The hippies are coming! The hippies are coming!

That may have been what the Wakarusa Music and Camping Festival initially attracted in its first few years of existence. The four-day festival at Clinton Lake State Park in Lawrence, Kan., prides itself in bringing in plenty of big names from the jam band scene along with premiere acts in alt-country, Southern rock, reggae and bluegrass while raising awareness for environmental issues.

For its fifth year, Wakarusa is trying something different.

The festival, which takes place Thursday, June 5 through Sunday, June 8, is expanding its musical horizons even further. They are bringing in indie rock mainstays like Built to Spill, piano-playing singer/songwriter Ben Folds, country legend Emmylou Harris, goofy alt-rockers Cake, underground hip-hop acts like Blackalicious and Del the Funky Homosapien and Uncle Monk, a bluegrass duo featuring none other than Tommy Ramone, the last surviving member of the seminal punk rock quartet The Ramones.

These are just a few groups on a jam-packed lineup including headliners like The Flaming Lips, Sound Tribe Sector Nine, Keller Williams, Zappa Plays Zappa, Mickey Hart Band featuring Steve Kimock and George Porter Jr., Galactic, The Avett Brothers and a ton of others.

Brett Mosiman, co-director of Wakarusa, realized that this year instead of having similar genres competing for the festival’s crowd over the four-day period, it would be beneficial to the festival to do a little bit of counter-programming with the more than 120 bands on the festival’s lineup.

“I think of part of it was just getting a handle on the fact that we have 300 or 400 hours or music,” Mosiman says. “If we wanted to keep five or six stages, we had to broaden the booking.”

The festival’s five stages will have music playing nearly 24 hours a day, which will be perfect for attendees who pay between $129 to $169 for a four-day pass.

But this year, Wakarusa is hoping that their diverse lineup featuring several big-name acts will get more of a local audience from Kansas City and other areas close by to get the Wakarusa experience, even if it’s only for a night.

“We kind want to offer a little something more for the people here in the regional community,” says David Barrett, director of marketing for Wakarusa. “We want people just to come out to Wakarusa for a day and see what it’s like.”

Or a weekend. Wakarusa is offering its usual single-day tickets for $49 while also offering a weekender pass for $99 in case people couldn’t take off four days because of something silly like jobs or kids or things like that.

While you are at Wakarusa, you may notice how friendly the festival is to the environment it occupies. The generators run on biodiesel. Recycling also is a huge emphasis. Last year’s festival recycled 8,000 pounds of waste that would normally end up gracing local landfills. They are also instituting their first-ever composting program, so whatever food you don’t want (or think tastes like crap) can go towards growing a happy little plant. Bob Ross would be proud.

They will also have a sustainability meeting featuring the editor of Mother Earth News, Brian Welch, a campus tour of human rights awareness and a no-sweat fashion show to display clothes not manufactured in sweat shops.

If you ask Mosiman, these activities are an essential element of Wakarusa’s identity.

“(They’re) all the normal things for us, but I don’t think they are normal for most festivals,” Mosiman says. “We just consider that part of the brand now.”

And another characteristic of the Wakarusa brand is the vendors. The 75 food, arts and crafts vendors will be selling a little bit of everything. On the arts and crafts side, you could pick up clothing, glass marbles, art, glow-in-the-dark light covers, bottle holders and goods made of bee wax. As far as food goes, Madina Salaty, Wakarusa’s vendor coordinator, says they have everything from “healthy options to junk food.” You’ve got your pizza, hamburgers, fries, but you’ve also got organic and vegetarian options, Cajun, Indian, Middle Eastern, Mexican and Chinese food to choose from.

Salaty says that while the number of vendors has slightly increased this year, high gas prices have kept vendors who consistently travel many miles to sell their products at Wakarusa from making the trip.

“We have lost several vendors,” she says. “They have specifically told me that that’s the reason.”

The location of Wakarusa should be enough for people to ignore the prices at the pump. The festival will once again place at Clinton Lake State Park, southwest of Lawrence, Kan. The 1,500 acre facility has plenty to offer those who aren’t just there for the music, with beaches, an 11,000 acre lake, horseshoe pits and hiking trails.

“The amenities are really like no other festival that’s held in a field or a polo ground,” Mosiman says. “It’s really like a family vacation.”

Mosiman knows the traveling aspect of Wakarusa may be less tempting with gas prices so high, but he thinks that shouldn’t stop you from enjoying a unique musical experience, no matter how long you decide to stay.

“I think it’s impacting everybody, and our big message is that you still got to have fun. You have to cut loose,” Mosiman says. “Don’t let those greedy oil bastards take away your fun and your Wakarusa weekend.”

For more information, go to www.wakarusa.com.

by Blake Hannon

http://www.stjoenews.net/news/2008/may/30/loud-outdoors/?diem

The arrival of Earth Day next week, combined with the drop in retail sales numbers, seems like a good time to ask whether the age of rampant consumerism is over or whether it has just stalled.

Earth Day seems like an anti-buying-stuff kind of time, but retailers are working to make it the time to get consumers to switch over to green products. And there are plenty of green products on the market.

So with sales down across the nation, will consumers embrace the message and start buying green? It’s hard to tell. So far this year, it seems that consumers can only afford to buy food and gas.

The rampant consumerism blog, www.rampantconsumerism.blogspot.com, has not had a posting since November, about the same time retail sales began a free fall. Coincidence?

Last week, the International Council of Shopping Centers reported the weakest sales for the month of March since 1995. The ICSC tracks 80 retailers and takes into account sales at stores open at least a year, as well as total sales.

