For the past 10 years the California Roots Music and Arts Festival has delivered top tier reggae, roots, and hip hop to thousands of fans to showcase music, community, and culture at the historic Monterey County Fair and Event Center over Memorial Day weekend. One of the key features that sets California Roots apart is the dedication to creating an environmentally conscious event that benefits the surrounding community, educates and engages the attending fans, and provides a music festival model that is truly sustainable. The industry has already taken note by nominating Cali Roots in 2017 and 2018 for the FestX award for “Outstanding Green Event.” 2019 continues to see Cali Roots lead the “greening model” for independent music festivals by adding more greening partnerships and initiatives and taking its mission to a whole new level.
 
Festival Co-Producer Dan Sheehan enthusiastically shares, “My family and I reside in the Monterey area and we value the environment not only for us, but for our entire community and our children. We are proud to lead by example for other organizations and events to follow in our footsteps. Cali Roots has a responsibility to educate and sustain an environment for future generations of festival goers, fans, and talent.”
 
2019 has already seen press announcements on how Cali Roots’ partnership with Blue Strike has helped with waste diversion to create a successful program by creating top tier policies and a sustainable framework for the festival. By implementing simple changes like compostable dining ware, to elimination of single use cups and food waste diversion programs, California Roots has successfully eliminated almost all landfill waste generated. Full info graph here (http://bit.ly/2G2Wa43). Cali Roots also announced how their partnership with the Redwood Forest Foundation (RFFI) has helped support the planting of over 2,400 redwoods in 2019 alone through their Redwood Passes, which is the festival’s unique take on the VIP experience, that also contributes to an amazing cause.
 
Cali Roots has been working with REVERB since 2015, and with their partnership with Nalgene, was one of the first festivals to sign up to the #RockNRefill campaign. Nalgene with REVERB created the #RockNRefill program to offer music fans an alternative to single-use bottles at concerts, festivals, and venues. REVERB brings the water stations and staff to run the program and Nalgene provides custom-designed reusable bottles so fans can stay hydrated without having to purchase single-use bottles. The #RockNRefill campaign has raised more than $1,800,000 for over 100 environmental & social causes and has diverted more than 2,750,000 single-use bottles from landfills, since its inception. Sheehan adds, “We are extremely proud to continue to deepen our relationship with REVERB and Nalgene to change the idea of how fans view and consume water at our events. We are going on our fifth year of eliminating single use water sales and are thrilled to partner with REVERB to contribute a portion of the proceeds to local nonprofits.” Tanner Watt from REVERB adds, “Cali Roots has been a flagship model for the other events and festivals we work with. Dan Sheehan and his team are very forward thinking when it comes to greening events and helping us change the mindset of water consumption at festivals.”
 
Another long standing partnership that Cali Roots continues to highlight during their ten year anniversary is with TripZero to provide attendee-only hotel deals and erase the carbon footprint created by travel to the festival. TripZero, enables people to travel with zero carbon footprint—for free. When a fan books a hotel through TripZero’s custom Cali Roots Travel Site the company will calculate their trip’s entire carbon footprint, including the impact of transportation and hotel stay. Then TripZero erases the travel footprint through the purchase of certified carbon offsets. Sheehan states, “Cali Roots has been working with TripZero since 2015 and the experience has been outstanding for our fans booking hotel rooms and environmentally fits with our mission to help erase the carbon footprint created by attending our annual event.” Eric Zimmerman, CEO of TripZero adds, “Cali Roots has been a fantastic partner and truly understands the importance of erasing the carbon footprint created by big events. Our partnership has enabled TripZero to finance some amazing renewable energy, forestry and methane reduction projects. It’s also gotten us great feedback from fans. Last year alone we were able to erase over 3 million pounds of CO2 emissions–that’s like eliminating the emission created by burning 20 tanker trucks full of gasoline.”
 
Other notable conscious efforts include no plastic straws in front and back of house, the use of only compostable greenware, the popular steel pint program and a cool bike and skate valet, further deepening Cali Roots’ commitment to greening initiatives as we celebrate Earth Day (April 22) and every day.
 
FESTIVAL DETAILS
The 10th Annual California Roots Music and Arts Festival
Dates: Friday, May 24, 2019 – Sunday May 26, 2019
Time: 10:00 am – 11:00 pm PDT
Venue: Monterey County Fair and Event Center
Address: 2004 Fairground Road, Monterey, CA 93940
Admission: Varies
Age restrictions: All Ages