Written for The Argo by Samantha Flatten

Have you ever thought about what a celebration between sustainable practices and a musical community would look like? This question was answered by Stockton Action Volunteers for the Environment (S.A.V.E) and WLFR with their 2nd Annual Earth Day Music Festival, held on April 10 this past week in the TLRC Quad.

The peaceful festivities kicked off around noon until 5 P.M. and brought music from local bands as well as small business vendors, sustainable activities, and food trucks. The intentions of this event for Stockton students on behalf of S.A.V.E Co-Director Jess Britwistle—who is a current junior majoring in Environmental Sciences is to “bring joy and excitement. You tell the students one thing and they’re like ‘oh my gosh!’, and then keep telling them everything else that’s happening and they’re like ‘no way!’”.

Not only did S.A.V.E. bring in two food trucks that provided free food, but there were free tulips and daffodils for every student that checked in, as well as a rock wall and sustainable raffle; as a way to get students uplifted about the spring season to come.

Some of the outside vendors that participated in this event were Keyman and Stitch, American Honey, Bear Clan Beadery, Faith Flower farm. All are local to South Jersey and create hand crafted items ranging from upcycled clothing and beaded jewelry to stained glass hanging displays.

Keyman and Stitch—a father and daughter owned business—does a wide range of cross stitching, fabric and crocheted functional goods, and stained glass works. Samantha—the daughter of the business—gave an insight into what her favorite part about the festival was; she exclaimed that “The vibes from the students here are just immaculate. It’s just beautiful and chill and the collection of vendors is so unique to this event, you can’t find these types of artisans anywhere else.”

Additionally to the outdoor community vendors, students were encouraged to participate in tabling if they also had a small business of their own. Anna Becker, a sophomore majoring in Environmental Science and Chemistry, sold her hand made crocheted items and art prints through her small business, Hygge Art by Anna, and quotes that “my small business is how I do my stress relief. Being an active student member and being involved in different organizations makes it really hard to find that time. But when I do, it really brings a smile to my face.”

Other student run small businesses that were present include, Kayla Lily Writes, Hannah’s Handmade, Bejeweled Beetle, and Stitches by Sam. These students brightened up this event even more and showed the true dedication students make to balance a productive academic life with a sustainable hobby and business.

Additionally to local vendors, the student leaders were able to fully pay for students to enjoy food from Tacos-Al-Carbon food truck and the famous Sip-A-Latte, which contributed to the overwhelming 303 students that attended!

Beyond all the homemade goods and delicious food, the highlighting feature to this festival was the four bands brought in by WLFR, the lineup included; Brad Wilson, Tokens, The Witch, and Mosaic. While these bands flooded the quad with alternative rock, folk, and indie pop, they all shared a common love for bringing people together through art.

The band, The Witch, shared about how they believe music connects a community together; “When
you enjoy it together, you can bond over and talk about it. Music just creates conversations you can relate to.” Art is not a divider of talents but rather a bridge between all of us, and this event highlighted the importance of bridging that gap and coming together to enjoy something new with the local community perfectly.

The Earth Day Music Festival had something for everyone; from relaxing on the lawn with close friends to find a new song to obsess over, exploring the line of vendors which included trying maple syrup from The Stockton Maple Project, or racing to the top of the 40 foot rock wall, there were new adventures are around every corner.

This event allowed students to discover, or rediscover a core value of the community that sometimes goes missing; kindness to all. The S.A.V.E x WLFR Earth Day Music Fest forged its path into becoming a long tradition in the Stockton community to remind students that with a little kindness to all, something beautiful can be created.