It takes tens of thousands of kWh of electricity to make Forecastle Festival rock and roll each year on the Louisville Waterfront. The three-day celebration of music, art and activism will be celebrating its 15th year at sea, and will again partner with Arcadia Power to ensure the festival’s carbon footprint is neutral.
Forecastle Festival will run on 100 percent pollution-free electricity through a partnership with national Clean Energy provider Arcadia Power. For every kWh of electricity used at the festival, a kWh is produced and put on the grid by a pollution-free, renewable source, like wind and solar.
“Forecastle Festival was built on the premise of environmental responsibility and for years we’ve worked to be as sustainable as possible through numerous on-site initiatives and programs, work with The Forecastle Foundation and community non-profits, recycling, composting, the use of biodiesel fuel for our generators, and much more,” said Forecastle Founder and Captain, JK McKnight.
As an Arcadia Power Clean Energy Partner, Forecastle Festival meets the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Green Power Partnership requirements, alongside national environmental thought leaders like Google and Whole Foods.
Forecastle remains the only major national festival partnership for Arcadia power’s offset program and is the only festival in the state to offset its energy usage with wind power.
“While our political leaders refuse to support American-made renewable energy, we’re proud to work with the Forecastle Festival to set an example for everyone on how easy and affordable it is to choose clean energy,” said Arcadia Power co-founder, Kiran Bhatraju.
The Forecastle Festival has, since 2003, aimed to offer equal parts music, art and environmental activism. In addition to efforts on-site to reduce carbon emissions and limit landfill waste, the event contributes $1 from every ticket sold to the Forecastle Foundation, an affiliated 501(c)(3) non-profit.
The Forecastle Foundation eclipsed $250,000 of giving this year, with current projects in Eastern and Central Kentucky, Argentina, Brazil and Indonesia. Additionally, the Foundation contributed to The Friends for Conservation and Development in Belize – an effort to protect and better manage the Chiquibul-Maya Mountain range. The Chiquibul is a vital ecological hot spot, the last known breeding ground for the scarlet macaw parrots in Belize. Encompassing 7.7% of Belize’s terrestrial mass, it’s also home to globally important species such as the critically endangered Morelet’s tree frog, endangered howler monkeys, jaguars and tapirs.
More information is available at ForecastleFest.com and forecastlefoundation.org. The annual festival will be held July 14-16, 2017 at Louisville’s Waterfront Park. Weekend passes and daily tickets are available at ForecastleFest.com, Ticketmaster.com and all Ticketmaster outlets.