JazzFest Does Its Part To Go Green

The Sioux Falls Jazz & Blues Festival – JazzFest is doing its part to go green for a healthier environment. JazzFest has joined up with Millennium Recycling and Novak Sanitary Services to implement recycling of aluminum and plastic at JazzFest 2008. Both businesses will donate a portion of the proceeds from recycling to the SFJB Scholarship Fund. So make sure you throw away your bottles and cans in the bins marked recycling and give a young musician the chance to learn.

The Sioux Falls Jazz & Blues Society, the organizers of JazzFest, recommends that festival-goers either ride their bikes or take the JazzFest shuttle, bus, trolley, or bike trail to the festival.

Shuttle Information:
-Shuttle Locations: Roosevelt, Lincoln and O’Gorman High School Parking Lots.
-Shuttle Price: $3 per person for the round trip. 5 and under ride free.
-Shuttle Times: 5pm to 12:30am Friday; 11am to 12:30am Saturday.

Downtown Trolley Information:
-The downtown trolley will pick up/drop off at the downtown Holiday Inn City Centre at 8th Street between Phillips and Main Avenues (Downtown Crazy Days is also taking place this weekend!)
-Trolley Price: FREE!
-Trolley Times: 5pm to midnight Friday and Saturday.

Bike, Walk, Rollerblade or Jog to JazzFest!
Spoke-N-Sport is providing an on-site, free bike valet to festival goers that choose to pedal to the festival. Biking is a great way to arrive at JazzFest, as Yankton Trail Park is located on the city-wide bike trail. The bike trail map is available through the JazzFest website.


Sioux Falls Green Project will also be at the festival this year providing some helpful tips on living green that everyone in the Sioux Falls community can benefit from.

Green art will also make a statement at JazzFest. Minneapolis visual artist Erik Ritter will display and create artwork made from unwanted junk at JazzFest 2008.

Ritter’s latest project, entitled de-JUNKed, is a commentary on America’s plastic throwaway culture. deJUNKed is a call for people to send in their favorite junk and Ritter will make a piece of art out of these items. So bring a shoebox full and see what he can create.

In addition to displaying his art in a booth during JazzFest, Ritter will work on new pieces and create “green art” with children in the Sanford Children’s JazzQuest on Saturday afternoon.

Kids! Don’t throw away old toys. Bring old toys and other household junk to create a dinosaur sculpture on Saturday in the kid’s area.