Mayor to Announce Sustainability Partnership with Dickson Street Music Festival and Springfest

The City of Fayetteville, Majestic Concerts and Springfest are pleased to announce the environmental initiatives underway on April 25 and 26 in downtown Fayetteville, AR. In April, the Dickson St Music Festival and Springfest are working with the City of Fayetteville and other groups to reuse or recycle the waste generated at the event, including food scraps. The groups don't just want to minimize the garbage, they are also taking steps to educate the public how and why to reduce their personal environmental impact.

The city is providing recycling stations, which will be placed throughout Dickson St. to make it convenient for participants to be environmentally responsible. Mayor Dan Coody is excited to see citizens taking an initiative. “The easier we can make it for everyone, the more successful the effort will be.” Large signs will be hung above the stations so that people can see them easily.

Dan Allen, from Majestic Concerts, agrees with Mayor Coody, but he adds, “You've got to make taking care of the Earth fun. We wanted to build the best music festival Northwest Arkansas has ever seen, and we're going to use this opportunity to reach the audience with our message.” The Dickson St Music Festival is going to be big, with national touring acts such as Charlie Daniels, 38 Special, Sonic Youth, Little Feat, and more. Brian Crowne, another of the festival's organizers, says that “The stuff we're doing to be Earth-friendly is a no-brainer. It's just the right thing to do. We hope we can lead the way for other events to reduce their impact, too.”

The Dickson St Music Festival happens during the evening, but during the day people will be enjoying Fayetteville's traditional April celebration: Springfest 2008. Springfest, which is organizing most of the vendors for the weekend, is working hard to ensure vendors are being Earth-friendly. Neal Crawford, one of Springfest's main organizers for several years, says “We are asking vendors to take part in the eco-friendly spirit of  this event. This is our first year doing this, but we're asking vendors to purchase environmentally safe vending supplies and we're encouraging education initiatives throughout the weekend.”

Majestic Concerts asked two local organizations to help plan the environmental initiatives for the weekend. Beatnik Environmental and SocialSustenance.Org teamed up to organize vendor guidelines, recycling logistics, and education programs. Jason Dougherty, of Beatnik, says “We want to blend art, music, and education. It's the best way to really affect a lot of people and get them to think about things.” There will be an Earth-friendly art show and community art projects that emphasize ecological awareness.

This year is a pilot year for the festival's environmental initiatives. “Doing what we can this year will help us plan better for the future. Isn't that what it's all about?” says Matthew Petty from SocialSustenance.Org. The groups involved are really looking ahead. They have a zero-waste goal for 2009 and are exploring renewable energy options for concert sound and lighting.

For additional information on the environmental initiatives of Springfest and the Dickson St. Music Festival, contact Matthew Petty at 479-595-8303.

About Majestic Concerts – Majestic Concerts is a group of innovative producers of concerts, festivals & exhibitions, Majestic has offices in Fayetteville, AR, Springfield, MO and Wellington, NZ. See more at www.majesticconcerts.com

About Springfest – Springfest is a non-profit event formed by the Dickson St. merchants, local business owners, and local community members to celebrate the history, culture, and flavor of Fayetteville, AR.

About The Social Sustenance Organization – SSO is a nonprofit founded in Fayetteville, AR which organizes and assists collaborative projects which emphasize sustainability. Members write articles, design educational programs, and plan other sustainability projects. See more at www.SocialSustenance.org.

About Beatnik Environmental – Beatnik Environmental is a festival production company with ecological undertones. BE has provided sound for events all across the midwest and acts as a booking agent for several premier electronic acts.

About City of Fayetteville – The City of Fayetteville continues to strive towards ever greater resource efficiency in order to become a more sustainable community. These efforts include powering half of the City’s fleet on biodiesel produced in Arkansas, building policy that requires all new city-owned buildings to meet the US Green Building Council’s LEED-Silver standard and winning the US Mayors’ Climate Protection Award for its Alternative Transportation and Trails Master Plan.