Cornish musician, Jon Stafford of Haunt the Woods, is set to bring a new festival to his local region along with some rather ambitious goals. Not only is the event’s line-up populated with many local artists, he and his team have put in motion several sustainability efforts in a bid to decrease the environmental impact on the area. Speaking exclusively to Festival Insights, Stafford retraces the origin of the event and previews what to expect for the inaugural showcase.
“Cornish artists are finding it increasingly difficult to get booked on a festival in the region – especially those playing original, instrument-based music,” stated Stafford. This concern is the driving force for Kernowfornia – a space for local artists to take to the stage.
Taking place in the town of Looe from 26 to 28 September, Stafford is proud to report that at least half of this year’s line-up features artist from or are now based in Cornwall. “The entire line up has a local focus, however, we will still welcome internationally renowned artists such as Embrace, Nick Mulvey and Marillion, among others,” he enthused, underlining Kernowfornia’s ambition to be a music-focussed festival.
In addition to partnering with charities Surfers Against Sewage, Livewire Youth Project and the Looe RNLI Station, Kernowfornia is implementing multiple sustainability goals amid the festival’s first year. “Having visited some festivals last year, I couldn’t help notice how much rubbish there was with overflowing bins and single use plastics,” stated Stafford. As such, his event will adopt a “net zero-waste” policy, banning the use of single use plastics – from vendors through to the use of composting toilets meaning the omission of harsh chemical loos.
“All of our merchandise for the event is also sustainably sourced using a company in Exeter called Broadside Screen Printing,” he said, adding that due to budgets, the festival would still be using diesel generators, provided by a local company to offset some of the emissions.
Looking to the future, Stafford shared some of his long-term goals for the company which included the creation of an affiliated charity – the Kernowfornia Award – that would look at aiding in the finance of music therapy services in the region.
With Stafford already reporting the large scale interest reflected in ticket sales, it will be interesting to follow the impact this latest event in the Cornish calendar has on the wider community, particularly for the local artists in the area.
