The Clearwater Festival is honored to be announced as namesake for Folk Alliance International’s inaugural festival award. The Clearwater Award will be presented to the Clearwater Festival for prioritizing environmental stewardship and demonstrating public leadership in education and sustainable event production. Folk Alliance will be presenting The Clearwater Award annually.
“The Clearwater Festival is honored to receive recognition for producing an environmentally focused, sustainable and socially responsible music festival” said Steve Lurie, Clearwater Festival Producer. “Not only does the festival weekend provide a range of musical talent and entertainment, it emphasizes the importance of sustainability and environmental awareness.”
All proceeds go directly to support parent organization Hudson River Sloop Clearwater’s environmental research, education and advocacy efforts to help preserve and protect the Hudson River and its tributaries and communities in the river valley – as well as keeping the sloop Clearwater afloat.
“In folk music especially, it is important that the community value of sustainability be demonstrated at a leadership level. Recognizing environmental stewardship in festival production is critical since events have such a massive footprint. In considering the inaugural recipient for the most environmentally responsible festival it quickly became clear that there was one so deeply rooted in stewardship and education that the award itself should be named after the Clearwater Festival” said Aengus Finnan, Folk Alliance International Executive Director.
The first Clearwater Festival (also known as the Great Hudson River Revival) took place in 1978 and is the oldest and largest music and environmental celebration in the United States. The annual festival is a family-friendly event (children 12 and under are free), and includes seven sustainable bio-diesel-powered stages of live music, sailing excursions on the sloop Clearwater and schooner Mystic Whaler, Green Living Expo, Artisanal Food and Farmers Market, a Working Waterfront including seining the Hudson River, rides on small boats, canoes and kayaks, a Handcrafter’s Village, Environmental Activism, Children’s Area, Story Grove, a Dance Tent, and the Circle of Song, where audience participation is the focus. Plus weekend camping, limited RV camping and much more, all on the banks of the revitalized Hudson River.
Founded by Folk legend Pete Seeger and his wife Toshi, the Clearwater Festival has a nearly fifty year history of providing and ensuring equal access for all. This accessibility is provided by established Access Areas at the front of all the stages for people in wheelchairs, ASL Interpreters on all stages, large print and Braille programs and maps, wheelchairs to borrow free of charge, rides around the festival site, Access volunteers to assist people, and many other amenities.
This year’s Clearwater Festival will take place on June 17th and 18th at Croton Point Park in Croton-on-Hudson, NY. Tickets and information are available at www.clearwaterfestival.org.
The award is being presented at the Folk Alliance International Awards Show on February 15, 2017 at the Westin Crown Center Hotel in Kansas City, MO. Clearwater Festival Producer, Steve Lurie will be present to accept the award.