26 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY MAY 25-31, 2023 www.montereycountyweekly.com his year’s California Roots Music & Art Festival features a diverse lineup of both global and local headliners—and no, we don’t mean the Wu-Tang Clan, Cypress Hill or Shaggy. In addition to that stellar collection of musicians, there is an equally impressive lineup of nonprofit groups that will be in attendance all weekend. “We are more than just a music festival,” says Operations Manager Amy Sheehan. (Sheehan’s husband, Dan Sheehan, has been involved with the festival since 2013 as co-partner with festival creator Jeff Monser.) It all began in the festival’s fifth year when the idea to partner with Humboldt County-based nonprofit Redwood Forest Foundation (RFFI) came about. “We saw the strength in our platform and wanted to help spread awareness,” Sheehan says. Since then, for every Redwood Pass VIP ticket sold, a seedling is planted. This has led to the protection and restoration of more than 7,500 redwoods—from last year’s ticket sales alone. “It’s like our own forest!” Sheehan says. As has become common at similar festivals and street fairs, each nonprofit group is represented by tables and booths in designated areas of the fairgrounds. But it goes beyond that— Sheehan is insistent that the presence of the nonprofits is felt amidst the rush of various stage performances, concession vendors and collectibles booths. “We always ask the nonprofits to have some sort of engagement. And they have gotten creative in ways to attract people,” she says. One year, for example, a volunteer with RFFI approached people and took “redwood selfies” with the festival-goers—images that incorporated redwood seedlings. (The seedlings will not be back this year; they’ve been planted in the ground.) For other nonprofit groups, their presence is similarly hard not to notice. In addition to a land acknowledgment notice on the festival website, Esselen Tribe of Monterey County member David MacDonald will take the stage to perform an opening blessing ceremony during the festival weekend. (This blessing also recognizes members of the Ohlone Costanoan Esselen Nation and Costanoan Rumsen Carmel Tribe.) “Being a resident on the Monterey Peninsula for 30-plus years that has raised children near the fairgrounds, I have always been appreciative of the positivity that the festival brings,” says MacDonald. “If you ask locals or the visitors around Monterey County what Esselen means to them, we mostly receive confused, blank stares. We’re here to let the world know that we are not extinct.” Other nonprofits on tap to participate this year have missions that speak to pressing national, even global, issues. This year’s festival will feature Calling All Crows, a nonprofit based in Colorado with a goal to link attendees to various feminist groups and to generally maintain a safe experience for all. Part of this group’s involvement will include a special training for festival workers. (Calling All Crows works in general to connect music fans to advocacy groups working on behalf of women and girls.) RFFI, along with local environmental groups like Surfrider Foundation and Save Our Shores are scheduled to be part of the 2023 festival. All of it adds up to creating an experience that is about music, of course, but something more—a sense of community and infusing that community with a mission to give back. “It still blows our mind what Cali Roots has become over the years,” Sheehan says. “We feel really lucky to have this festival in Monterey.” For more information on the nonprofit groups at Cali Roots, visit californiarootsfestival.com/non-profits. Raise Awareness Beyond the music, Cali Roots curates an impressive lineup of nonprofit groups. By Jesse Herwitz Members of the Esselen Tribe of Monterey County perform a blessing on the Cali Roots stage during the 2022 festival. MICHAEL SALOMAN “It’s like our own forest!” KALI GOLD EXTRACTS Locally grown cannabis, locally extracted shatter • sugar badder • crumble GET YOUR LOCAL GOLD RUSH LIC#: C11-0001324 AVAILABLE AT: Canna Cruz SALINAS 1156 Abbott St Higher Level SEASIDE 1440 Canyon Del Rey Blvd Element 7 MARINA 234 Reservation Rd
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