to improve the communication system throughout the festival. Years ago the festival started small with just hotspots and over the years expanded from a hotspot to provide Wi-Fi to the entire downtown area. The Wi-Fi facilitates wristband usage and mobile app as well. Powered by Home Bank, the mobile app gives attendees everything they need in the palm of their hands so that they never miss a beat and know where they are going next.

Through the mobile app, you can see the special events that are going on, the list of vendors and their menus, the festival maps to see where you are, and weather updates. Everything you need to know about the festival is right on the app. If someone you know can't attend the festival, thanks to KRVS live streaming is available on the KRVS app, and can be streamed from anywhere in the world.

Festival International progresses more each year to provide you with the most modern, efficient experiences at this state-of-the-art event. "We want to continue to work on the festival's advancements developing our platform, and taking it a step further with the ability to hit a button to distribute our lineups, vendors, and more on our website, and the mobile app simultaneously," Feehan said. "Updating it to one system improves our efficiency, which in return we can improve other areas of the festivals."

The 2023 wristbands can be picked up at Parish Ink's downtown location. To register your wristband, you can visit the Festival International website. There you can secure your wristband with a pin code, avoid waiting in a top-up line, and get ready to enjoy festival food and drinks with your RFID wristband.