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Music festivals going green with creative and inspiring eco-initiatives

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Music is one thing that unites people across the globe. Since the world is getting more and more eco-conscious with each passing day, then how could the field of music remain untouched? Many music festivals worldwide are promoting green, paying their share to the environment. Organizing music festivals means being a magnet for thousands of people who look forward to excellent band performances, but end up littering the venues with waste. To lessen the environmental blows that these annual hordes of music-followers consciously or un-consciously hurl at the environment, festival organizers are coming to the scene.

Rothbury Festival, Michigan

The Rothbury Festival talks volumes with its motto “throw a HUGE party with a purpose.” The purpose is clearly showcased by their greening initiatives and educational events. The festival conducted an event called The Rothbury Think Tank, which included panel discussions, workshops and town-hall-style gatherings. The primary focus of the event was to find ways for the emerging new green economy. Another remarkable initiative sees investment in the Tatanka Wind Farm, the largest wind farm in the Dakotas, to counterbalance its own staff and band members’ carbon air-print.

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Rothbury will also be taking a number of steps on green operations. They’ll be using compostable dishware, choosing alternative energy sources where accessible, employing a green team that will work around-the-clock to support with recycling and composting efforts, offsetting what can’t be reduced, donating to the local community, and more.

In addition to the green operations, Rothbury runs the Sustainable School Program. The program is a joint venture with a local company that deals with installing two wind-turbines at local Michigan schools. Rothbury’s collaboration with Clifbar’s GreenNotes program has made it possible to mitigate the eco-footprints impact by both promoting rideshares among fans and assisting touring bands.

Bumbershoot, Seattle

Bumbershoot is a big name in the green festivals world. Bumbershoot is among a mounting number of festivals, which are carbon neutral and push for sustainable practices. The organizers have incorporated innovative practices to make the festival as green as possible. The practices include transforming their old signage to new Bumbershoot bags. The organizers hired Alchemy Goods, a small local company that converts the old rubber and vinyl into chic carriers. New signage is made using recyclable material, and the ink used for printing is VOC and solvent-free.

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Initiatives that are new on the agenda include a volunteer-run post-consumer composting program, free water fill-up stations for personal and non-disposable containers, festival tickets printed with soy inks and organic fast food from the Pike Place Market. Seattle City Light, a carbon-free energy provider, is brought in to power up the festival.

High Sierra Music Festival, Quincy, CA

The High Sierra Music Festival is a multi-day music festival held in Quincy, California. Considering the fact that thousands of people approach the fairground, the camping embraces the “Leave No Trace” philosophy. Collaborating with Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics, HSMF came up with an innovative idea of honoring campsites that excel in creative and sustainable camping. The most creative campers were awarded with camping gear, drink vouchers, late-night performances wristbands and Leave No Trace memberships.

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Taking a step toward global cooling, HSMF has joined hands with Clif Bar to encourage music fanatics to make their travel to and from the festive-ground eco-friendly. It introduces innovative Cool Tag – a renewable wind energy credit that will keep an estimated 300 lbs of CO2. The festival runs a composting program to turn away organic scrap from the landfill.

Lollapalooza, Chicago

Lollapalooza, a festival that heaves in fans from across the U.S. and beyond, is all set to rock this year with its new green initiatives. The fest goes green with its Green Street Exhibit, an exhibition that will feature sustainable products, eco-demos and a solar powered stage. The festival will provide biodegradable plates and corn-based bags, and the construction materials will be recycled if not reused.

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Lollapalooza persuades visitors to buy a $5 Lollapalooza “BeGreen” fan tag that will help each attendee offset their festival travel.


Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, Tennessee

Bonnaroo is known for emphasizing on local and sustainable ways of making music. Recipient of the UK A Greener Festival award, it truly lives up to the award with its goals by incorporating renewable energy sources, sponsorship of food vendors with locally grown produce, providing alternatives to plastic water bottles, and an on-site compost landfill.

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Bonnaroo collaborates with Clean Vibes, a company dedicated to the responsible waste management of outdoor festivals and events, to supervise the event. They have collaborated with many other festivals like Lollapalooza, High Sierra, Outside Lands and Power to the People. All of them come together to manage waste streams, sidetracking compostable materials and recyclables from the landfill.

Changing people’s perception, these green initiatives will take us a long way. Though it is a small but quite appreciable initiative.

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