July fourteenth and fifteenth made for one of those weekends. You know the ones I mean. Those little buggers that you never fathom ending, and when they do you wonder how you'll be able to tolerate the comparitively insignificant subject matter of all the ensuing days. It was passing through daylight as a volunteer at SolarFest, "New England's Renewable Energy Festival," that put those subsequent days in that humble context.
Here's a picture I stole: the crowd in attendence of Bill McKibben's keynote.
As with most things I care about, I could blab on about Solarfest for as long as people cared to listen. So as to be kind to the least common denominator of attention spans, I'll try to just give a brief synopsis of what a beautiful idea SolarFest is and how effectively it gets executed. If you care for the whole story, they have a pretty inclusive web presence that will do it more justice.
SolarFest is the growing child given birth to by a closely knit community of friends here in Rutland County who all happend to be genuinely concerned about the kind of world their other children would be inheriting. They particularly wanted them to have an authentic relationship with Nature. Since this could only happen if Nature continued to exist in an authentic manner, they naturally were advocates of renewable energies and sustainable food systems. These values then became the values embodied in Big Idea.
They went on to organize this event where people with similar concerns can come together and engage in their passions, get further educated, and celebrate the potential we're on our way to realizing around all of the things that embody community: wholesome food, vibrant art, and a synergistic relationship with what allows all of the above to be, Earth.
The festival has grown from its humble beginnings on Green Mountain's own campus to the Forget-Me-Not Farm in Tinmouth where it can better service the needs of patrons that have grown in numbers to the thousands.
Through all of this growth, SolarFest has been able to stay true to its fundamental mission. In fact it, as a result of this growth it has become more capable of following through with its creators' ambitions.
This was the first year in which it was 100% powered by renewable energy. On-site wind, micro-hydro, solar-thermal, and photovoltaics came together to power everything from the main stage's sound system to the lanterns giving shape to the footpaths at night.
Over forty workshops were made available to festival-goers. The subject matter ranged from wild edible walks to microhydro installation; bee-keeping to PV 101. My task as a volunteer was to disperse and assemble surveys at each of the workshops so that we can more or less quantify all the good that is being done by the festival.
Bread and Puppet put on wowing performing art demonstrations as did the musicians that gave life to the summered air throughout the duration. Theatre In the Woods--directed and cast by youngens--ended up attracting over three hundred to their play that led viewers through the woods as scenes changed. There was not a moment that went by when you couldn't find something creative and/or thought-provoking to engage in.
One of the most gripping happenings for me was the Peace Ceremony that took place Sunday morning. Every nation that had a flag has represented and hoisted up around a bell that had been forged from melted weaponary. The circle spiraled around the bell and as each person passed it they would call out, "May peace prevail in...". Special mention was also given to all of the people unrepresented by a flag, but equally deserving of a peaceful existence.
After all of the countries had been honored, the hand-hewn peace pole that had translations of 'peace' carved into it in a bevy of languages was carried in an impassioned procession to its permanent resting spot on the festival grounds. The emotions that were made palpable during all of this completely overwhelmed me. I don't see how we ever turn to war in a world with so much love.
As I said, I could go on indefinately, but that is pretty much what you all missed out on. Good news though! Solarfest will be going down about the same time and very likely the same place this upcoming summer. Don't worry, you won't have anything more important to attend.
Pitching in for a bit on the last day of the festival with some of the
hardest working peoples at the festival. The recycling crew was
headed up by GMC's very own Sustainability Coordinator and
consisted of a half dozen or so of our dandiest students.