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Win tickets from www.myBART.org to eco-friendly Outside Lands festival

By Xuan Lam
BART Website Intern

The Outside Lands festival, an eco-friendly celebration of music, art, food and more, is just around the corner. BART can help you get there – with a chance for free tickets from www.mybart.org and info to plan your trip using the BART QuickPlanner. Outside Lands takes place August 14 and 15 in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park.

One highlight is definitely the music, with performances from a diverse group of artists including Kings of Leon, The Strokes, Phoenix, Nas and Damien “Jr. Gong” Marley, Social Distortion, My Morning Jacket, Wolfmother, and People Under the Stairs. The full lineup can be seen at the festival website at http://www.sfoutsidelands.com/

But environmental awareness is another focus. Outside Lands offers many amenities aimed at encouraging sustainability. They include:

  • Panhandle Solar Stage. For the third year in a row, lighting and sound will be powered by solar energy, courtesy of the Panhandle Stage. The aim is to demonstrate environmentally sound alternatives to power live music events.
  •  Refillable Water Program. By encouraging attendees to use refillable water bottles instead of plastic water bottles, the festival cuts plastic consumption.  You can either purchase a 2010 Outside Lands stainless steel water bottle  and receive free refills of spring water the entire festival, or bring your own from home and purchase the refills. If you bring your 2008 or 2009 Outside Lands water bottle, you can drink for free all weekend long.
  • Valet Bike Parking- With the help of San Francisco Bike Coalition and Clif Bar, Outside Lands will provide complimentary Valet Bike Parking service at Marx Meadow in Golden Gate Park. Leave the stress of driving, parking, and traffic at the door. Just leave your bike with the valet, and everything will be taken care of. Additional bike racks will also be provided for bikers with their own locks. Cut back on carbon emissions and take a breath of fresh air. 
  •  TRASHed:: Recycling Store. Sponsored by Global Inheritance, TRASHed:: Recycling Store is an interactive recycling center where you can recycle empty plastic bottles and/or cans and compostable cups collected on-site in exchange for merchandise. The only currency the Recycling Store accepts is recyclable bottles and/or cans and compostable cups from Outside Lands. Based on the number of recyclables you collect, you will be able to “purchase” items that range in value from Outside Lands merchandise (posters, water bottles, t-shirts & 2011 tickets) to North Face gear (tents, sleeping bags and jackets). Freebies just to keep the grounds clean? Seems like a win-win situation.

Other eco-friendly events include waste diversion, urban gardening workshops, cell phone recycling, and a morning beach cleanup. You can enter a contest to win free tickets to the festival  at www.mybart.org.  Entries are accepted through August 9.

Since parking is extremely limited, please use public transportation, bikes or other alternate means of transportation. To get to the event from BART, get off at Powell Street Station. From Powell Street and Market Street, take Muni Bus #5 to 25th Avenue and Fulton Street. Or from Daly City Station, board Muni Bus #28 (19th Avenue to Golden Gate Park). You can plan the BART portion of your trip using the BART QuickPlanner, and get information on connecting transit at www.511.org.