11th Hour Racing to Amplify Newport Folk and Jazz Festivals Ocean Friendly Initiatives. Photo credit: Brian Lima

11th Hour Racing to Amplify Newport Folk and Jazz Festivals Ocean Friendly Initiatives

Sustainability leadership to positively impact land and sea

Led by its mission to promote collaborative change for ocean health, 11th Hour Racing announced its new role as the Environmental Awareness Sponsor of the Newport Folk and Jazz Festivals.

Widely considered two of the most treasured cultural institutions in American history, for over 60 years, the Newport Folk and Jazz Festivals have shown that music can positively impact the communities and lives it touches. 11th Hour Racing will support the festivals’ ongoing sustainability initiatives, including:

  • Composting food waste with a green team to facilitate waste management best practices.
  • Hosting water refilling stations to reduce single-use plastic.
  • Providing bike valet to encourage festival attendees to choose fossil-fuel-free transportation.

Additionally, the Newport Folk and Jazz Festivals will work with a sustainability consultant to audit the events and analyze opportunities for further green initiatives in future years.

“11th Hour Racing works with coastal communities and events around the world to introduce and level-up sustainability practices for the ocean,” said Rob MacMillan, co-founder and president of 11th Hour Racing. “Everything we do on land impacts the sea and what better way to draw this connection in Newport than with one of the city’s largest public events. By expanding our work in our hometown beyond sport, we aim to showcase Newport’s passion and commitment to protecting its waters with measurable and replicable sustainability initiatives.”

Located at historic Fort Adams in Newport, R.I., with Narragansett Bay as the backdrop, the Newport Folk and Jazz Festivals traditionally have a strong connection to the ocean and attract up to 10,000 people each day on land along with a large, informal gathering of boats on the water. With this sponsorship, 11th Hour Racing has the power to reach a new and diverse audience to communicate the importance of ocean health and how our actions on land directly impact our waterways.

“Hosting Newport Folk and Jazz in a location as unique and beautiful as Fort Adams State Park constantly reminds us of our responsibility to continuously work to minimize the impact we have on our oceans, land and air. 11th Hour Racing clearly shares this same commitment and we are excited to have them partner with us to support our current sustainability initiatives and to identify opportunities for further improvement,” said Jay Sweet executive producer and director of the Newport Festivals Foundation. “Over the last several years, through successful programs such as our water stations, bike valet and Green Team, we have significantly reduced single-use plastic from our site and encouraged thousands of fans to ride their bicycles rather than drive a car. Having a partner as strong as 11th Hour Racing align with us on our sustainability commitment allows us to continually demonstrate our core values in a meaningful way and ultimately help protect the planet for future generations of music fans.”

The Newport Folk Festival will take place July 22-24, followed by the Newport Jazz Festival July 29-31, 2022. Featured artists include Brandi Carlile, Clairo, Norah Jones, Taj Mahal, and Mandy Moore.

Festival goers attend Newport Folk and Jazz festivals by boat at the oceanfront venue at Fort Adams. Photo credit: Courtesy of Newport Festivals Foundation
Festival goers attend Newport Folk and Jazz festivals by boat at the oceanfront venue at Fort Adams. Photo credit: Courtesy of Newport Festivals Foundation

 

Christian McBride on the main stage at the Newport Jazz Festival. Photo credit: Courtesy of Newport Festivals Foundation
Christian McBride on the main stage with a view of the Narragansett Bay at the Newport Jazz Festival. Photo credit: Courtesy of Newport Festivals Foundation

Header image credit: Brian Lima