A summer pastime for years, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra’s 2008 Starbucks Free Parks Concerts returns with four concerts this year, including a performance at the Orchestra’s new summer home at Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore Park in Alpharetta. The Orchestra’s annual Starbucks Free Parks Concerts have become an integral part of summer in the greater Atlanta area, providing music lovers with an opportunity to hear the best classical music under the stars. These concerts are free to the public in large part to major funding provided by the Fulton County Commission under the guidance of the Fulton County Arts Council.Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Assistant Conductor Mei-Ann Chen launched the parks series with the first free concert at Hutcheson Ferry Park in Palmetto earlier this month. In keeping with the awareness surrounding Georgia’s current drought, in addition to other ongoing environmental issues around the country, the remaining Starbucks Free Parks Concerts will take place at environmentally-friendly sites, all equipped with recycling bins on-site.
Starbucks, the title sponsor, is also committed to contributing positively to the environment. In fact, it’s one of the guiding principles for the company. Starbucks demonstrates its environmental leadership through renewable-energy purchases, energy and waste reduction efforts, and green store design.
The Starbucks Free Parks Concerts will take place as follows:
· ASO Music Director Robert Spano leading the Orchestra in the annual free concert at the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church, which will also close the National Black Arts Festival on Sunday, July 27, 2008 at 7:00 p.m. No food or beverages are allowed in the Sanctuary. This concert is free and open to the public, with seating on a first-come, first-served basis.
· ASO Assistant Conductor Mei-Ann Chen will lead the free parks concert on the Sifly Piazza of the Woodruff Arts Center on Sunday, August 3, 2008 at 7:30 p.m. — replacing the former free concert in Piedmont Park. Coolers and carry-ins are not permitted on the Piazza. This concert is free and open to the public with chair-seating available on a first-come, first-served basis. Blankets and low beach-style lawn chairs are also allowed (can be no more than 9 inches off the ground). Concertgoers are encouraged to take MARTA to the Arts Center rail station.
· Ms. Chen will lead the final free parks concert at the Orchestra’s new Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore Park in Alpharetta on Thursday, August 14, 2008 at 8:00 p.m. — replacing the former free concert at Wills Park. No coolers or carry-ins are allowed. Low beach-style lawn chairs are permitted (can be no more than 9 inches off the ground). Lawn chairs specially designed to ensure sightlines and the slope of the hill are available for rental. Cost for renting a lawn chair is $5.00. This concert is free to the public, but tickets are required. A limited number of free tickets may be obtained online at Ticketmaster.com, by calling (404) 249-6400, or by visiting the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre box office, or the Woodruff Arts Center box office. Complimentary parking passes will be included with ticket orders.
In addition, Energy Team representatives from the Woodruff Arts Center will be on site at the August 3 concert on the Piazza of the Woodruff Arts Center to discuss the importance of being environmentally conscious, and to share the environmental efforts taking place at the ASO and Woodruff Arts Center, as well as Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore Park.
About the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Woodruff Arts Center “Go Green” Efforts
The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and the Woodruff Arts Center have made great strides in the growing Atlanta initiative to “go green.” Recently, a 6,680-square-foot vegetated green roof was added to the top of the High Museum of Arts at the Woodruff Arts Center to help clean and reduce storm water runoff, reduce the urban heat island effect, lower energy consumption, extend the roof life and improve air quality. This particular green roof also has the ability to retain about 62,000 gallons of storm water per year, the equivalent of the average person’s indoor water use for two and a half years. The Woodruff Arts Center has also established a new energy team, which has applied for grants to incorporate additional energy-saving measures, as well as to lower our carbon profile and cost to the enterprise.
Other environmental efforts include a new partnership with Energy Star, a voluntary, government program that helps American businesses save energy and money with tested and proven energy-efficient products and practices. They offer an energy management strategy to help measure energy performance, set goals, track progress, and reward improvements to commercial and industrial buildings across America. By working with Energy Star, the Woodruff Arts Center has set an aggressive goal to lower energy usage by 10% over the first year. In addition, an increased number of recycling bins are now available on the Woodruff Arts Center campus, and custodial bring focus to a healthy environment through subtle detail changes in chemicals and procedural execution.
About Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore Park “Go Green” Efforts
As part of the extensive landscape at Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore Park, designed by Boston-based Sasaki Associates, a number of large heritage trees and other plants and flowers
native to the park, remained in order to preserve the unique character of the venue, allowing
concertgoers to enjoy music under the trees, surrounded by local shrubbery. Nearly 1,200 trees were planted on the premises, including 706 trees from reforestation. Also on site are 2,672 shrubs, 14 vines, and 2, 550 perennials, and 59,000 square yards of sod. All were planted during the landscaping process, and are currently maintained, using well water from a 350-foot well drilled on-site.
The Amphitheatre selected Waste Management as the Waste Hauler for the venue. As the largest recycler of municipal solid waste in North America, Waste Management processes more than 5.5 million tons of recyclable materials each year through its 109 material recovery facilities. As part of the service agreement, Waste Management provides the venue a 40 yard roll off container for co-mingled recyclable product disposal which is hauled to the sorting center after each event at the venue.
The operating program at Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre, through Waste Management’s Single Stream collection, makes it easier for people to recycle. Single-stream recycling, allows customers to mix recyclable paper, plastic and glass in one bin. Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre recycles all glass and plastics from the concessions, the bar areas, and backstage. Single-stream programs have greatly increased the recycling rates and match the consumers’ ability to properly place recyclable products in the proper containers. Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre has a well-designed public area recycling program, which has been in place since the venue’s first event, (clearly labeled, color-coded recycling bins, located in all venue concourses, seating and concession areas) provides recycling containers next to non-recycling containers through out the venue for the consumer to use to separate the recycling at the point of receptacle entry. Not everything gets recycled: the Amphitheatre still uses a compactor bin for trash that is not recycled.
The most expensive part of the building’s recycling program is the labor investment in the post-event pick-up of the seating and lawn areas. While post-event pick-up of recyclable materials does require initial training of the custodial staff, it is the most efficient way to recapture the large number of plastics from the venue’s seating area. The goal for the recycling program at the amphitheatre is to divert as much waste material from landfill disposal through recycling.
Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore Park also has a recycling program for all cardboard material to divert the paperboard product from the landfill.
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