Festival Blog
Calgary Folk Music Festival proclaimed A Greener Festival
Today at the UK Festivals Conference and Awards in London, England, the Calgary Folk Music Festival was recognized along with internationally renowned music festivals such as Austin City Limits, Bonnaroo and Lollapalooza. The recognition came in the form of A Greener Festival award; prestigious in its own right but made more significant because the Calgary Folk Music Festival (CFMF) is the only Canadian event awarded this honour. A full list of the award winners can be found at www.agreenerfestival.com.
A Greener Festival showcases music and arts festivals with leading environmental practices. The CFMF went through a vigorous pre-festival application and A Greener Festival representative attended the 2011 festival to inspect the environmental program and assess its suitability for the designation of A Greener Festival.
The CFMF’s Artistic Director Kerry Clarke said "It's wonderful to be recognized not just for all the fantastic and eclectic music programmed each year but also the quality of the way we manage the festival in general. The fact that our efforts are good for the environment makes it a win-win situation."
A recent report by Green Calgary, a local urban environmental non-profit group, highlights that this summer’s festival reduced its waste by a whopping 76% compared to the previous year and diverted 58% of that total away from the landfill through a sophisticated recycling and composting program. In 2011, the festival also eliminated the sale of disposable bottled water, which contributed to the impressive waste reduction numbers.
Volunteer Eco-Initiatives Manager Leor Rotchild added "It's our belief that the Calgary Folk Music Festival is a leader in managing its environmental footprint. Being officially recognized as A Greener Festival re-enforces our belief and really motivates us to go even further in the years to come."
The greening efforts of the Calgary Folk Music Festival also extend beyond their footprint on Prince’s Island Park. Festival Hall, the future home of the CFMF’s offices and an intimate performance space, is being built with the aim of silver LEED designation. The building's carefully controlled heating and cooling system uses an ingenious and extensive Earth-Tube intake system that routes the building's fresh-air underground, tempering it geo-thermally before it is distributed within. This will allow the CFMF to avoid the use of air conditioning and further reduce energy requirements. The building's exterior scores extensive LEED credits in both terms of materials, execution and passive-solar energy design. Careful consideration was made to ensure materials are re-used, locally sourced, low-impact, and ultimately of a recyclable nature, such as the main Hall's stunning timber trusses constructed of re-used Douglas Fir.
A huge thank you to the CFMF’s environmental partners including:
For the Calgary Folk Music Festival: Cenovus Energy, First Calgary Financial, TD Canada Trust and The City of Calgary
For Festival Hall: Peter Cardew Architects, Karson Builders, Reinbold Engineering, Williams Engineering, Fast + Epp Structural Engineers, Stebnicki + Partners and The City of Calgary.
About A Greener Festival
A Greener Festival is an internationally acknowledged independent organization which assists environmentally conscious festivals to go green by offering green resources and idea sharing. The organization also manages the award program which is available for events throughout Europe, North America and Australia. In 2011 forty-six festivals gained the prestigious award, certifying their green credentials. Festivals who apply for the scheme must prove to the judges that the festival has meaningful and effective environmental policies and practices to deal with traffic and transport, greenhouse gas emissions, waste and recycling, water conservation, noise pollution, ethical policies and environmental protection. The festivals should also have sustainable office policies.
Further information about the Calgary Folk Festival’s environment program can be found here.
