Refugia Festival-Ann Arbor (RF-A2)

Refugia Festival-Ann Arbor (RF-A2) is a two-day event advocating for environmental conservation and preservation through the sense of sound. Refugia Festival highlights the sonic beauty of our natural surroundings through music performances, educational programming, and community service to create meaningful environmental change on a local level. RF-A2 includes four performances and three educational workshops each day, in addition to community service offerings, food vendors, and ongoing activities such as sound installations and interactive games. 

Each day of RF-A2 begins at 12:30 pm and ends by 7:30 pm. Kids 12 and under attend for free. Student tickets for ages 13+ are pay-what-you-can (suggested rates in the details). 

RF-A2 is an outdoor, open-air event. While RF-A2 is advertised as "rain or shine," RF-A2 reserves the right to cancel the event if there is severe, inclement weather. Refund policies will apply if that happens (but let's hope for sun!). Camping chairs and picnic blankets are welcome. Umbrellas may be used as long as they do not block or inhibit the view for other attendees. 

What to bring:

• reusable water bottle (a free water filling station will be available throughout RF-A2)
• sunscreen
• camping chairs/picnic blankets
• snacks are welcome, but RF-A2 will also be partnering with local restaurants to provide food for sale (we are also a Zero Waste Event, so please plan to pack your refuse out with you or bring snacks that are in recycleable packaging)
• flowerpot (***optional to bring if you plan to participate in "Flowerpot Music" on Saturday, April 20 at 1 pm-- we will have extras available)

While we recommend "Bike, Hike, Bus, Scooter, Uber" for getting to Nichols Arboretum, there are some parking options around the Arb. More details soon! A golf cart shuttle will be available to help transport attendees from the Reader Center/Washington Heights entrance to RF-A2.  The amphitheater is about .5 miles from both the Washington Heights entrance as well as the riverfront entrance off of Nichols Drive. 

RF-A2 has partnered with local environmental organizations to offer "Green Ticket" discounts for volunteering in advance of or at RF-A2. Please contact us at info@refugiafestival.com if you have any difficulty with the discount codes offered for your service work!

Overall, RF-A2 seeks to not only create a memorable event for the community, but we hope attendees leave with a greater awareness of and appreciation for the sonic beauty found within our natural surroundings, which in turn may lead to actionable changes within the community to ensure that those sonic experiences may continue to thrive in the region.