Back for its 6th year, Elements Music and Arts Festival is preparing for its biggest and best year yet at its new home in Long Pond, PA from Thursday, August 10 through Monday, August 14. The lineup is packed with legendary artists – Skrillex, Chris Lake, Porter Robinson, Rezz, and STS9 just to name a few – and we’ve already dropped our preview for the Northeast’s premier camping festival. More than just the music though, it is an escape into an immersive camping experience for so many in East Coast metropolises such as New York City, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., and Boston.
Sustainability and environmental impact are key issues for festival organizers and our community, which Moon Lvnding highlighted a few weeks ago, and Elements is doing its part to make a difference. Take, for example, the new venue site in Long Pong, adjacent to the Pocono Raceway. The venue will be completely powered by an onsite solar farm, meaning the festival will be using clean, renewable energy. Powered by nearly 40,000 American-made panels over 25 acres, the 3MW Pocono Solar Project has been up and running since 2010!
Then consider all that delicious healthy, organic food on offer from assorted vendors and the 24-hour food court. Much of the organic produce used for the event is grown right next door at Pocono Organics, one of North America’s largest regenerative organic certified farms. So instead of the food traveling countless hours in transportation burning fuel, the festivalgoers of Elements will be able to enjoy farm-fresh, organic food harvested close by.
Don’t forget the transportation incentives and benefits provided by Elements. Did you know Elements offers a discount program for hybrid and electronic vehicles? Offering 30% off hybrids and 50% off EVs, the owner just needs to email Elements with a picture of their registration to get the discount code for the car pass. For people flying into NYC’s two biggest airports, JFK and Newark, or those who prefer to bus down from the city, there are shuttles scheduled from Newark Airport and Midtown Manhattan on Thursday and Friday, plus the return trip on Monday.
Elements brings the sustainability vibes full circle by curating a well-rounded selection of presenters and artists to share knowledge, skills, and classes on a wide variety of topics. Education is another great way the festival is able to share its ethos and allow attendees to take some lessons with them to their daily lives.
Finally, something I’m most excited to see is the execution of the Vibe Villages, Elements’ progressive concept for planning group camping. By working with the group camp leaders to get the vibes right, each group can plan artistic and expressive home settings for their spaces to bring the festival to the campsites as well. There are even three different themes Villages for group camping:
- Fire Village – for the truly shared interactive experience like sound camps and art/gift camps.
- Water Village – for groups looking to express themed costumes, decorations, and performances.
- Air Village – for the go-with-the-flow homies to set up about 10 minutes from the festival gate.
The hands-on, progressive leadership of Elements has continually improved upon its initial vision from 10 years ago and it is encouraging to see an independent festival organizer prioritize environmentally friendly ways to strive towards sustainability. Limited festival and camping passes remain with only three weeks until the event, so the time is now to plan your escape to Elements Music and Arts Festival.
