Green Festivals
FESTIVALS — ARTICLES — PODCASTS — RESOURCES — CONTACT
ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY FESTIVALS:
Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest “Attack of the Killer Bluesfest”
The Bluesfest will provide supervised bike parking, use compostable beer cups, and use biodiesel generators for lighting. A volunteer corps ‘Green Team’ helps audience members utilize the recycling programs throughout the events.
http://kadmusarts.com/festivals/527.html
BeachBreak Live
Down to the recycled toilet paper, this festival works to keep things local with a focus on local food, artists and vendors.
http://kadmusarts.com/festivals/1189.html
The Big Chill
The Big Chill will be taking steps to be the greenest yet in its 13 year history. Their initiative of ‘Leave No Trace’ seeks to reduce carbon emmisons, print their programs on sustainable resources and environmentally friendly ink.
http://kadmusarts.com/festivals/2490.html
The Big Green Gathering
This camping and music extravaganza showcases ways to lead an eco-friendly lifestyle with demonstrations on green building and energy production.
http://kadmusarts.com/festivals/4737.html
Bumbershoot Arts Festival
The carbon-neutral Festival has made conscious decisions to decrease its impact on the environment, while supporting the culture and community in which it resides.
http://kadmusarts.com/festivals/3587.html
The Canal Street Jazz and Blues Festival
In 2006 this Norwegian festival received green certification for its efforts to recycle, promote public transportation, and build awareness amongst audiences.
http://kadmusarts.com/festivals/1827.html
Citysol
New York City’s first and only solar powered festival. Citysol seeks to inspire interest and support for local sustainability initiatives.
http://kadmusarts.com/festivals/639.html
Clearwater Festival
100% powered by solar energy, soy-diesel generators and wind-powered energy credits.
http://kadmusarts.com/festivals/3387.html
Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
Bring 10 empty water bottles to a recycling booth and redeem them for a free bottle of water. Ride the ‘Tour De Coachella’ bike station to charge your cell phone, and enjoy popcorn freshly popped from the ethanol powered BBQ. These are just a few of the awareness-raising activities at Coachella.
http://kadmusarts.com/festivals/3038.html
Earth Festival
You can attend lectures, discussion groups, and browse information about Greek environmental NGOs, walk through the open bazaar of organic producers and taste healthy foods in the restaurant of ecological and traditional products.
http://kadmusarts.com/festivals/4729.html
Earthdance Global Peace Music Festival
The Festival promotes peace and environmental sustainability. Promoters donate 50% of their proceeds to a group of charities dedicated to indigenous peoples, humanitarian relief and the environment.
http://kadmusarts.com/festivals/165.html
East Coast International Blues and Roots Music Festival
This blues festival has plans to include compost toilets, grey water reuse and phase in wind and solar power.
http://kadmusarts.com/festivals/50.html
Flat Rock Music Festival
The proceeds from Flat Rock partially fund the Environmental & Conservation Organization (ECO), a local environmental conservation organization. (http://www.eco-wnc.org/)
http://kadmusarts.com/festivals/3420.html
Glastonbury Festival
Composting, recycling, and multiple resources on green living initiatives make this large festival a good ally of the environment.
http://kadmusarts.com/festivals/2462.html
Gouina Festival (Festival de Gouina)
Kayes is famous in Mali for its impressive array of waterfalls, and the festival capitalizes on this with a focus on environmental issues.
http://kadmusarts.com/festivals/4241.html
Great Green America Festival
Great Green combines education and awareness activities with great music. Environmental groups, eco-businesses and community groups provide ideas for concrete action, and bluegrass, folk, rock and Celtic music will keep you dancing.
http://kadmusarts.com/festivals/4278.html
Harmony Festival “Promoting Global Cooling”
This Sonoma County, California festival has worked hard divert waste from the event away from landfills and into recycling or composting programs.
http://kadmusarts.com/festivals/1113.html
Hove Festival
Camping, nature and great music coexist with careful efforts to minimize waste, conserve energy and recycle as much as possible at this Norwegian festival.
http://kadmusarts.com/festivals/5361.html
Iceland Airwaves Music Festival
No need for a car to get to this festival. Compostable cups are the norm, as is locally grown food. They also don’t book artists who fly private jets!
