Dunedin festival features sustainability and ocean-friendly practices

DUNEDIN — The upcoming Florida Gulf Coast Hope Spot Festival will be eco-friendly — to say the least — with a variety of spins to it.

Plans call for attendees to have the opportunity to test drive a Tesla, said Tracy Love Tippin, one of the coordinators of the event.

Slated for Saturday, Feb. 12, at Edgewater Park, 51 Main St., the festival features exhibitors, a waterfront cleanup, speakers, food, drinks, native animals, games, arts, wearable art and more.

Blue-Green Connections, a local nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting land and waters, is overseeing the event.

Dunedin is considered the hometown of the Gulf Coast Hope Spot. The designations are for areas that are considered critical to oceans' health.

"The festival is kind of in celebration of the Hope Spot. So we have lot of ocean-focused activities," said Tippin, president of Blue-Green Connections. "But also part of promoting the Hope Spot in keeping it healthy is sustainable activities. So we also have a lot of vendors that sell sustainable products or have eco-friendly practices."

Besides being a learning experience for adults, the festival will provide hands-on activities for children.

Also featured is an "eat and drink local" event from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. One hundred tickets will be sold at $25 each.

Drinks will be served in limited-edition commemorative Hope Fest mugs. The artwork is designed by Tom Stovall, who is creating art for the mural for the Curlew Water Tower.

"The artist gave us permission to use his turtle on the mug, so it will say, 'City of Dunedin, home city for the Florida Gulf Coast Hope Spot,'" Tippin said.

Blue-Green Connections is partnering with Keep Pinellas Beautiful to have a waterfront cleanup along Edgewater Drive, starting at about 8 a.m. on the day of the festival.

SHAMc Artreach will guide the creation of a community-contributed sculpture using trash collected during the festival. Yet to be determined is the design of the sculpture, but under consideration is a sea life creature.

A wearable art/costume contest is slated along with yoga, dance and art activities. The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy will provide opportunities for attendees to drive a Tesla.

The Clearwater Marine Aquarium, Tampa Bay Estuary Program, Zoo Tampa and Ina the Mermaid are among the exhibitors expected to attend.

Entertainment will be provided by DJ Multiplayer on the microphone from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Jesse Ray Stout on the guitar from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

The event will be Dunedin's first attempt at a zero-waste festival, Tippin said.

"So we're requesting that all of the vendors use certified-compostable materials if they have to use single-use items," Tippin said. "And then we're collecting all of the organic waste, all of the food waste and compostables, into separate bins the city is going to provide."

University students at the bins will describe the process of what will happen with the waste.

Food waste will be put in an organic waste bin that will be taken to Rosebud Continuum, which is a sustainable education center in Land O' Lakes.

"We are going to soak it, grind it, put it into an anaerobic digester and it will be converted into renewable energy and fertilizer," Tippin said.

Other activities Blue-Green Connections is planning include a gala at the Fenway Hotel, 453 Edgewater Drive, on Saturday, Feb. 27, 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Among the scheduled speakers are Ryan Orgera, an ocean conservationist; Natalie Gass, city of Dunedin sustainability coordinator; and Ed Sherwood, director of the Tampa Bay Estuary Program.

Tickets are $75 to $100.

For more information about the festival and the gala, visit https://www.bluegreenconn.org/.

Asked what from the festival would give her the most satisfaction, Tippin said having people understand what the Hope Spot is.

"Most of us are aware we have something special here in the waters, but often times we don't care for it as we should. Just to practice what we preach. Show people there is an easy way forward with sustainability," she said.

Government can only do so much, said Tippin's sister, Vicki Love, who is treasurer of Blue-Green Connections.

"People need to take responsibility for all the actions that they do," Love said. "A lot of people doing a little bit can make a huge impact."