Press Releases

Greening of Burlington's Sound of Music Festival Made Possible By TD Friends of the Environment Foundation

April 24th, 2008

Burlington, Ontario (April 25, 2008) Burlington's Sound of Music Festival is "Simply Green" and committed to being an environmentally friendly event, attracting thousands during the June 12-15, 2008 Festival weekend. Funding awarded to the Festival by TD Friends of the Environment Foundation, has allowed the Festival to expand this year's "green" operation and services making it one Ontario's largest green festivals.
     Over the past four years, the Sound of Music Board of Directors supported a recycling program that included onsite waste management, central sorting and a diversion program. Each year, the all volunteer Green Team Committee, headed by Gerry Murphy, has been responsible for collecting approximately 2,200 garbage bags and sorting through all the recyclables that accumulate throughout Spencer Smith Park and Brant Street from over 75 barrel containers. This year, the "Green Team's" task will be made somewhat easier with more equipment - bags, gloves, pickers, barrels and sorting tables - made possible through the TD Friends of the Environment Foundation.
     The Festival will also be able to expand its green program to include a bus shuttle service that will provide convenience, and attract more attendees while reducing pollution. Dave Miller, the Festival's Executive Director, outlines some of the details of the energy saving and environmentally friendly shuttle service. "Our goal is to design a shuttle system plan that will reduce the number of vehicles at the event. With a combination of bus routes and shuttle points we will have fewer vehicles on the roads, for shorter time periods. This will result in less congestion and idling time in traffic."
     Outside of the funding received, the Festival is taking the green program even further. The Festival's onsite vendors are being encouraged to use the central sorting system that is in place and reduce waste with alternate packaging. The Festival is also proud to work with sponsors and business partners like printer Battlefield Graphics who are FSC certified and will print
Festival materials on FSC approved paper and show the FSC logo. The Forestry Stewarship Council is an international certification and labeling system that guarantees that paper and wood products carrying the FSC label come from responsibly managed forests and verified recycled sources (www.fsccanada.org).
     Thursday, June 12 - Sunday, June 15, 2008 will mark the Festival's 29th year of bringing "Four Fabulous Days of Music" to Spencer Smith Park, the city's beautiful waterfront park and downtown core. Through the generosity and support of sponsors and the dedication of over 400 volunteers, the event continues to be a FREE event for music lovers of all ages welcoming an estimated 190,000 visitors during 2007.
     For sponsorship information email sponsorship@soundofmusic.ca or phone
905-634-6258. For Festival information or volunteer opportunities visit www.soundofmusic.ca, email general inquiries to info@soundofmusic.ca, or call the Festival Hotline 905-333-6364.
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Contact: Linda Goodrow, Communications Director
Phone: 905-580-4742 or email: linda@affirmative.com
OR Dave Miller, Executive Director
Phone: 905-333-6364 or email: executivedirector@soundofmusic.