Festively Local 2009 is a Regional Music, Art and Food festival that supports local sustainable living by donating to The Food Security Partners of Middle Tennessee, Youth Speaks Nashville, Oasis Center,Tennessee Aliance for Progress (TAP) and the local American Red Cross.
Sustainability is a hot buzz word these days. But what does it exactly mean? At the root of our ability to sustain life lies our ability to grow and eat food. Without nourishment from food, life ceases to exist. It’s a pretty basic concept. No farms, no food. No soil, no farms. No local farms and we irrevocably surrender the responsibility to feed ourselves to an oil guzzling industrialized food complex. We believe this system frequently makes choices based on profits rather than nourishment. We also believe there are other options.
By attending this festival you are nourishing our local food economy. By purchasing a meal ticket you will be helping local farmers. All food prepared in our main meal tent is prepared solely from local sources (save a few ingredients that have not been obtainable via local means.) Even the popcorn which will be available for popping at the late night bon fire event will come from a farmer who lives just a few miles from the festival site.
We believe that in order for human beings to sustain ourselves and thrive, we need to focus on local action. That is why 100% of our profits will be donated locally. (Profits from artisan, farmers, musician and other booth vendors will be exempt from this donation.) Here are a few reasons why we have chosen to sponsor the following organizations.
The Food Security Partners of middle TN is working heartily to help build a stronger more secure local food system. From helping farmers with mini-grants, to sponsoring school gardens they have a tall order and can use all the help we can give them. Please visit their website to learn more about what they do and how you may help. The Food Security Partners of Middle TN have been our inaugural charity for this event.
We also believe that sustainability is only possible within a holistic system and we need to “invite” all involved partners to play a role. In fact, the ability to sustain life becomes null and void if we do not invite young people into the dialogue. Each individual no matter what age can and should be integrated. Therefore, we have chosen to include Youth Speaks Nashville as one of our charities, because without realizing that their voices can and should be heard, young people will not be able to engage in the necessary tasks that face us. We also personally believe that every musician and artist that is donating his or her time to this festival understands the significance of having a voice.
We can not say enough about Oasis Center. If a wise organic farmer knows how to tend his soil and herds so that the freshest most nourishing food finds its way to our plate, then Oasis is the wise youth organization that knows how to support young people in a way that helps them thrive. You won’t find a single youth worker on their staff that will talk down to a teenager, and yet they know how to work with youth to address real issues and get things done. Big surprise- When we look at the whole system as a whole we make big changes. Oasis addresses sustainability like no other organization can, with our youth.
Lastly because disasters are an unavoidable part of life, sustainability means preparing for and living beyond these terrible events. The American Red Cross is a mostly volunteer organization that is dedicated to saving lives. They do not receive federal money to do this job. They receive money from the American People to provide a service to the American people. More than just CPR classes or a blood drive, find out how you can prepare for and help when the inevitable strikes.
Tennessee Alliance for Progress is an eight-year old think and act tank whose mission is to create healthy families and communities in Tennessee. Our motto is "We're All In This Together." Our current major project is to create a Green Jobs Corps in Nashville that will bring family-supporting, career track environmental jobs to people in distressed communities. TAP is a key player in the Green-Collar Jobs Task Force of Nashville/Davidson County and the Committee for Green Jobs in Tennessee. TAP will hold its Compass VI Conference on Green Jobs in Nashville on December 4-5, 2009.
