Music, Pedal Power Highlight Yellowhammer Festival, Co-Hosted by UA Groups

Sister Hazel
Sister Hazel

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alternative rock band Sister Hazel will headline a free concert at the Yellowhammer Festival from 2 to 8:30 p.m. Sunday, April 3, at the Tuscaloosa River Market.

Other acts include Wray, Shaheed & DJ Supreme, Looksy and the Doctors and the Lawyers.

The Yellowhammer is a music and arts festival that focuses on health and environmental sustainability. The festival is hosted by The University of Alabama’s Creative Campus, UA’s Student Government Association, University Programs and the Tuscaloosa River Market.

“Yellowhammer is an event built on partnerships connected through a desire to create an event with environmentally sustainable roots,” said Michael Day, a junior majoring in management information systems and team leader of the SGA’s Yellowhammer committee. “This festival is a way to show the strength of renewable energy and collaboration.”

Festival-goers will be encouraged to participate in the festival in several environmentally friendly and sweat-inducing ways.

Yellowhammer Festival Rock the Bike.
Yellowhammer Festival Rock the Bike.

Bicycles engineered by the Rock the Bike company in Oakland, California, will power all the concert-stage lighting and sound. The more people pedal, the more juice will flow to the stage.

“Creative Campus interns conceived the idea of a pedal-powered festival in 2015, and through brainstorming, idea incubation and forming key partnerships on campus and with Rock the Bike, this idea will soon be a reality,” said Rachel Raimist, co-director of Creative Campus.

People can sign up to pedal for 15-minute periods. Members of participating campus and city organizations are encouraged to pedal as a team.

All cyclists need to check in 10 minutes before their time slot at the Rock the Bike hospitality tent on the walkway on the Black Warrior River side of the venue. Each cyclist will be entered in a drawing for a Yellowhammer Festival prize pack. Winners will be announced throughout the day.

In addition to providing pedal power, those planning to attend the festival are asked to contribute to the creation of a recycled-art mural by bringing used bottle caps.

The event’s organizers are also asking people to travel to the festival via carpooling, campus shuttle buses, biking or walking. Additional bike racks will be available outside the River Market.

The festival is free and open to the public. Seating is limited, so participants should plan to bring picnic blankets and portable folding chairs.

For more information, go to the Yellowhammer Festival’s Facebook page, Instagram account at @yhfestival and Twitter account at @yhfestival.

Within UA’s Office of Academic Affairs, Creative Campus is a collaborative system connecting students, faculty and community to nurture innovative thinkers who turn ideas into action. Creative Campus strives to collaborate and establish partnerships across campus and in the Tuscaloosa community; in doing so, the organization serves as a voice for the cultural arts. At the center of Creative Campus is the undergraduate intern program. For more information on Creative Campus visit: http://www.creativecampus.ua.edu

Contact

Jamon Smith, UA media relations, jamon.smith@ua.edu, 205/348-4956

Source

Michelle Bordner, Creative Campus campus arts coordinator, mmbordner@ua.edu, 205/348-7884