Music and a message

MURPHYSBORO, Ill. -- More than 3,000 music lovers had the chance to be "green" this past weekend at the Shawnee Saltpetre Outdoor Amphitheatre in Murphysboro.

"Cavefest" ran from Friday night through Sunday morning, with more than 20 bands performing in Saltpetre Cave, Illinois' largest bluff shelter.

This year the event coincided with Earth Day, a day of environmental awareness that started in 1970, so coordinators decided to recognize it as part of the program, said Bob Goodale. Goodale owns the more than 50 acres that feature the cave and has hosted many rock and alternative music events at the wooded site since 1999.

While most came for the music, all were reminded of the significance of Earth Day during the shows and asked to recycle and clean up their campsites before leaving Sunday morning.

Many in the mostly 20-something crowd separated beer cans from plastic bottles early Sunday morning.

Bob Goodale, owner of Saltpetre Cave, discussed the weekend Cavefest that drew more than 3,000 people.

"Everybody is going to clean up the campsite this morning," said Bloomington, Ill., resident Scott Donahue. "It's not that hard to pick up your own trash."

Donahue had met up on the site with about 20 friends who had set up tents along a narrow roadway near the entrance to the park.

Most of the campsites were already neat at 8:30 a.m. as people were just getting up to pack up for home.

Campers were provided with recycling bags and a set of instructions that included tips for hikers, campfire requirements and where essentials such as food and porta potties were located.

Goodale is an old hand at music fests, having coordinated many starting in the 1970s. In 2000, about 700 people attended his first Cavefest. The number grew to 2,100 in 1996 and more than 3,000 this year.

He liked the idea of incorporating Earth Day into the fest this year because he considers himself an environmentalist by nature.

Goodale lives on the property he entertains on, and maintaining the wooded areas and roads is a full-time job for him. In his "spare" time he sells firewood, which he also considers a recycling effort.

"In the city it's easy to throw trash away," he said. "In the woods you can't just do that. You find things to recycle."

Plastic water bottles, for example, have other uses when they are emptied, he said.

Sunday he and a crew of helpers were hauling bags of trash -- remnants of the weekend festivities -- to the Dumpster by the entrance for pickup.

Goodale said Illinois law prohibits him from separating refuse already packaged by campers. He hoped his request to keep aluminum cans separate from other garbage was observed.

While campers busied themselves with cleaning up their sites, Goodale's crews were carefully separating aluminum cans from other debris around and in the cave of the Shawnee Amphitheatre.

In addition to the musical entertainment, which included such bands as Dervish, Unkl Ryan, TomFoolery and SpaceHead, a plethora of earth-friendly vendors provided food, refreshments, clothing, jewelry, handcrafted items and other goods.

April Desuno, of Naperville, Ill., surveyed her spotless campsite and said she was going to help clean up other campsites before leaving.

She had traveled six hours to attend Cavefest, which she has done for several years to enjoy the music and company of other fans of the event.

While she came for the music, she was delighted to learn of the Earth Day connection and efforts to recycle.

"I do recycle," she said. "I try to contribute as little waste as much as I can."

carel@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 127