Wednesday, June 6, 2007
This year’s Wakarusa Music & Camping Festival will focus on more than great music. For brief periods throughout the four-day festival, the environment will steal the spotlight.
“One of the biggest changes this year will be on environmental sustainability,” said Heather Lofflin, media coordinator for the event.
The festival has partnered with Zephyr Energy of Lawrence to launch a “sustainability symposium,” according to a news release from the company. Speakers will give presentations on such environmental topics as coal-fired energy and wind energy in between selected acts.
Recycling at the event will also be emphasized, Lofflin said.
“We anticipate doing twofold the amount of recycling we did last year,” she said.
The festival has purchased from Zephyr Energy what are known as Green Tags, which offer renewable energy developers a premium to produce carbon-free forms of energy. The money made off the green tags will go directly to renewable energy projects that will produce the same amount of energy used at the festival. The new energy, however, will be clean, in the form of either wind or solar energy.
“It’s to get people to start thinking about where our energy comes from,” said Sarah Hill-Nelson, a Zephyr energy representative. “One of the themes we’re trying to stress is that living sustainably can be fun.”
OTHER CHANGES
The festival aims to be more user-friendly with help from customer service representatives known as St. Bernards. Lofflin said that these “roaming information booths” will answer any question a patron might have, from “where’s the closest bathroom?” to a need for first aid.
For those patrons looking for a little extra relaxation, yoga classes will be offered in the morning, said Dave Barrett, a festival coordinator. Hanuman, a famous yoga instructor, will lead the exercises from 8 to 11 every morning.
But all of the extra activities have not taken away from the main goal of the festival: providing musical entertainment. More than 100 bands are scheduled to perform on six stages over the course of four days.
Ben Harper, Widespread Panic and the Yonder Mountain String Band are considered some of the festival’s highlights.
“I think you’ll find that every genre is represented,” Barrett said of the lineup.
The diversity of the music could be one reason the festival has gained attention around the world.
Tickets have been sold in all 50 states and five foreign countries, including Germany, Japan, Australia, South Korea and England, Barrett said.
“Lawrence is really on a national stage for four days,” he said.
Although tickets for the festival are not sold out, Barrett recommends getting tickets as early as possible.
A four-day pass, as well as passes for individual days, can be purchased at www.wakarusa.com.
— Edited by Joe Caponio
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