Have you ever wondered why you haven’t seen a concert powered 100 percent by bicycles? This question had long been on the mind of Rachel Woods-Robinson, a 4th year Physics major at UCLA and the leader of E3: Ecology, Economy, Equity’s Clean Energy Campaign. The result is Ecochella, a free event open to the public on Friday, May 24 from 5:30-10:00 p.m. PST at the UCLA Sunset Canyon Recreation Center amphitheater.
Ecochella is a 100 percent off-the-grid concert powered by YOUR legs! We rented ten energy-generating bikes from Rock the Bike, who do bike-powered concerts and other events. With those bikes, you will be amplifying the sweet sounds of eight UCLA student and alumni bands selected from a very competitive application pool, followed by the headlining band, The Dustbowl Revival.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0os5DrfTGk
Since you can never have too many bikes, Peddler’s Creamery will also be there with some bike-churned frozen treats, and students will be making free, bike-powered smoothies with the generator that Rachel built from scratch. The bike love continues between band transition periods, when selected short films from the UCLA Bicycle Coalition’s film contest will be screened.
The purpose of the event is to create a setting where students can enjoy fantastic live music while engaging in a fun, sustainable and healthy activity. We also sought to make Ecochella an educational event where UCLA students and the greater community can learn more about environmental solutions and opportunities for involvement. Accordingly, the event features a Sustainability Fair where 30 on-and off-campus groups engage attendees through interactive games and activities. Winning submissions from E3’s prior Sustainable Art Competition will be showcased.
Since sustainability is important in all aspects of one’s life, the food available carries a low carbon food print. The Green Truck, which will be selling food, runs on vegetable oil, has a solar-powered kitchen, utilizes only certified organic food, and recyclable or compostable utensils and packaging. And the Student Food Collective at UCLA will be serving vegan tacos made primarily with farmers’ market ingredients to the bikers and volunteers.
We are wheely excited and pumped-up about this event and hope that you will join us in “Raising the Handlebars” tonight at Ecochella.
Ecochella is free and open to the public, so feel free to bring your friends and family. For more information visit our website here.
Add powering a concert by bike power to your To-Do list here.
