June 8, 2010 - Legendary Bonnaroo Rocks Out & Goes Green

Each summer, hundreds of individuals, families, die-hard fans, first-timers, college kids, and groups of friends make the pilgrimage to walk, bike, drive, train, bus, or fly to the Mecca of musical festivals, Bonnaroo in Manchester, Tennessee.

If you are looking for a festival with a great lineup, outdoor camping and a variety of activities and vendors, this is it. This year the lineup includes Dave Matthews Band, Jay Z, Kings of Leon, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, The Dead Weather, The XX, Flaming Lips and Stevie Wonder with over 150 other artists.  Set on a 700-acre farm, Bonnaroo continues to raise the bar for greening American music festivals.  This year, the festival aims to use more renewable energy, source food locally and expand the onsite compost system.

With a festival of this size support and sponsors range from small, grass-roots organizations to mega-corporate backers and everything in between. The Green Guide Network staff was on site last year and found the on-site presence of greening and activism efforts nearly impossible to overlook. This year, our lead intern and myself will be at Bonnaroo diving in, getting dirty, and learning first-hand about what we all can do to live a bit more green.

This year, green efforts at Bonnaroo include; the Bonnaroo green ticket, which is an opt-in purchase that supports the development and implementation of sustainable improvements in Manchester. The victory garden part of The Academy which will be packed with gardening classes including seed saving and the heirloom garden, Save Our Seeds, the Shitake Mushroom Log, as well as soil building courses. The Victory Garden is a collaboration between Edible Revolution, the American Community Gardening Association, Everything Mushrooms, The Bonnaroo Carbon Shredders, Gardeners Supply, Tom Sabo, and Bonnaroo.

Clean Vibes, a company formed and dedicated to the responsible waste and recycling management of outdoor festivals and events will be on-site again. This year will mark the third year for the Clean Vibes' Trading Post. An adaptation of the annual recycling raffle, the Trading Post will accept cans and bottles that can be redeemed for immediate rewards. The cans and bottles become a currency of sort, and the more recycling you collect, the more valuable items you can "purchase." You can check Clean Vibes out here - http://www.cleanvibes.com/

Since its inception, Bonnaroo has invested an incredible amount of time and resources to become the leader in creating a sustainable festival. The festival strives to make the most sustainable choices while maintaining the ultimate experience for the fan, setting the standard in sustainability and greening practices for North American festivals. Goals this year include incorporating more renewable energy, to continue working with vendors to source more of their food locally, expanding the use of their well-water system to further reduce the use of water bottles, and expanding their compost collection site to further aid in the processing of waste from the event itself.

Tickets for the event are still available, just make sure to opt-in for the Bonnaroo green ticket option and however you decide to travel to the event try to car-pool, offset your carbon footprint for your flight and tread as lightly as possible during your adventure. Hope to see you at the Roo!

For more info, visit www.bonnaroo.com.