Things to bring to an outdoor festival: sunscreen, comfortable sandals, patience and ... apps.

The Flint Hills International Children's Festival (this weekend) is the latest local fest to offer visitor info via free smartphone app. It comes with an interactive map, schedule of events, links to related social media and even a "virtual photo booth."

Sounds handy. Also, trendy.

Hip-hop music fest Soundset had an app for attendees this year. The Minnesota State Fair has an app, too.

"It's the technology that people use to stay connected, to stay informed and find their way to interesting events," said Jake Reint, spokesperson for Flint Hills Resources, which sponsors the children's festival in St. Paul. "We think people will have a lot of fun with it."

But what if you're headed to a big event that doesn't have its own app? Or what if you need more event-related screen time? Well, the New York Times rounded up some other apps that can help with summer outings, including Circle for finding out what's going on, Any.do for planning, and the self explanatory MyCar Locator Free (Android) and Find My Car Smarter (iOS).

(Photo above: Hannah Bobzien performs on the lyra for the Cirque Mechanics' Gantry Bike performance during the 14th Annual Flint Hills International Children's Festival. By Star Tribune photographer Elizabeth Flores.)