NH Goes Greener With Greenerpalooza

July 23 Event at Meadowbrook Musical Arts Center Celebrates Energy Efficienc

GILFORD, NH—The energy level will be high, but the carbon footprint will be smaller, at Greenerpalooza, a celebration of New Hampshire’s energy efficiency efforts, to be held July 23rd at Meadowbrook Musical Arts Center. Set against the backdrop of the much-anticipated Crosby, Stills and Nash concert, the evening’s festivities will include a special “eco village” on the Meadowbrook midway where New Hampshire businesses and members of the general public will be able to learn how to “go greener.”

Greenerpalooza will also include a private VIP reception held at Meadowbrook’s Center Stage Café Deck. At the reception, a group of New Hampshire companies will be recognized with commendations from the Governor’s Office. These companies have already begun to implement energy-efficiency measures by participating in energy audits conducted by the State or by being part of the Ocean Energy Efficiency Program.

Michael Vlacich, Director of the New Hampshire Division of Economic Development, sees Greenerpalooza as the right event at the right time. “Energy is such a critical subject for business and residents alike; it’s a major factor in our economic futures. I think everyone who attends Greenerpalooza will be impressed by how many green-based businesses and energy-related initiatives there are in New Hampshire. At the State level, we’re continually looking for ways that we can help businesses become more energy efficient and environmentally sound.”

Sponsored by Ocean Bank, the inaugural event is designed to showcase New Hampshire products, services and programs that can help individuals and businesses save energy and dollars. According to Janet Brewer, Vice President and Director of Community Development at Ocean Bank, “Greenerpalooza is a great way for us to celebrate our Energy Efficiency Program and the terrific partnership we enjoy with the New Hampshire Business Resource Center, while pushing the green initiative further. As part of the eco-village at Meadowbrook, we’ll be on hand so attendees can find out more about this program, as well as about the many different alternatives there are in New Hampshire to help reduce energy consumption.”

Pat McDermott, Economic and Community Development Manager for PSNH, says the utility is pleased to support the event. “From an energy-efficiency, environmental and sustainability point of view, the timing couldn’t be better for this event; and Meadowbrook is a great example of how a New Hampshire business is doing the right thing for the environment.”

Roy Duddy, Director of the New Hampshire Business Resource Center, agrees that Meadowbrook was the natural choice for the venue. “Meadowbrook President R.J. Harding is known for his concern about the environment. Under his leadership, Meadowbrook has changed the way it does business so it will have the least possible negative impact on the environment.”

Chris Lockwood, Meadowbrook’s Marketing Director explains. “R.J. challenged the staff to come up with ways we can go green—and the staff embraced the challenge. Together we developed green initiatives for our office, food service, facilities and programming that focus on reduce, reuse, recycle and conserve. For example, our Executive Chef, Mark Williams uses soy and vegetable oil, which can be recycled into bio-diesel. He’s made sure that our food service paper products are 100% biodegradable, and he uses as much organic and local produce as possible. And we chose Pepsi as one of our partners in part because of their use of bottles that use much less plastic than the norm.”

Meadowbrook also provides performers the ability to fill their tour buses and tractor-trailer trucks on site with bio-diesel—which presently can be very difficult to find on the road—through Simply Green Biofuels of Stratham; and it offers artists the option of producing completely green stage shows using its bio-diesel-fueled generator.

But Meadowbrook’s efforts don’t stop there. Lockwood continues, “Since over 80% of a concert’s carbon footprint is from the fans’ commute, we’re implementing a Fan Carbon Offset Program this season. One of our green partners, Reverb—an organization that educates and engages musicians and  fans to promote environmental sustainability—is working with us on this. During ticket purchasing, Meadowbrook fans will be asked to offset the carbon footprint of their commute to the show by donating additional money to organizations committed to renewable energies and other ways to reduce carbon output. ”

NH Business Review and WGIR (Rock 101) have signed on as media partners for the event. During May and June, ads on  WGIR promoting Greenerpalooza are matched on a one-to-one basis by ClearChannel with free energy efficiency tips for New Hampshire businesses.

NH Business Review will be promoting the event in the magazine and online at nhbr.com. “We have a section in the newspaper every month that’s dedicated to energy and the environment,” says editor Jeff Feingold. “Energy efficiency is top of the mind with businesspeople around the state at this point; so we’re especially pleased to be involved with this event.”

Tickets to the Crosby, Stills and Nash concert, which include entry into the eco-village, are available online at www.meadowbrook.net. For more on energy efficiency programs and resources for New Hampshire businesses, call the New Hampshire Business Resource Center at 603-271-2341 or visit NHEconomy.com.