AmazonMidwife

Yes, Comfest is a verb chez nous. Amazonmidwife's lexicon defines it as "attending the festival (of the same name) in a manner that keeps the mellow for all." (or something like that---hey, I'm a little tired from being @Comfest since 10AM.) Just take my advice, since I consider the 'Savant and I to have reached professional status having reached our aluminum (traditional) anniversary as a Comfest-ing family.

1. Pay for parking Spending precious time (and gas) and most importantly, the limited patience of your offspring hunting a parking space is not mellow-inducing. Nor will a long trek from (or more importantly back to your car) improve matters. Save invoking Gladys the goddess of parking for more worthy causes (like finding a spot in front of the CCM 2 minutes before it closes.) There are places that are raising funds for worthy causes by charging for parking. Support them and improve you car-ma. (I crack myself up when I'm this tired.)

2. Arrive early You won't even be able to pay for parking if you don't get there before the hung-over kidless people who stayed to hear the last bands. It's also a great time to do shopping---much less crowded. Most importantly, you get first pick of the shadiest places for spreading your blanket---also a necessity; I've actually gotten kids to nap for a half-hour or so during the hottest part of the day. It's also a lot easier to have a home base from which to send one parent for necessities instead of dragging the kids around all day. (Besides, you want to get a good place for hearing the music, not one that will deafen you or the kids.)
Conversely, Leave early The cumulative effects of imbibing all day causes other festival goers (esp. the childless ones) to forget their inhibitions and training. My personal irritant: intoxicated smokers. We try to leave around 7. Yes, we miss some of the bands, but keep our mellow. If one of your favorite bands is playing later, arrange for childcare and have a date. Nobody can hear the band while an overtired kid is tantruming/crying.

3. Bring food and water I know this is not recommended by the Comfest organizers, but one cannot feed kids on festival food alone and expect them to maintain the mellow. (esp. since the Co-op isn't doing a food booth this year.) And I can't be expected to be mellow about dropping all the $$$ I want to use for shopping on food. We found some backpack coolers and pack lunches as well as a few snacks. We end up buying special treats anyhow, but at least I know that the kids have had some decent food before they eat the junk.
As for water, I just can't see buying more plastic bottles of it that would (conditional tense deliberate; see #5) end up going in the bins for the Comfest recycling people to have to deal with. We have a 2.5 gal cooler that we fill with (mostly) ice, water and limes. The 'Savant carries around with us until we get to the (non-profit) booths that we help staff. (The 'Savant works the FreeGeek booth, while I help out @ the CHOICE booth; yes we stagger the times and that's a whole 'nother entry.)

4. Everyone carries something Or, as my Friend Stephanie puts it,"Why have dwarves if you don't put them to work?" (Steph's not much into being PC.) Even a 5 year old can carry a small backpack lunch with a full water bottle and a plastic bag with some wet wipes in it.

5. Pack out your trash Did I mention that the 'Savant's volunteer shift is with the trash crew this year? This is what we do to make up for the sin of bringing our own food/water. It teaches some great lessons in responsibility and also helps moderate the kids' greed for junk food. "Do you really want to put that back into your backpack when you're done with it?" We put plastic grocery bags (which we still seem to have, even though we've been using recyclable bags since the winter) in everyone's lunch pack and the kids are responsible for coping with disposal when we get home.

Okay, 5 rules are enough for anyone to remember. But a couple of extra hints for free:

---strollers are great for carrying your gear, not so great for carrying your baby/toddler (unless they're the old-fashioned perambulator kind). It's hard to see the child (and keep s/him shaded) in a stroller. Plus, strollers put babies and lit cigarettes on the same level too often. Carry the baby in a sling; it's convenient for nursing and you can see her/his coping level at all times. And if you're getting tired of carrying the baby, the baby is probably getting tired of being carried; it's a great reminder to sit down, take a break, drink some water. Comfest is not a sprint.

---Consider doing a volunteer shift (esp. once the kids get a little older and 4 hours at Comfest is easily do-able.) Usually the 'Savant volunteers while I'm with the kids, since I'm on call for births, but we are hoping that once the kids get old enough to do a 4 hour shift (12 years) that we can both do a shift with them. Volunteering has given him some insider knowledge that has contributed to the Comfest wisdom here. It's also a great way to give back to this entity, this festival that "works for the collective good."

I'm going to post this and get to bed since there's still one more day of Comfest. I may try to edit in some links tomorrow.