I’m not ashamed to be a health nut. Sure, it costs a little more for organic food, but I’d rather have my groceries without a side of pesticide. Paul Bassis apparently feels the same way. ARISE, the festival he founded that gets underway Thursday, takes place at Loveland’s Sunrise Ranch—a farm that’s been chemical-free for 68 years now. Zero Hero will be recycling and composting (including all vendor flatware). Generators will run on biodiesel. Water won’t be sold in plastic bottles (bring a reusable). And there’ll be both Hemp and Organic Villages to facilitate discussion and education. The picturesque setting and footprint-conscious approach has attracted like-minded headliners like Michael Franti and Keller Williams, along with activists Daryl Hannah and Julia Butterfly Hill. That’s right, folks, the mermaid from Splash will be there. Think she’d enjoy one of my signature fish-woman citrus sculptures? I’ll be wielding a peeler in hopes of finding out.
“The music is like the fire, and we all gather around it to warm our souls,” says Bassis. “And this first year we have exceptional and diverse lineups for the main stage, second stage, electronic stage and presentation dome. Around the fire we also talk, exchange ideas and inspire one another. The intention of the event is to facilitate and amplify that inspiration into real life action.”
Colorado is a rad setting for a music festival. We’ve got the bluegrass one in Telluride. And Global Dance at Red Rocks. There’s Sonic Bloom in Georgetown. And Snowball in Winter Park. Here’s hoping Arise succeeds out of the gate and becomes a regular on the Colorado festival landscape.
George Peele enjoys dancing on stilts and delivering Custom Singing Telegrams. He is Music Editor for 303 Magazine. Follow Peele on Twitter: @Orangepeelmoses. Avatar image courtesy Jonathan Shoup.