Sweetlife Festival raises awareness for organic, sustainable food

Rainy weather didn't damper Sunday's Sweetlife Festival at Merriweather Post Pavilion, which featured bands and artists such as The Strokes, Lupe Fiasco, and Girl Talk.

            The Sweetlife Festival is an annual event that is put on by Washington, D.C., restaurant chain sweetgreen. In addition to the music, the festival also featured food from different local farmers and organic food companies such as Stonyfield Farm and Honest Tea.

            sweetgreen was founded by Georgetown graduates Nicolas Jammet, Jonathan Neman, and Nathaniel Ru in 2007, according to the Sweetlife Festival website. The company specializes in organic salads and frozen yogurt and promotes sustainability in the Washington, D.C., community.

            sweetgreen used a variety of marketing techniques to get the word out about the relatively young festival. It utilized iPhone photo application Hipstamatic to create a Sweetlife Festival photo contest and created Twitter and Facebook pages about the festival.

            The festival also marketed sweetgreen's various locations in the District. American University French major Jess Harold appreciated the subdued presence of sweetgreen at the festival and the food options they offered.

            "I've always seen their stores around D.C., but I never knew what they had to offer in the way of salads. I'd probably be more inclined to go there now," she said.

            General admission ticket prices were $55 before service fees and concertgoers had access to the lawn, seat, and pit and Merriweather Post Pavilion. The festival also offered $100 VIP tickets, which Universityof Maryland sophomore Gloribel Le purchased but didn't think the steep price ended up being worth it.

            "I splurged on the VIP ticket because I thought it meant better standing space, but the VIP seating didn't have a good view of the stage," she said.

            The biggest act of the night was New York Cityrockers The Strokes, who just started playing shows after a six-year hiatus.

            Dickinson College sophomore Emily Eckardt traveled from Pennsylvania to Maryland to see her favorite band and enjoy the eclectic mix of artists at Sweetlife.

            "Seeing The Strokes for that hour alone would have made it an amazing festival. The crowd was so into their set even after six years of waiting," she said.