Last summer, in the midst of my summer of amazing travels, I was fortunate enough to land in one of my favorite destinations on the East Coast – Newport, Rhode Island. As a folk music enthusiast (I’m such a sucker for anything with group sing-a-longs alla Lumineers and Avett Brothers!) I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to go to the annual Newport Folk Festival held every summer since 1959.

My boyfriend and I purchased our tickets late (luckily for us they still had two day passes available in March), and therefore were not able to camp within a 10 mile radius of the festival. This put a momentary damper on our plan as we originally intended on camping for the weekend and riding our bikes to and from Fort Adams every day (due to the on and off rain that took place during the event, I can’t say that I was disappointed in our camp plans not working out). We ended up booking reservations at The Carriage House Inn, in Middletown, RI. Even though the location of the Inn was four miles from Fort Adams, and a mile from downtown Newport, it ended up working out really well.  We decided that if we returned again, we would definitely be able to easily bike this distance to the park (and burn off some of our beer calories!).

Within five minutes of our arrival at the festival grounds at Fort Adams, it was apparent we were in a safe haven for environmentalists and sustainability supporters. I reached my nerdy peak before even reaching the festival grounds. Pulling into the park, the signs posted along the entire entrance reminded visitors to pick up after themselves, recycle, use refillable water stations, support local shops, and use the composting and recycling provided by local community businesses. I ended up being so surprised and excited about the signs that I snapped more pictures of the signs than of the artists I would see throughout the weekend!

To our surprise, the majority of the festival attendees paid attention to these signs and composted and recycled accordingly! I was surprised by this because going into the festival, I expected a certain level of entitlement that I often find does not mesh well with environmental stewardship this day in age. And being that the ticket prices for a three day pass are over $200, there are not too many true hippies that would be able to afford festival attendance. I was glad to be proven incorrect. Father John Misty, one of the folk performers, did seem to have similar expectations which he jokes about during his performance at the audiences expense. You can view a little bit of the rant here.

The local vendors that were providing food encouraged recycling and compost by giving away items if you were caught recycling by one of their crowd scanning employees during the day. Other vendors gave discounts if you approached with refillable containers. It was such a fantastic vision to encourage people to consider their environment in the midst of such a carefree atmosphere.

Here are just a few vendors to check out –

Vision of Tibet
Crafts from the Himalayas

Luksin Designs
Eco-friendly, New England Made Clothing & Accessories

Newport Sea Foam Trading Co.
Handcrafted, Natural Soap, Candles and Lotions

April Gramolini
Upcycled Burlap Accessories

Even though the selection of food wasn’t enormous at the festival, it did definitely hit the spot when needed. The taco truck that was provided by Tallulah on Thames, a local newport restaurant, was amazing. Really…AMAZING.  Additionally, the falafel vendor, and pizza were consistently busy as well. There were a few other locations that served snacks like pretzels, mac and cheese, and ice cream, but no other huge standout food vendors. Honest Tea was a busy spot throughout the day due to the heat. I personally snuck back up to the sample trays three or four times when I needed a break from beer and water.

One of the last things worth mentioning was the Tretorn Backyard. It is a closed off section for adults 21 and above where they had tents to provide shade, ping pong tables, photo booth like props, and corn hole toss. I didn’t know what I wanted to do more… hang out in the Backyard and play games with music in the background while having a few drinks, or try to make it to the front of the crowd to get close to the stage to see performers up close.

All in all, I couldn’t have been more excited about how amazing and fun this festival was. A surprisingly large part of my enjoyment came from watching everyone contribute to the atmosphere and mission of the festival by following the green guidelines posted at the entry. We can’t wait to go back this year!

What experience do you have with other festivals? Have you been to festivals or shows that promote sustainable action in a creative way? I’d love to hear about more to try and make it to!