Camp Jordan next weekend will host a festival powered by not only the sun, but by a musical lineup featuring 40 national and regional touring acts, plus eco-friendly vendors and workshops led by nationally acclaimed climate-change advocates.
The three-day event kicks off at 5 p.m. Friday at the park on Camp Jordan Parkway in East Ridge and wraps up Sunday at 8 p.m.
Headlining are Randall Bramblett and Jim Lauderdale, but the lineup also includes Chattanooga-based acts Strung Like a Horse, Call Me Spinster, Natti Love Joys, Jess Goggans and Ogya.
"We are really looking forward to playing this event," said Strung frontman Clay Maselle in a phone interview. "It's a cool event, and getting to play at Camp Jordan will be fun and different for us."
Amelia Jacobs of Call Me Spinster said she and her sisters, Rachel Graber and Rosalie Graber, are also looking forward to performing in front of a hometown crowd.
"This will be the first big show for us in a while," she said.
Contributed photo by Vincent Ricardel / Strung Like a Horse members are Dan "Danimal" Pinson, Clay Maselle, Tyler Martelli and Eric "Crispy" Crisp, from left.Other acts on the bill are Donna Hopkins, The Cuban Song, Caroline Aiken, and Brown Eyed Women. There will be several yoga sessions throughout the weekend, as well as salsa dance with Veronica Luque and tai chi with Cate Morrill.
The opening ceremony includes an invocation by local Muskogee Creek elder Tom Blue Wolf. Stanford University professor Mark Jacobson, who helped develop the Green New Deal climate proposal, will be the keynote speaker. He will give a TED talk at 11 a.m. Saturday and address the entire festival at 6 that night.
Get Off the Grid Fest is described as "a solar-powered, family-friendly, zero-waste producing, Leave No Trace event." Festival director Bill Fleming said living off the grid is about more than energy production and it isn't about "hiding in a bunker and isolating from neighbors."
It's more about practicing sustainable food cultivation and improving personal health and wellness through herbal remedies and physical routine.
"Ultimately, being 'off the grid' means producing your own power, taking charge of your own health," Fleming said in a news release.
Festival organizers have enlisted the help of 150 East Ridge High School and Chattanooga State students in the creation of a solar-powered trailer that will be capable of providing disaster relief in the event of some future crisis. The completed project will be "plugged in" Sunday at the festival.
The students will take workshops Friday morning, where they will get to test electric vehicles, explore job opportunities in sustainable energy and learn more about climate change. Open to all ages, the festival also will feature a family-friendly "Gnome Zone," a kids space with educational activities.
Tickets are $60 for a three-day pass or $20 each for Friday or Sunday, $30 for Saturday. Attendees are required to sign a COVID-19 and photo release form, which can be found on the festival's website, getoffthegridfest.net.
Contact Barry Courter at bcourter@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6354.