http://kadmusarts.com/festivals/1170.html
Lowell Folk Festival
Lowell Folk has created an extensive composting program, recycling areas and highlights environmental efforts taking place in Lowell, Massachusetts.
http://kadmusarts.com/festivals/3286.html
Montreal International Jazz Festival
Since 1989, this festival has been recovering on-site waste and recycling it. This year a staff of 70 ‘Jazz-Net’ team members will ensure waste collection and clean-up.
http://kadmusarts.com/festivals/564.html
Nagisa Music Festival - Tokyo
Electricity for all the stages at Nagisa will be generated by bio-diesel, created by refined secondhand vegetable oil. In previous years the organizers ran the entire show on solar power.
http://kadmusarts.com/festivals/5297.html
Newtown Festival
Green initiatives show how small cooperative communities can come together to help the environment. There are workshops and a green expo in the Eco Zone.
http://kadmusarts.com/festivals/5424.html
North by Northeast (NXNE)
NXNE is incorporating a number of practices to reduce their carbon footpring: creating electronic instead of printed press kits, purchasing green energy for conference events and festival activities, using local food and caterers and more.
http://kadmusarts.com/festivals/538.html
Northeast Kingdom Music Festival
The Northeast Kingdom Music Festival has taken a forward-thinking approach by offsetting the energy useage and waste typically associated with festivals, in partnership with the Highfields Institute.
http://kadmusarts.com/festivals/3562.html
O2 Wireless Leeds
The O2 Wireless Leeds Festival has instituted a ride-share scheme which you can register (http://www.liftshare.org/default.asp?logout=false&automail=) for online thus reducing congestion and pollution.
http://kadmusarts.com/festivals/5189.html
O2 Wireless London
Located at one of the wonderful green spaces in London, the O2 Wireless Festival implements a recycling program - there is a deposit on cups at the bars to encourage you to return your used cup, convenient public transportation delivers you directly to the festival.
http://kadmusarts.com/festivals/5190.html
Ottawa Folk Festival
Its location in a park makes this festival an ideal location to institute green practices. Early bird passes now include unlimited public transportation to Britannia Park, eliminating the need for driving. More initiatives are in the works.
http://kadmusarts.com/festivals/540.html
The Outsider Festival
With a strong environmental agenda, The Outsider Festival hosts an environmental forum, has set up a ride-share scheme and recycles festival-related waste.
http://kadmusarts.com/festivals/5303.html
Oya Festival (Øyafestivalen)
As the festival is located on historical ruins where the city of Oslo was first founded, there are strong incentives to tread lightly. All eating utensils are biodegradable and there are well run recycling programs.
http://kadmusarts.com/festivals/1927.html
Sarawak Rainforest World Music Festival
The festival’s green initiatives naturally focus on the venue of the event — the unique ecosystem of Borneo’s rainforest and the danger posed to its existence by illegal logging.
http://kadmusarts.com/festivals/1247.html
Splendour In the Grass
This year Splendour will offer audiences the option to buy a green ticket to offset their carbon emissions and will continue the ‘Eco Cops’ patrols to advise patrons on waste and recycling programs at the event.
http://kadmusarts.com/festivals/491.html
Sunrise Celebration
Sunrise is run completely on renewable energy and has taken eco-friendly event planning to the next level with third-party ‘rangers’ checking on their efforts to remain carbon-neutral.
http://kadmusarts.com/festivals/5320.html
SunFest
SunFest encourages green practices through its initatives and Behind the Scenes environmental program.
http://kadmusarts.com/festivals/4826.html
Sziget Festival
Hungarian environmental organizations as well as international ones such as Green Peace are present at the festival to raise awareness and provide information about efforts to take care of the planet. The festival’s contract with the venue stipulates that the grounds must be returned to their original state- no small feat for a festival that attracts thousands of visitors each year.
http://kadmusarts.com/festivals/5242.html
T in the Park
Working with an independent organization, The CarbonNeutral Company (http://www.carbonneutral.com/), the organizers have made T in the Park the world’s largest carbon neutral festival. The assessment of the carbon emmissions during the festival are monitored and calculated””this assessment keeps the organizers informed of the carbon footprint””that is offset by the funding of forestry projects in Scotland, Mexico, and Uganda. In addition, there will be a cup recycling program, educational screenings between gigs, fresh water refills for cups/bottles and recycling.
