Spring-2023

102 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • S P R I N G 2 0 2 3 we had grown exponentially,” Amy says. “Dan and I went to the site early Saturday morning after Friday’s show and there was a sea of trash on the ground, mostly plastic water bot- tles and beer cups. We were horrified.” The couple knew a change was essential. “We realized we needed to be industry leaders and make our event more sustainable, and we try to one up ourselves every year.” The fol- lowing year they committed to eliminate sin- gle use water bottles, working with reusable container company Klean Kanteen to provide steel pint cups. There are free water refill sta- tions throughout the festival grounds. Today, all vendors are required to use compostable packaging and single use items such as ketchup packets are prohibited. Monterey company Blue Strike Environmen- tal takes care of waste diversion, sorting out recyclables behind the scenes. “They then give us reports on how we’re doing and how impactful our efforts are,” Amy explains. What used to be called a “VIP Pass” has been rebrand- ed as the “Redwood Pass.” “We teamed up with the Redwood Forest Foundation of Fort Bragg. For every Redwood Pass we sell, they plant two redwood seedlings. To date, that equals 7,500 trees. That’s like a whole forest. It’s become a badge of honor for Pass holders, and they want to go visit their trees.” Being conscious of our impact on the planet is the right thing to do,” Amy avers. “Festivals have a huge impact and sometimes it’s not easy, nor is it inexpensive…but it’s absolutely the right thing to do.” The Sheehans and their team have learned a lot from Cali Roots. “We are taking all the basic elements of that festival—interactive art, thoughtful curation of food vendors, excellent stage production, supporting local businesses and ar tists, inclusion of nonprofits—and appliying them to other genres,” Dan says. Those include Rebels & Renegades, the monthly Night Market in Sand City, Holo Holo Las Vegas, the Lake Tahoe Reggae Festival and a host of one-off concerts. When you find a winning formula, it’s a good idea to stick with it, and Good Vibez is doing just that. For more information about Good Vibez and their events, visit www.goodvibezpresents.com . Cali Roots’ main venue is the historic Pattee Arena, site of the Monterey Pop Festival and the Monterey Jazz Festival. Many performers consider this to be hallowed ground. Good Vibez covers the dirt floor with sod each year. Dan and Amy Sheehan (with daughter Makena), owners of Good Vibes. Photo: A Geller Photo Photo: Julianne San Pedro