Gap Inc. saw same-store sales plummet 18 percent this year, while sales increased 6 percent in the same month last year.

Department stores Kohl’s and J.C. Penney also were hard hit, reporting double-digit drops in sales at stores open at least a year.

Even Wal-Mart and Target, where shoppers can buy food and health and beauty aids, were struggling. Sales at Wal-Mart rose 0.7 percent, compared with a 4 percent increase last year. Target saw same-store sales decline 4.4 percent during March, compared with a 12 percent rise a year ago.

While retailers blame the weather and the economy for slow sales, it might be wise to ask whether the thinking has shifted about buying.

It’s true that by and large consumers have less discretionary income, but there may be some weariness in consuming goods for the sake of it.

But for those who figure concern for the planet in their shopping decision, there are some retailers that are trying to get customers by “going green.”

Sur La Table, with a new store in downtown Sarasota, has a whole host of environmentally friendly products. From the low-tech micro fiber slippers that allow you to clean your floors while walking around the house to the high-tech sanitizing system that allows you to kill bacteria on food and countertops, Sur La Table is talking up its green products.

Perhaps the most astounding is a new chemical-free sanitizing system. The Lotus Sanitizing System infuses water with extra oxygen to create a sanitizing agent.

The company claims the water can “neutralize 99.9 percent of bacteria and pesticides on food and household surfaces, plus remove stains, mold and mildew and deodorize countertops and floors.”

I tried the system and was surprised to find that the water does cut through grease and does a really good job of cleaning, better than some cleaning products I have used.

The sanitizing machine is $169.95 at Sur La Table and comes with a bowl, in which consumers can sanitize fruits, vegetables and even meats, a spray bottle attachment, two microfiber cleaning cloths and the cartridge that infuses the water.

Once you own it, you might never have to buy cleaning products again. Of course, you do have to buy replacement cartridges.

So it certainly will not end shopping, but it might make some consumers feel good about what they buy.

Toni Whitt

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20080415/COLUMNIST94/804150323/-1/newssitemap

HGTV is bringing viewers a full day of Earth Day programming and making it even easier for viewers to get their green on. Throughout the day the network will be highlighting different ways to embrace a greener way of life, featuring everything from easy, eco-friendly tips and trends to a behind the scenes look at some of the world’s most extreme ‘greenists.’

24 Hour Design - Episode 307- 6:30 AM - 7 AM ET/ PT
Kick off your Earth Day with 24 Hour Design as Angelo and crew serve up a master bedroom that’s green and serene.

Red Hot & Green - Special - 7:00 AM - 8AM ET/ PT
Learn how to “live green ” with out sacrificing style…Each home features cool design, innovative architecture and simple, but effective ways to incorporate green design into your home. Also woven throughout the special is a ‘green’ makeover led by a designer who creatively and colorfully remakes a room with the environment (and budget) in mind. It’s green without the guilt, proving that living ‘green’ is attainable, affordable and best of all, can be done with style.

Living With Ed - Marathon - 8:00 AM - 10:30 AM ET /PT
Check out Ed and Rochelle as they bring you a who’s who of Hollywood ‘green living.’

green product manufacturers and retailers to meet at earthNOW expo

National trade show takes place June 4-5 at the Las Vegas Convention Center

Consumers are demanding earth friendly products, and big box retailers, specialty shops and online stores are desperate to find new and innovative green products. Retail store buyers and corporate purchasing managers have been attending various trade shows to source environmentally friendly products in almost every consumer product category.

earthNOW expo, scheduled June 4-5 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, is the face-to-face trade show that focuses specifically on products that are natural, organic, recycled, reclaimed or eco friendly.

Retail store buyers and corporate purchasing managers visiting earthNOW expo will see the latest in socially responsible products and services.

The exhibits at earthNOW expo will include the following green product categories. Baby items, housewares, hardware, automotive, apparel, kitchen accessories, pet products, lawn and garden, home solar, organic and natural products, energy saving electronics, recycled paper goods, water systems and products, socially responsible gifts and any other consumer products and services for the green home and office.

Manufacturers, distributors and service providers looking to sell their green consumer products to retailer buyers, corporate purchasing managers, hotels and other related socially responsible businesses should exhibit at earthNOW expo in Las Vegas. Over 500 booths are expected, representing hundreds of companies and thousands of green products.

Store owners, buyers and merchandise managers registered for earthNOW expo can also attend seminars that will explain how to implement or improve their eco friendly product mix and marketing programs.

earthNOW expo CEO, Bob Peters said, “Green product manufacturers and retailers are desperate for a face-to-face venue. earthNOW expo is the trade show where this growing and changing industry will exchange information and ideas about green merchandising.”

Peters added, “There are many local and regional “green events and festivals” throughout the United States. While these events help educate the general public about environmental issues, these types of events are not focused on the retail and wholesale business aspect of the eco friendly products industry. earthNOW expo is a trade only, business-to-business convention”

Peters has over 20 years of face-to-face event marketing and management experience and has developed several new trade shows in various industries. He also owns Vegas Display, an exhibit sales and rental company.

Show Manager Sharon Wayne and her team will oversee booth space sales and exhibit operations. Wayne is a Certified Exposition Manager with over 25 years of trade show industry experience and has developed several new trade shows with Peters.

The Las Vegas Convention Center will play host to earthNOW expo. While Las Vegas is known for its glitz and glamour, the city leads the way in many environmentally innovative construction projects, solar plants and other eco-friendly businesses.

Manufacturers can to reserve a booth by visiting earthNOWexpo.com. Retail store buyers and corporate purchasing managers interested in attending this trade show can sign up to receive e-letter updates and registration information by visiting on the web site.