With the summer festival season coming to a close, many will be flocking to Stradbally this weekend to end the season in style at the annual Electric Picnic festival. Here is a quick guide of what to expect if your  heading to the final music festival of the summer:
Electric Line Up:
The href="http://electricpicnic.ie/lineup">line up list is too long to list all here, but here are just a few of highlight acts to expect at the festival:
Today:Â The Cure will be performing at 9 till midnight on the main stage, or if you fancy tingling your classical taste buds the Trinity Orchestra will be playing the Dark Side of the moon at 12.30 also. The Crawdaddy stage will be full of main acts such as the Delorentos 3.45, the Horrors at 9.45 and Bell x 1 at 11.30.
style="text-align: center;"> width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/ghb6eDopW8I" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen>Sunday: The Killers have reformed and will be making a performance on the main stage at 10.15. Ryan Sheridan will be strumming away at 2.15 at the Electric Arena, Mick Flannery will be performing there also at 5, as well as Hot Chip closing the stage at 11. As for the Crawdaddy Stage it will feature new hit wonders Of Monsters and Men at 4, as well as renowned international acts Cathy Davey and Glen Hansard. Hit Irish band Kanyu Tree will be performing at 1.45 at the Cosby Stage with the closing act of the festival being Mmotha at 3 in the morning at the Body and Soul stage.
Families are also welcome, with children under the age of 12 are able to go free. There is a science tent, arts and theatrics, body and soul and a comedy section.
Transport:
Stradbally Hall is located in the centre of Stradbally Village in Co. Laois, to make your way to Portaloise drive via the M7 motorway, then  follow festival signage and Garda instruction.
It’s a 50 mins drive from Dublin if you take M7 directly from Dublin to Portlaoise.
It’s aprox. 3 hours, 15 mins drive from Belfast take the A1 & then M1 to Dublin. Take the M50 on the outskirts of Dublin and leave the M50 at junction 9 and take M7.
It’s a 2 hours 10 mins from Galway, take N6 to Portumna, then R489 to Birr, N62 to Roscrea, Â then M7 onwards.
It’s a 2 hour drive from Cork take N8 to Portloaise and then N80 to Stradbally.
There are also special bus services going to the Electric Picnic leaving directly today from custom House Quay in Dublin, Parnell Place Bus Station in Cork City and Galway Bus Station. Departing and return services will be running from 8am in some places departing from 12.
If hitting the road isn’t your first preference there is a train stop at Portlaoise station which is about a 15 minute drive from the festival.
Traffic:
The heaviest href="http://www.newstalk.ie/2012/featured-5-slideshow-homepage/traffic-updates-for-the-weekend-ahead/">traffic can be expected on  Monday morning.
The Abbeyleix Rd (R427) will be closed from Money Cross to Stradbally from 9am tomorrow until 4am on Sunday and from 8am until 3pm on Monday. Access to Stradbally along this route will be for residents and event traffic only.
Any motorists not attending the event are advised to avoid the area and take an alternative route. There is no official closing time for the campsite on Monday which means most motorists are in no hurry to get on the road.
Festival organisers have recommended car pooling to cut down on traffic surrounding the electric picnic site.
Weather:
The href="http://www.newstalk.ie/2012/featured-5-slideshow-homepage/weather-morning-update-18/">weather for once  looks promising, with what looks like sunshine for most of the festival.
Today will be  overcast also for majority of the day but it will be warmer with the sun brightening the festival around midday. Temperatures will range from 17-20 degrees.
Sunday will start cloudy but sun and clear skies for the last day of the music festival. Temperatures will range from 16-21 degrees.
Festival Do’s and Don’ts:
While the weather looks promising don’t totally abandon the umbrellas and wet gear just yet. Being as unpredictable as Irish weather can be, there  is still a chance you may need the rain gear. There are plenty of cheap wellies, brollies, rain macs to be found in most clothing stores and supermarkets.
Do bring sunscreen, with temperatures reaching as high as 21 degrees despite cloudy intervals, there is still a high chance of getting burnt.
Don’t limit layers of clothing just because there is a possibility of sunshine, doesn’t mean you should totally throw away any ideas of warm layers just yet. Summer is unfortunately coming to an end whether you are camping the luxurious way or not, it will get cold at night and will need those extra layers.
Do give yourself plenty of time, as can be seen from the traffic updates above and road closures it looks likely many heading to the event will face long delays. So get there earlier to ensure you get a good spot whether its for pitching a tent or simply not missing your favourite acts.
Don’t leave camping preparations till last minute, whether you plan just to stay for one night or the whole weekend. Make sure you know what your doing when comes to setting up tents and most of all href="http://electricpicnic.ie/sleeping">where your going
Do pack well, as well ensuring you have all the necessities for the Irish temperamental weather. Do make sure you have plenty of food and other necessities especially if you are unfortunate to get caught in long traffic jams. If you plan to stay for all the of the festivities it’s a long weekend, there maybe services on the festival site but often it can be best and cheaper to bring your own essentials.
