Solarfest event shifts to Poultney

By GORDON DRITSCHILO Staff Writer

POULTNEY — Solarfest is coming to town.

The annual solar-powered music festival and alternative energy trade show is moving from its birthplace in Middletown Springs to Green Mountain College in Poultney. Solarfest director Kathleen Colson said the move is part of an effort to give the July event a higher profile.

“Middletown Springs isn’t on most maps of the state of Vermont ,” she said. “We’re trying to make the festival a little more accessible, a little more mainstream. This is a very hot topic right now and we need to be in a location people can find us on a map, with plenty of parking.”

Colson said that in the eight years the festival has been held on the farm owned by Ed Updike and Nance Dean, it has grown from 300 attendees to 2,500, more than three times the population of Middletown Springs.

“We basically outgrew the old spot,” Colson said. “We had vendors on waiting lists. I think also there were some neighbor issues because it’s such a rural location. I think Nance and Ed also thought maybe they wanted their farm back.”

Colson said GMC, with its orientation as an “environmental liberal arts” college, seemed like a good fit with the festival. GMC officials agreed.

“We’re totally thrilled to have them,” said college spokesman Steven Diehl. “Our mission and their mission are synergistic, so it’s great to have them here.”

Colson said there were things about the original site people would miss.

“It was a very bucolic, beautiful location with a sort of a natural amphitheater,” she said. “We are mourning the loss of that. At the same time, people are saying we need to be accessible. We’re trying to remain true to the spirit of the first event.”

The festival on July 12 and 13 will feature 29 performers on two stages, including rock group Black 47, African band Jaka, Caribbean group Inner Visions and the folk act Rani Arbo and daisy mayhem.

“We have been approached by some name performers who would like to be at Solarfest because they support the mission,” Colson said. “Our biggest nightmare is 10,000 people showing up, so we have to hold back.”

The group also had many exhibitors in renewable energy and sustainable living technology and more than 25 workshops on subjects like installing a wind turbine, energy efficiency, bio-diesel fuels, building solar ovens and solar water heating.

“We don’t look at these as alternative technologies or alternative lifestyles,” she said. “These are things every single person can do. We want to make the technologies more understandable and more accessible.”

In addition to having more space, the festival will now be able to make use of GMC’s facilities.

“Dormitory housing will be available, or you can camp,” Colson said. “Workshops, instead of being in tents, will be in a building. We will set up a solar panel to feed into the grid to offset our use.”

Contact Gordon Dritschilo at gordon.dritschilo@rutlandherald.com.