Good music powered by beautiful weather

Solarfest, the annual solar-powered festival sponsored by Campus Ecology, took place Saturday, April 24, on the Fiske Quad.

Featuring musical acts Roots of Creation, Barefoot Truth, The McLovins, Company Green, JamAntics and Keene State College’s own Elm City Orchestra, Solarfest attracted a crowd of hundreds of people.

Headlining band Roots of Creation is no stranger to Keene. The local band has played the past two Halloween shows at the Colonial Theater and has also played Solarfest in the past.

Brett Wilson, lead singer and guitar player for Roots of Creation, explained why the band enjoys playing in Keene.

“We were just starting out, we came and we played [Solarfest],” Wilson said. “I love Keene State. The whole Monadnock region just has mad love for us.”

Jordan Tirrell-Wysocki, fiddle player for JamAntics, had never played at a solar-powered festival before.

“I didn’t know you could do that,” Tirrell-Wysocki said. “People get so stuck in the preconceived notions of what they need to watch T.V. or plug in an amp and use a microphone so it’s really cool to see that you don’t actually need to rely on the same things that we used to think we needed.”

Rose Grimes, KSC senior and president of Campus Ecology, said increased awareness about alternative forms of energy is one of her favorite aspects of Solarfest.
“For me, it’s really great to see that we can display one way of living a sustainable life even doing the fun things that we all love,” Grimes said. “That’s what I hope students walk away with.”

Grimes explained how energy from the sun powered the day-long event.
Campus Ecology called upon Sunweaver, a solar energy company based in Northwood, N.H., to fuel the entire festival.

Taylor Mauck, founder of Sunweaver, arrived at KSC Saturday morning in his solar-powered van.

“Sunweaver is who we go through and [the Sunweaver van] stores the solar energy in the panels,” Grimes said. 

Saturday’s sunny weather was ideal for the festival, though solar energy could have fueled the event had it been overcast.

“Even if it’s a rainy day [there is] energy stored in this van so we can just use the reserve,” Grimes said.

According to Grimes, Campus Ecology has sponsored Solarfest for over 15 years and this year some changes took place.

In past years, Campus Ecology not only planned the entire festival but organized activity tables as well. 

“This year we’ve been able to actually put a bunch of different organizations in to both promote their group [and] do a related alternative energy activity,” Grimes said.
The Holocaust and Genocide Awareness Club made recycled fabric wristbands in support of Invisible Children, an organization that raises awareness about the ongoing war in Uganda.

The Environmental Outing Club offered information on ethical camping practices and the Art Collective sold handmade hula hoops as a fundraiser.

Elizabeth Francese, a sophomore and member of both Campus Ecology and the Art Collective, helped organize a creative life booth at Solarfest. Art Collective and Campus Ecology welcomed all students to contribute artwork for the display. 

“Solarfest is really supposed to be a community event; it is about learning how we can help our environment,” Francese said. “The creative life part of it is really just saying it is a beautiful world that we live in and, the fact that we’ve pulled off this Solarfest in general, that’s a great collaboration of great minds.”

Jill Murphy can be contacted at jmurphy@keeneequinox.com