Music lovers will learn a little bit about water issues in the environment while enjoying local musicians Saturday.
The Civic Media Center is hosting the third Water is Life Festival, called Water is Life III: A Trilogy, on Saturday from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. to bring musical entertainment and environmental advocacy together, said Matt Barker, the co-organizer of the event.
Shawn Manley, The Reinhards Original Rock Band and Fearless Hyena will perform. Between musical acts, environmental engineer Mary Alford will talk about phosphate mining in the area and Barry Jacobson, the president of Solar Impact Inc., will discuss the solar power industry.
“I’m trying to bring together as many groups as possible,” Barker said. “So the people that maybe aren’t fully committed yet can start towards that direction. They can go see a band and then learn a little bit about what they can do (for the environment).”
The event’s cover charge is on a sliding scale from $5 to $10 at the door but can be changed depending on what you have in your wallet, said James Schmidt, the CMC coordinator.
“We never want to turn people away, we want everybody to feel welcome and to come on in,” Schmidt said.
Barker said he hopes people have fun while learning about what they can do for the environment. He wants locals to know about nearby impacts on their water quality. Gilchrist and Bradford counties are considering allowing phosphate mining near aquifers, Barker said.
“The main thing is trying to present it in a forum that people will be apt to hear it because people don’t want to hear something that’s too bad,” Barker said. “So maybe we can trick them with music and art.”
