Head to Bonnaroo to Learn a Little

As it turns out, it wasn’t all about the music. Bonnaroo had a little school on site. And a local university didn’t miss the opportunity for some hands-on interaction with college-age students.

The Academy Tent @ Planet Roo, as it was called, was “staffed by professors, professional artists and their apprentices, dancers, activists, and musicians,” largely volunteers from Tennessee Tech University.

Panel discussions include painting and art, theater, percussion, bellydancing, wild food fermentation techiniques, ancient relations and abundant futures, conscious and environmental fashion choices and conservation of energy, food and water. “With more than 80,000 people, many of whom are between the ages of 18 and 25, attending the four-day festival, the event offers an excellent opportunity to interact with college students outside of a formal classroom setting,” says Laurel Smith of The Appalachian Center for Craft students, one of The Academy’s leaders.

Is there a better marketing plan than touching your constituency right where they are, doing what they like to do, and offering them a little unexpected education for their money? Kudos to Tech for being spot-on in the soft-sell recruiting department.