http://kadmusarts.com/festivals/2886.html
Taos Solar Music Festival
The Solar Stage is powered entirely by the sun through the use of photovoltaic panels.
http://kadmusarts.com/festivals/3376.html
Two Fires - Festival of Arts and Activism
Through music, workshops, and poetry, this festival focuses on our connection to the environment and what we can do to honor it.
http://kadmusarts.com/festivals/96.html
Virgin Festival - Toronto
Taking their lead from Virgin’s founder Richard Branson and his activism in the environmental movement, the Virgin Festival will showcase hybrid cars, uses bio-diesel generators for lighting and cooperates with environmental organizations focused on young people.
http://kadmusarts.com/festivals/221.html
Wakarusa Music and Camping Festival
This June festival in Kansas have instituted a greening program dubbed “recycalusa” geared toward reducing waste from camping and other festival events.
http://kadmusarts.com/festivals/3231.html
West Coast Blues and Roots Festival
Tree planting, green teams, recycling stations, biodiesel, eco information stalls are a few of the programs supported at this festival.
http://kadmusarts.com/festivals/650.html
Wychwood Music Festival
Wychwood is an eco-friendly festival and supports “The Big Ask” which is Friends of the Earth’s campaign on climate change. It encourages people to ask questions and take action. Over 1,800 people supported The Big Ask at last year’s Wychwood festival.
http://kadmusarts.com/festivals/2644.html
Do you know of a festival that should be on this list? Let us know about it!
ARTICLES:
Coachella Festival offers environmental incentives to their audience.
http://www.fox11az.com/entertainment/stories/
kmsb-20070430-PEjc-coachella30.243c098f.html
Tents made from cardboard!
http://www.newconsumer.com/news/item/
tents_made_from_cardboard_to_revolutionise_uk_music_festivals/
Free recycled toilet paper at Glastonbury.
http://www.newconsumer.com/news/item/1908/
Festivals in the UK turn the festival tide toward green.
http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/lifestyle/article2554332.ece
This blogger was at the Wakarusa Music and Camping Festival and recounts their greening efforts.
http://www.greenoptions.com/blog/2007/06/12 wakarusa_music_festival_goes_green_and_i_was_there
Do you know of an article that should be on this list? Let us know about it!
PODCASTS:
Interview with Yusef Robb of LiveEarth:
http://kadmusarts.com/blog/?p=281
Interview with Brian Allenby of Reverb:
http://kadmusarts.com/blog/?p=431
Do you know of a podcast that should be on this list? Let us know about it!
RESOURCES:
Reverb
Reverb is a non profit organization founded in 2004 by environmentalist Lauren Sullivan and her musician husband, Guster guitarist/vocalist Adam Gardner, which educates and engages musicians and their fans to promote environmental sustainability. The organization’s work has greened more than 45 major tours and 600 events, working with musicians such as the Dave Matthews Band, Bonnie Raitt, John Mayer, Sheryl Crow and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
http://www.reverbrock.org/site/
Green Seal
Green Seal has developed environmental certification standards for many products and services. Their website will help you locate certified products for your event.
http://www.greenseal.org/
International Sustainable Energy Project
Everything you need to know about climate change and a host of other environmental issues.
http://internationalsustainableenergyproject.org/ourmission.aspx
Recycled Products Guide
This UK-based website provides information about how to source recycled products for consumer and industrial use.
http://www.recycledproducts.org.uk/view/index.cfm?splash=true
A Greener Festival
The Folks at A Greener Festival have compiled great materials and resources to help festivals and events adopt environmentally responsible practices.
http://www.agreenerfestival.com/index_main.htm
Global Inheritance
This non-profit works to reinvent activism for today’s younger generation. Fashion for Peace, Trashed Recycling Store and Instrumental Assistance are just a few of their initiatives.
http://www.globalinheritance.org/
Natural World Museum
http://www.artintoaction.org/
Oxfam Festival Stewarding
http://www.oxfam.org.uk/what_you_can_do/events/stewards/index.htm
Do you know of a resource that should be on this list? Let us know about it!
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