Date: Mon, 11 Apr 2011 12:50:03 -0400
From: Shakori Hills
Subject: Shakori Hills, Going Even Greener for Earth Day – April 21-24
Shakori Hills is Going Even Greener for Earth Day
April 21-24, 2011
Pittsboro, NC – The Shakori Hills GrassRoots Festival of Music & Dance, held April 21-24, has a new project. It may seem small, but they are hoping to make a big impact. Every festival, without much thought, thousands of people buy water in plastic bottles. Some of them get recycled, some get re-used, and some just get thrown away. This spring, none of the vendors at the festival will be selling water in plastic bottles. The festival itself will be selling
collectable metal water bottles at a very affordable price, as well
as glass mason jars.
Festival attendees will be able to fill these containers (or their
own) with water from the Blue Green Machine, a truck with a natural
water filtration system. <http://www.bluegreenmachine.net/>The Blue
Green Machine, sponsored by <http://www.kinetico.com>
Kinetico, will
be located in prominent spots throughout the festival. The Blue Green
Machine’s mission: “To perpetuate GREEN technologies to help
eliminate the horrible waste of bottled water that has spread like a
disease on our planet.” Their website also states: “The amount of
expended energy to produce these plastics for sometimes and inferior
quality of water at an exorbitant price, has forced the design of the
Blue Green Machine.” The festival is proud to support the same
mission.
Here is how it will work. Once a person buys a metal water bottle,
they are free to fill it at the machine whenever they would like. He
or she can also buy a sticker from the Blue Green Machine for $2, put
it on any container from home, and have all-you-can-drink access to
water all four days. Festival co-coordinator Sara Waters comments,
“We’re really excited about the fact that no plastic containers will
be sold on our premises. It just makes everyone feel better about
doing their part!” Attendees are also welcome to fill their bottles,
jars, whathaveyou at spigots around the festival, which provide clean
well water. Festival attendees should remember to bring a container
for water, or look for the metal bottles and mason jars available at
many of the food vendor booths.
“The folks at Shakori Hills have had a long-standing interest, not
only in being sustainable and earth-friendly, but in educating
everyone here how to do so as well,” says Waters. The date of the
festival was originally chosen because of its proximity to Earth Day,
and it is easy to see the connection. Waters continues, “Celebrating
the earth isn’t the only priority here, we need to honor our planet
by taking care of it and always thinking about the lives of future
generations on it.”
Each trash station at the festival has containers for bottles and
cans, and many have a place to leave compostable items as well. Food
vendors at the festival are encouraged to deposit any grease they use
into <http://www.biofuels.coop/>Piedmont Biofuels containers,
Piedmont then uses it to create fuel. The goal is to create as little
waste as possible from an event that hosts at least 8,000 people.
Other than elimination of plastic water bottles, composting,
recycling, and supporting biofuel generation, the festival has some
other great projects that show their dedication to the planet. One is
the <http://www.shakorihills.org/solarize-shakori-project>Solarize
Shakori Project, with which the festival hopes to run all of it’s
activities on solar power by taking donations of individual solar
panels. This way the attendees actually help the festival become more
energy efficient. There is also the
<http://www.shakorihills.org/earth-day/>Earth Day Fair, a
festival-long series of forums on sustainability and care for the
environment from local businesses and residents, which takes place at
the Sustainability Pavilion in the central festival grounds. See the
festival website for specific forum details.
For more information on the festival, call 919-542-8142 or visit http://www.shakorihills.org.
Sara Waters
Co-coordinator / Public Relations / Booking
Shakori Hills GrassRoots Festival of Music & Dance
Spring Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival: April 21-24, 2011
1439 Henderson Tanyard Rd.
Silk Hope, NC 27312
http://www.shakorihills.org/
919-542-8142
Donate to the Land Fund for Shakori Hills Community Arts Center!
http://www.grassrootsstore.org/store/home.php?cat=255