Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/501315
XII maltatoday, SUNDAY, 26 APRIL 2015 On the first weekend of June, Earth Garden Festival returns for its ninth edition; from June 5 through to June 7, the festival of colours returns to the National Park in Ta' Qali, as was announced in a press conference last Wednesday. This festival remains the local 'green finger' festival that voices care for the environment through Arts, Music and Culture, in a holistic way, attracting both locals and foreigners to participate in a unique experience on the island of Malta. The Earth Garden organisers have once again teamed up with the Ministry for Sustainable Development, the Envi- ronment and Climate Change and to- gether we have selected the environ- mental theme for this year's edition of the Festival: Getting greener. "When we came up with this edi- tion's theme for Earth Garden 2015, being Getting Greener, we felt that we were not just saying this to follow a trend and continue an ongoing de- bate; but the theme was chosen with belief that this is the best way to send out a clear message and acknowledge the efforts of the organisers of these three days of arts, music and culture, towards holding a green festival and putting the environmental message at the forefront in their colourful agenda of this much awaited annual event. "A festival that attracts people from all walks of life and even more our younger generation. It's not a coincidence that Earth Garden is frequently referred to as the local green finger festival. I am convinced that Earth Garden 2015 will yet again be an artistic and cultural showcase, honouring the mission of the pioneers that started celebrating Earth Day, of which today we are celebrating the 45th anniversary," Environment Minister Leo Brincat said. The Earth Garden Festival under- takes a number of environmental initiatives this year, but its organisers are keen to stress that their efforts are never enough, and they aim to strengthen this aspect of the festival with this year's edition. "This year we have gone a step further and called in the experts. We have engaged profes- sionals who are experts in helping green festivals like ours reach higher goals. We have introduced agree- ments and policies for bars and food stalls suppliers, wherein we are offer- ing a refundable environmental bond, for food suppliers to help us reduce our impacts by minimalising packing and choosing to use resources that can easily be processed post festival," organiser said Reuben Spiteri, said. True to their mission, this edition of Earth Garden is focusing on some of the challenges that are getting greater due to the capacity of people attend- ing the festival. The organisers have on-board experts from the Energy Efficient Music Culture project, co- funded by the European Commission (www.ee-music.eu) and Global Green Events – who are world-renowned specialists in sustainable event management. Together with these experts and the help of all those who will attend the festival, Earth Garden firmly believes they can make some real change. Their main difficulty and focus is the 'waste' or 'misplaced resources'. The festival is growing in terms of at- tendance, thus more people consume more 'resources', and although Earth Garden recycles every year, this has not been effective enough in ensur- ing that these 'resources' consumed get reused and reintegrated into an onward journey, and often it ends up in landfill, wasted and contributing to pollution. Together with these experts, Earth Garden is also looking at the energy consumption of the festival and at finding ways to save energy and reduce carbon emissions across the whole festival. Last year's edition of Earth Garden was bigger and better in all aspects: "Every edition, it gets more challeng- ing to deliver on our promise of Earth Garden being an experience, not just an event. This year was even more exciting as we are simultaneously preparing for our milestone, the 10th edition in 2016. Our focus is the line- up of artists and attracting an even larger international audience. Moreo- ver, we are taking the necessary steps to see the Roots Stage embark in the direction that we have envisaged since its introduction, four editions ago," Howard Keith, another member of the organising team, said. The 2015 Earth Garden Festival, will again feature two main areas: The Greek Theatre Main Stage and the Open Village. The Greek Theatre, synonymous with the 'big' shows at Earth Garden, most of which are normally sold out, will host two music concerts on Friday and Saturday. This year's edition will be no different with a concert on Friday by The New Victorians, the sisters duo who will be performing their debut album. On June 6, the Greek Theatre will host the always well-attended Tribali concert. The Open Village, the heart of Earth Garden, as per previous edi- tions, will host the Roots Stage, the Electronic Sphere, the Camping Area, the Why Not? Jamming Area, Ethnic Market, the Art Square, the Enchanted Forest , a kids fun area and a new area; the Why Not? Workshops & Healing Area. The Roots Stage, where more than 25 acts will be performing through- out the festival, will be a showcase of talented local artists including Stalko, The Rifffs, Brodu, Mana Tapu, just to mention a few! The line-up of foreign bands hails from Eastern Europe, South America, Iran, Italy, Spain, Africa, Ireland, and Germany. We are honoured to have foreign artists of the likes of; percussion maestro Mohammad Reza Mortazavi who at the age of just 20 was con- sidered by many as the world's best Tombak player; Ohm Sweet Ohm an Italian duo of electronic music; Akalé Wubé with their popular Ethiopian repertoire of the 60s and 70s; Vilam- ba, a folk band playing its own com- positions as well as traditional Irish and Scottish tunes; and Saint John the Gambler an original Alt Gypsy Swing band with a dance-inducing spirit. The Electronic Sphere dance floor area of techno tunes and psychedelic music, will be hosted on Friday by Remissa with live performances from upcoming electro-performers, on Saturday by Presence featuring Boom Shankar and Sunday by AvantGarde featuring Brian James. The Art Square will again be dedi- cated for visual arts. This year it will host a one-piece installation made from recycled material by Matthew Pandolfino. The first batch of tickets for the Camping Site has been sold out within an hour; the second batch will be out on May 3 from Surplus & Adventure Equipment Store from 09:00 to 13:00. For the first time, Earth Garden will dedicate an area, in the extended perimeter of the festival footprint, specifically for workshops. The Why Not? Workshops & Healing Area will be set to host workshops that will mostly cover topics relating to healthy living and environmental awareness. A secluded spot will be dedicated to this area, away from the hustle and bustle of the Festival's main area. The 2015 Edition of Earth Garden Festival is powered by Twistees, and supported the Ministry for Sustain- able Development, the Environment and Climate Change, Cisk Export Premium Lager, Valletta 2018 Foun- dation, Encore Arts & Culture Maga- zine, Surplus & Adventure Equipment Store and Xemxija Pit Stop. The 3-day ticket for the Open Village will be available online at €5 until May 1, as from May 2 tickets will be on sale at €8. Concert tickets for the Greek Theatre are €15 for each concert on Friday and Saturday – concert ticket prices will increase at the door. The organisers remind the general public that Greek Theatre Ticket holders will be allowed access to all the 3 days, whilst children under 12 accompanied by an adult will be allowed to enter the festival for free. Online tickets can be bought from www.ticketline.com.mt Earth Garden Info line and Ticket Hotline 7994 8529. For more informa- tion log on to www.earthgarden.com.mt This Week Earth Garden commits to 'going greener' Popular summer festival of music, art and crafts vows to make good on its green credentials with its ninth edition this year