Folks Fest Kicks Off, With the Earth in Mind

We all expect the Rocky Mountain Folks Festival to have world class music, but unless you've been there you might not know that it is a world leader in sustainability. Planet Bluegrass, the producer of this festival, the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, and other musical events high in the Rocky Mountains, puts their money where their microphone is when it comes to greenhouse gas emissions, composting, water, food, and every other eco-friendly thing they, or you, can think of to do.

Planet Bluegrass buys renewable energy credits to offset the travel of all musicians. They provide a tent where all festivarians can buy their own offsets. Last year, I covered a round trip by car from Cape Cod to Lyons, Colo.—where the festival is held—for $25.

Every plate and utensil used by vendors is compostable, and there are composting and recycling stations all over the festival, each with a person behind them to help you figure out into which bin you should put that plastic cup or paper bag. The beer tents give you a dollar off each refill for using their reusable cups. PB even gives away a package of tickets for the next year's festival to the greenest campsite at the campgrounds.

Planet Bluegrass goes out of their way to help us understand renewable energy credits, and to show us how much waste we as festivarians are helping them not create at their Web site.