JULY 30, 2009 ISSUE
Daniel Boone Days 2009 Now Zero-Waste
2nd Annual Music & Culture Festival in Boone Goes Green
A volunteer at last weekend’s FloydFest 8 shows off a zero-waste station that is similar to what festivalgoers will see at the 2nd annual Daniel Boone Days Music & Culture Festival on Saturday, September 5. Photo by Sam CalhounIn an effort to encourage the community and event promoters to be more respectful of the environment, more mindful of the impacts of human actions and live in a more sustainable manner from day-to-day, the 2nd annual Daniel Boone Days Music & Culture Festival—the Town of Boone’s annual festival—will be a zero-waste event this year. Before, during and after the festival at Horn in the West on Saturday, September 5, there will be compost and recycling bins available thanks to Daniel Boone Days Zero-Waste Coordinators Judi Scharns and Tracy Myhalyk.
“Our passion is zero-waste and we’ve both come at it in different ways and from different directions for many years,” said Scharns. “Our overarching goal is to develop a community-scale solution.
“With recycling, you hear about three things: reduce, reuse, recycle. But a big part of this is rethink, and then reduce, reuse and recycle. That is why we are starting ahead of time in order to rethink, to plan for it. It’s about rethinking from the get-go and that’s why we started before September 4,” added Scharns.
Scharns and Myhalyk are currently collecting bins to use at Horn in the West for the zero-waste initiative. At various locations around the 20-acre venue during the festival, zero-waste stations will be set up. Each station will include a bin for compost, a bin for recycling cans and bottles, both glass and plastic, and a small bin for items that have to go to the landfill.
“If it won’t rot and won’t recycle, only then will it go to the landfill,” said Scharns.
Signs will accompany each zero-waste station encouraging festivalgoers to produce as little landfill waste as possible. Last month, Scharns, Myhalyk and Daniel Boone Days Volunteer & Vendor Coordinator Mary Ella Baker contacted the festival’s arts and crafts and food vendors and urged them to use biodegradable products whenever possible.
“We kindly requested that all vendors help us keep our landfill bins empty throughout the day,” added Baker.
“We hope it’s a very small load we have to take to the landfill,” said Scharns. “It seems like most people recycle and try to do the right think at home, but they should also get used to doing the right thing no matter where they are. And for people who don’t recycle, this will be a great example. I am pleased to be able to contribute to the community and to the event.”
In addition to the festival on September 5, Daniel Boone Days 2009 also includes two events on Friday, September 4—the 2nd annual Dr. Edwin Arnold Daniel Boone Symposium at ASU featuring award-winning authors Robert Morgan and Randell Jones, and the 2nd annual Fess Parker Wine Dinner at Gamekeeper Restaurant. For more information and/or to buy tickets to any of the three events, call 828-264-2262 or click to www.DanielBooneDays.com.
High Country Press, High Country Magazine, High Country Press Visitor Guide and Mountain Fountain Productions are the presenting sponsors of the 2nd annual Daniel Boone Days Music & Culture Festival. The Downtown Boone Development Association, North Carolina Humanities Council, Horn in the West, Appalachian Hospitality Management, the Watauga Education Foundation and Blue Ridge Parkway 75, Inc. also sponsor the two-day event.
For more information, call 828-264-2262 or click to www.DanielBooneDays.com.
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