Ann Arbor Summer Festival announces zero waste initiative

The Ann Arbor Summer Festival (A2SF), an arts and entertainment festival taking place in Ann Arbor, Michigan, June 8-July 1, has announced its Festival Footprint Initiative in partnership with Toyota, Plano, Texas. The initiative will pair the festival with environmental partners to stimulate social impact.

Kicking off when the festival opens on June 8, the sustainability initiative aims to change community mindsets and actions through arts and education. As an outdoor gathering with more than 80 percent of all programming framed within a natural environment, A2SF and Toyota is using the initiative to move toward a zero-waste event for its 80,000 attendees over the next three to five years.

An emphasis on reducing the festival's carbon footprint is already underway by promoting public awareness, understanding the impact and making changes to lessen the impact to the surrounding environment, A2SF says. A2SF engages patrons with signage throughout the festival grounds educating about waste disposal options and responsibly removing waste. The organizers have also introduced corn-based compostable cups and a compostable stream. Additionally, A2SF partners with food vendors that use compostable and recycled products and promotes the use of ridesharing and zero-waste transportation.

"Toyota continues to be a key partner of the festival, encouraging and supporting unique programming that stimulates social impact. We're grateful for this opportunity to host community conversations around an issue that has such far-reaching impact," Mike Michelon, festival executive director, says. "This funding allows us to partner with well-respected organizations the Huron River Watershed Council and the Ecology Center, to find new ways of approaching the issues facing our community while laying the groundwork for our own zero-waste implementation. We are lucky to have such an innovative funder who sees the benefit of ensuring this community event is here for generations to enjoy."

Over the course of the 10-year partnership with the festival, Toyota has provided support for programming, most notably, the festival's Global Series. Established in 2015, the series presents cross-cultural and multiethnic artists. This year's focus aligns with what Toyota calls one of its core values: respect for the planet.

Highlights from this year's Festival Footprint environmental programming includes:

June 12, 5:30 p.m.: Detroit Artist Juan Martinez will bring his Pedal Powered Kinetic Sculptures "Made in Detroit" to Top of the Park. Martinez recycles bicycle parts to create rideable animals, such as life-sized bison and rhinoceros. Martinez will also hold a mask-making workshop in the Annex that invites children and adults to repurpose materials to create new art.

June 19, 5:30 p.m.: Ecology Center will host a game show workshop titled "Guess What's in It?" or "We Ruin Everything" to the Annex. Armed with an XRF analyzer, the host guides three contestants through an array of possible toxic products, such as children's toys and infant car seats, while they learn about everyday items we take for granted.

June 26, 5:30 p.m.: A long table discussion on waste reduction will foster discussions between Arborites. Join Adam C. Simon, University of Michigan associate professor from the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Toyota Motor North America Director Kevin Webber, Ann Arbor Summer Festival Executive Director Mike Michelon, Huron River Watershed Council Executive Director Laura Rubin, Ecology Center Executive Director Michael Garfield, Director, Michigan Sustainability Cases, open access on Gala, Rebecca Hardin and sculptor Juan Martinez for a convening on recycling, microplastics, zero waste events and the arts.

The Ann Arbor Summer Festival attracts an estimated 80,000 people to the campus of University of Michigan and downtown Ann Arbor over three and a half weeks. The estimated economic impact of the festival is $3.5 million annually.