"Good Energy" Festival in Bielsko-Biała18 July 2013 | 12h01 | 225 visits This year’s 3rd edition of the “Beskid Good Energy” Festival, dedicated to energy conservation in everyday life, once again attracted thousands of Bielsko-Biała residents. Local residents as well as visitors had a chance to enjoy a weeklong eco-design exhibition entitled "The Second Life of Things". “We want to show that recycling can be aesthetic and functional, and energy consumption while creating new objects should be minimised." - explained the festival’s organisers. The temporary "Share the Water" green garden was an interesting space created by students that aimed to draw attention on the need to save water and the importance of greenery in urban space. Besides, preschool children and younger elementary school pupils learned about ecology by planting their own trees and plants and many other educational activities were organised. In these attractions, participants were proven that electricity is not necessarily needed to have a great time and that energy can be understood in many ways. Another exhibition was a unique presentation of ENGAGE posters of Climate Ambassadors, consisting of more than 1,000 faces of city residents who committed to reduce their energy consumption and share their knowledge with others. Among the ambassadors are musicians, actors, athletes, officials and many other residents of Bielsko-Biała. As for previous editions of the festival, the central and symbolic point of the programme has been the "Bielsko-Biala Balloon Release" where 300 balloons flew in the air with an eco-friendly message. Balloons carry the message far and sometimes even abroad: the finders return them to the Town Hall in Bielsko-Biała and then receive gifts such as a unique LCD room thermometer. Thus the idea of the festival is not only a local initiative but also European! The festival ended with a concert by the Recycling Band who uses instruments made by themselves – bottle-violin, bottle-bass or garbage-drums – and drew attention on waste management. Such innovative activities of the city, resulting in the organisation of the festival, have been repeatedly rewarded, even internationally. The huge turnout at the festival showed that people need this type of action, which consists not only of entertainment, but also of education through play, so that energy matters are becoming closer to them. The festival will surely return next year! More about the 1st edition and the 2nd edition of the "Good Energy" Festival © photos City of Bielsko-Biała |