The organizers of Climate Fest, an event taking place on Oct. 14, agree: If you can't take the heat, get off your rump and do something about it. With the help of Tufts Climate Initiative (TCI), ECO, Tisch, the Tufts Institute of the Environment, as well as some outside sponsors, senior Amanda Fencl and junior Carrie Jones are putting together a climate change-themed, performance-based extravaganza this Saturday.
From 7 to 11 p.m., the multipurpose room in Sophia Gordon Hall will be commandeered by a crew of environmentally-conscious students looking to spread the word about global warming and how students can help. A number of Tufts performance groups will be showing off their skills while acknowledging the issues of climate change.
Essence, HYPE!, the New Music Ensemble (NME), B.E.A.T.S., Adi Nochur (slam poet), Kiniwe (African drumming ensemble), Mala Herba and The Fixations will all be taking the stage. They'll entertain and lighten the mood between sobering slide shows featuring images of the effects of climate change, and powerful statements about the environment.
Fencl sums up the event as a "really fun party where people can come and talk about climate change." She notes that the event is particularly timely, with the recent showings of "An Inconvenient Truth" on campus.
"People see the movie, and think, 'This is so terrible.' Now they can come to this big event and talk about what we can do," Fencl said.
The clock may be ticking on climate change, but it's also counting down to a significant upcoming event in the near future: elections. Climate Fest falls at a crucial point for voters, as now is the time for them to make a decision and to translate these decisions into votes. One major goal of the event is to get people interested in environmental policy, both on the small and large scale. "Unless the national government is involved, local policy only goes so far," Fencl said.
Climate Fest is just one initiative that ECO is planning for the year. Another joint venture with TCI, "Get Clean, Power Your Room Green" is a dorm wind energy purchasing program. "It's basically giving students the chance to support last year's wind vote with a $10-per-semester purchase of wind energy," said Fencl.
This $10 roughly represents one person's carbon dioxide emissions per semester, on average. "It's a great way for students to take action on climate change," said Fencl.
ECO's programming, especially in terms of Climate Fest, has something for everyone. Saturday, performers should draw fans from a broad spectrum. Students looking for an amazing performance from their favorite Tufts group will be getting a whole new perspective on what those groups are about. This is an outlet for artists to use their talents for a cause and draw attention to an important issue.
It's not just about performance art- visual art aficionados can also feast their eyes on a wide array of aesthetically pleasing/environmentally minded artwork in the form of posters from a myriad of on- and off-campus groups. This is an avenue for visual artists to explore the duality of their craft: the exploration of aesthetics and the conveyance of a message. But regardless of the form, artists here express a very real, tangible message: Climate change is happening - we need to do something about it.
Climate Fest has more to offer than art in the conventional sense, such as environmentally friendly outdoor sportswear. EMS may be providing a showcase of new "green" products. This might appeal to Patagonia-clad outdoor enthusiasts who may be more familiar with the sleek look of a butterfly stove and the slim silhouette of a bivouac than the tone and timbre of an a cappella group. Regardless of where your artistic interests lie, Climate Fest will definitely fulfill your daily creativity requirement. Climate Fest aims to bring different kinds of people together to deal with a universal problem. The possibility of an annual Climate Fest relies on the success of this year's event. So if you've realized that it's getting hot in here, get over to Climate Fest and do something about it.
