My friends and I are planning a trip up to gainesville for the Fest. All of them are 18 but I'm 17, can they vouch for me?

all the venues except for 2 are 18 and over.
I dont know much other than that.

Answers at the Fest website FAQ:

http://thefestfl.com/fest7/faq/

Is THE Fest 7 all ages?

As of now every venue at THE Fest 7 is 18+ except 1982 and The Kick Stand.
This is a rule of the city of Gainevsille.
However, if you are under 18 you may be admitted if you are accompanied by a parent or legal guardian. The parent or legal guardian also must pay to attend. You may have one parent or legal guardian for a group of minors. So, if your mom and dad want to take you and your five best friends to THE Fest then they have to be responsible for all of you. It would help at some venues to maybe bring signed permission slips from every parent with contact info too. Damn, this is starting to sound like a field trip.

EVERYONE ATTENDING Fest 7 MUST HAVE A VALID ID WITH BIRTH DATE TO GET INTO ANY OF THE VENUES. NO EXCEPTIONS!!! If you don’t have a driver’s license then you must have a legal ID or Passport. College IDs will not work.

do my friends count as a legal guardian yes/no?

No.
Legal guardians are court appointed.

Try here too:

underage festers?

Sounds like you have two months to "turn" 18, one way or another. Do it convincingly, don't be any older than 19 or so, and you should be fine.

Sometimes, honesty is just a pain in the ass, especially in Gainesville.

I don't think any of the venues have changing stations. Good luck with that.

so happy i don't have to deal with this shit this year.

Fests 2 and 3 I was under 18 and had zero problems. But the whole thing has gotten much bigger now, so it could be different. I recommend asking one of the older... err, "more seasoned" people in line to act like they're somehow related to you. Females would probably be easier since the last name difference would be easier to explain away.

i would just pull out the "He's my step-son" thats pretty simple to explain lol.

if we include step-relations, then maybe we really could have some 18 year olds claiming to be the parents of 17 year olds.

My grandpa's wife is only about 5 years older than my dad.

even at 18 you could easily say "he's my brother, we lost our parents and I have custody over him" ect. SHITS EASY

just like Dave Eggers.

it's going to be Al Ages at The Kickstand and 1982 for sure. There may be another venue without age restrictions too. it was pretty vigilant last year as far as id's go, especially at the bigger venues