Harvest Jazz & Blues Festival Wins Mayor's Environmental Award
Fredericton (October 27, 2008) - The Harvest Jazz & Blues Festival's effort to stage a more environmentally friendly event was recognized with the Mayor's Environmental Award for October. The award was presented to Patti Graham, Chair of this year's festival by Mayor Brad Woodside during a meeting of City Council today.
"On behalf of my Council Colleagues, I am happy to honour an organization that is helping in our effort to reach our goal of meeting Kyoto targets by 2010," said Mayor Woodside. "It is only fitting that we recognize the people and businesses that are helping us achieve our goal.
For the first time in 2008, the Festival decided to "green your harvest", a substantial initiative to become more environmentally-friendly. Harvest organizers, patrons, volunteers, and musicians made efforts in many areas, including compacting and recycling plastic cups. Volunteers and patrons were encouraged to keep their cars out of the downtown by using a Park and Ride bus, which was made available to transport people from the exhibition grounds to the downtown and back in an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The Festival also teamed up with Jacques Whitford to offer a carbon neutral venue - the Mojo tent, which used solar panels to power house lights, bar lights and exit lights inside the tent. Biodegradable cups were used for all beverages while the travel of all the musicians, including one voyage from Amsterdam, was offset by the purchase of carbon credits.
"The Harvest Jazz and Blues Festival is an integral part of our community and we thank them for their commitment to our Green Matters Campaign," said Mayor Woodside. "The organizing committee has set a positive example for other groups to follow."
The Mayor's Environmental Award is awarded monthly with recipients selected based on their environmental efforts and at the recommendation of City Council and Staff.
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Media Contact: Alycia Morehouse, Climate Change Coordinator, City of Fredericton, 506-460-2777.
