Bartlett Arboretum will go off the grid with an eco festival
Bartlett Arboretum in Belle Plaine will go off the grid next weekend during an eco festival and the last Tree House concert of the season.
The Oct. 19 event will include bicycles powering the PA system for musical performers, a wind-energized kinetic art installation by Mike and Meghan Miller, eco crafts for kids, vendors serving food in biodegradable containers that will be composted on site, alternative sources of energy, and speakers on topics including the climate and sustainable landscaping.
The festival will start at noon. Admission is $10 — or free if you bicycle to it.
Singer-songwriter Eliza Gilkyson of Austin, Texas, will perform at 4 p.m. Arboretum owner Robin Macy said she selected Gilkyson for this concert in the Tree House series because of her environmental bent. Other musical acts will be World on a String at 12:30, Common Folk at 1:15, Brutal Bear at 2, Robin Macy and Kentucky White at 2:45, and Irish Ceilidh at 3:15.
Five speakers will make presentations:
▪ Pollinators in a GMO world by apiarist Britt Hopper at 12:30
▪ Eco-Laureate by Molly Traffas of InnerWorks at 1:30
▪ Sustainable Landscaping With Native Plants by Brad Guhr of Dyck Arboretum of the Plains at 2:30
▪ Alternative Energies by Patrick Attwater of One80 Solar of San Antonio at 3:30
▪ Our Climate Reality by Lynate Pettengill of Citizens’ Climate Lobby at 4:45.
People can bring a picnic, and barbecue from Lyon’s Den and Italian food from Luciano’s of Mulvane will be for sale.
The arboretum is hoping to send nothing to the landfill from the event. Environmental-science students will help compost food remains on site.
“I’m sure there will be a diaper or two, but short of one tiny stack, I’m hoping people can enjoy the festival and not create any trash,” Macy said.
The idea for Off the Grid came from Catherine Johnson of Wichita, who is completing her master’s degree in environmental studies at Friends University. The festival is the dovetailing of the final project for her degree and an event Macy wanted to have anyway.
“We hope it will be the inaugural event. We hope we will have it every year,” Macy said.
Reach Annie Calovich at 316-268-6596 or acalovich@wichitaeagle.com. Follow her on Twitter: @anniecalovich.
This story was originally published October 10, 2014 at 12:09 PM with the headline "Bartlett Arboretum will go off the grid with an eco festival."