Organizers of the Arcadia Folk Festival in Easthampton, Massachusetts – a benefit for the wildlife sanctuary that bears its name – say they’ve come up with a sustainable approach that bridges music and nature.
Arcadia is part of Mass Audubon, one of New England’s largest conservation groups. The eighth annual concert on the grounds of the 700-acre nature site takes place this Saturday, August 29th.
The day-long music festival is a joint effort with the Northampton-based music label Signature Sounds.
“When you produce different kinds of music events, you're always looking for great sites. And I feel like the Arcadia nature center is such a physically beautiful site,” said Jim Olsen, director of Signature Sounds. “And part of their mission is to bring new people in and make people know this facility is there. So it's really a showcase for the park.”
Arcadia manager MJ Rappaport, who is overseeing the festival for the first time since starting the job last year, said the festival also models an eco-friendly alternative to other music events.
“The idea is that people can come and see what a pretty robust, extensive, big festival day can look like,” they said, “that is … not bad for the planet, maybe even good for the planet.”
Rappaport said all power for the music stages comes from solar panels. Food vendors use all compostable dishware, only sell vegetarian dishes and don’t sell plastic water bottles.
“Which all results in us collecting about one single bag of actual trash that goes to the landfill for about 1800 to 2000 people,” Rappaport said.
Rappaport added that it will likely take broad policy changes to combat threats like climate change, but there is still a role for smaller efforts like this.
They expect around 2000 people to attend the festival, which includes a mix of western Massachusetts performers and national acts, including Allison Russell and the Milk Carton Kids.