Crestone Energy Fair

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Since 1990, the Crestone Energy Fair has been hosted in the San Luis Valley, and remains one of the longest running sustainability fairs in the nation.  In September 2023, we hosted our 34th annual event with 1500-2000 live attendees and thousands of viewers on our YouTube Channel. 

As rural Colorado grows, it becomes increasingly important to model and practice a culture of regenerative living, permaculture and sustainability in our community. We offer our event and educational content for FREE to ensure that everyone has access to information and resources regardless of their financial situation.

Your donations have helped us keep the Crestone Energy Fair free for thirty-five years!

Saguache County, in which Crestone resides, is unique in that there are no building codes for residential properties.  As a result, Crestone has one of the highest concentrations of homeowners building with alternative construction and energy systems in the country. Through an interactive forum of demonstrations, potential owner-builders can learn building styles such as straw bale, cordwood, hempcrete and earthships, as well as electricity generation from solar photo-voltaic systems, gasifiers and methane bio-digesters.  

We also offer home tours of completed and under construction homes, so that future builders can see the results of people who have been in their shoes, and taken the leap to build themselves.  We believe that everyone deserves a place to call home, and by providing the necessary knowledge and experience for those who have not yet endeavored to build their own, we have become a resource for those with the dream of owning a home who can’t afford a traditional builder. 

In 2023, our weekend-long, family-friendly event hosted 4 main panels that can be watched on our YouTube channel.  Each takes a deep dive into how we are supporting ourselves, each other and nature:  

Natural Building Panel
Local Food & Agriculture Panel
Dreamers of the Future Panel
Wellness Panel

The Energy Fair has been mostly volunteer run but we are striving to create stipends and small jobs for local professionals in videography, photography, sound/lighting, graphic design, web design, volunteer coordination, book keeping, talent management and much more.  Our event also provides opportunities for musicians and performing artists to showcase their skills and a time for local & regional art/craft and food vendors to share their talents.  Over 100 volunteers were engaged with producing this year's event and thousands of hours were logged in meetings, preparation and planning.  

Our Ongoing Education series offers year round education on different building techniques, gardening practices or homesteading skills. Workshops are 2 days, with a new focus, teacher, and location each month. This amplifies our impact by helping different members of the community with projects at their own homes and deepens the educational value of the fair.  The money raised from these events will primarily be distributed to educators, and serve as a fundraiser for the Energy Fair itself. Possibly, the most important aspect of these events are to facilitate the growth and connection of our community throughout the year, empowering our cultural values of organic gardening, natural lifestyle, and conscious building.

Our theme for 2024 is Rooting Forward, with an emphasis on prioritizing our commitment to finding common ground, reaching across the aisle, and growing strong roots in order to move forward as a grounded, unified collective.

2024 panel discussions will be focused on Natural Building, Alternative Energy, Wellness, Rooting Forward, and Local Food Sovereignty. 

Lloyd Kahn, named the "King of DIY Dwellings" by the New York Times will be joining us as our Saturday evening headliner.

Stay tuned for our official 2024 lineup.