Did you know that these amazing music festivals back socially and environmentally relevant causes?
Music festival culture has been on a consistent rise in the last decade, and some of these festivals have taken it upon themselves to cultivate this popularity for the better. Be it childrens’ charities or environmentally conscious movements, these festivals have made substantial impacts when it comes to their select causes. Take a look at some great festivals The Sherp discovered, that also back incredible social and environmental causes.
1. Bonnaroo
In 2009, the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival, that takes place in Tennessee, created the “Bonnaroo Works Fund” to formalize its process for giving back to the local community. In 2015, this fund made $200,000 in grants to 40 organizations before the festival commenced. Furthermore, Bonnaroo also has several on-ground non-profits that promote and encourage everything – from lifestyle and wellness to environment consciousness. All of these philanthropic gestures coupled with Bonnaroo’s support group for substance addicts, “Soberoo”, has deemed the festival one of the most active and socially concerned ones.
2. Firefly Music Festival
Firefly Music Festival, held in Dover, Delaware, annually supports St. Jude Kids with the help of Music Gives, an initiative that, according to their website, “lets fans of all styles and genres connect to the music they love and raise funds for an incredible cause.” Every year, Firefly encourages attendees to donate to this program before and during the festival, digitally and in-person.
3. Electric Daisy Carnival
Dubbed as Las Vegas’s most anticipated music festival, it’s little known to fans that Electric Daisy Carnival hashes out a substantial amount from ticket sales, all proceedings going to charity. Insomniac, the company behind the festival, and many others, launched a Charitable Giving Initiative three years ago, which sets aside one dollar per ticket for charity. Through this, the company has donated over $200,000 to local and regional organizations in New York. One of the charities backed by EDC has been the Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club, which encourages and funds children who are interested in the creative arts.
4. Summerfest
Spread across eleven days, Summerfest is a music festival extravaganza like no other. With an enviable lineup, and a great programming schedule, Summerfest is right up there with some of the biggest festivals of the year. Along with being a hyper large event, Summerfest gets together with several charities like Kohl’s cares to create the Kohl Captivation Station, an area of the festival offering educational and musical experiences for kids and families. The festival also encourages donation of non-perishable food items that are sent to Hunger Task Force in return of a free admission ticket.
5. Comunite
Comunite is an independent music festival that takes place in Mexico. Apart from the many local acts that are featured at the festival, it also donates part of the revenue to a local community, which brings potable water to 8 families through rain catching systems. It also supports the cause of climate change with this revenue, while implementing environmental preservation initiatives. An all-rounded environmentally conscious festival, Comunite is something the festival world needs more of.
6. Landmark Music Festival
The aging National Mall has been a monumental place for some of the most historical events in America. he Landmark Music Festival has been kickstarted to direct attention and possible funds towards the heritage site, by using music as the instrument of togetherness. Ms. Cunningham, of the Trust for the National Mall, says in this article, “We want to make sure that we’re not only reaching people who are there and at the concert, but all of those who are attached to the performers through social media. It’s really allowing us to talk with a whole new universe of people.”
7. Roskilde Festival
One of the oldest festivals in Europe, Roskilde was started in 1971 by a pair of unassuming high school students. In 1972 it was taken over by the Roskilde Foundation, a non-profit organization with about 2,000 volunteers to keep it running (also a good way to get a free ticket). The profits from this festival are donated directly for humanitarian and cultural causes. According to their website, since 1971, Roskilde Festival has generated approx. € 26.4 million (2013) to Doctors without Borders, Amnesty International, Support the Victims in Iraq, Save the Children and The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and many more organisations.
