What is Earth Hour? 

The Barrie Earth Hour Music Festival is a non-profit group responsible for organizing the Earth Hour concert and other initiatives in Barrie, Simcoe County and beyond. The group was founded by Gayle Rushton in 2009 and includes a board of people passionate about spreading awareness of global climate change initiatives. The event was born out of Gayle’s desire to spread awareness on the climate change issue.
The festival presented by title sponsor PowerStream, for the third year in a row, is pleased with the success of the 2011 event, held Saturday March 26th 2011. This was Barrie’s third annual Earth Hour Music Festival showcasing some of the biggest and best names in music.


Despite the cold, the Board of the not-for-profit took to the stage over the hour and thanked the nearly 4,000 people who braved the cold and came down to the festival to celebrate Earth Hour in downtown Barrie.

“We are so pleased with the attendance this year, particularly with the number of young people who attended. The message we are trying to deliver is that reducing our unnecessary energy consumption is not just something we should do for one hour a year but to see Earth Hour as a means to celebrate our accomplishments over the past year and to encourage others to participate going forward.” said Gayle Rushton, Founder of the Barrie Earth Hour Music Festival.

“We think the people of Barrie and Simcoe County understand this, which was demonstrated by their participation in the event. What we have heard is that the 2011 Barrie Earth Hour Music festival was the largest Earth Hour event in Canada again this year but we couldn’t have done it without our media sponsors who helped create the awareness. As in previous years, at one point you could not turn on a radio or pick up a newspaper without seeing or hearing something about the festival”, added Rushton.

Earth Hour is a global climate change initiative run by the World Wildlife Fund which called on individuals and businesses to turn off non-essential lighting for one hour on Saturday, March 26th, 2011 between 8:30pm and 9:30pm. The aim of the campaign is to express that individual action on a mass scale can help change our planet for the better.

People unable to attend the concert were encouraged to hold their own Earth Hour events (candle lit dinners, street parties, etc.) and turn off their own non-essential lights at 8:30pm.

 It's a great way to have some fun and at the same time show people that being ‘environmentally conscious’ doesn’t mean sacrificing things you like to do. It’s about being aware of the little things you do on a daily basis that can help benefit your world!

The 2012 event is already being planed and will be held on March 24, 2012. Sponsorships for this event are being accepted already. Key sponsorship opportunities go early so please reserve your place by contacting info@earthhourbarrie.com.