Yellow Springs’ annual Porchfest transforms the town’s patios and porches into a de facto villagewide venue. Above, Mojo Power drew a large crowd in 2019 along the bike path on President Street as the event wound down in the evening. (Submitted photo by Nick Deys)
Yellow Springs Porchfest to be powered by solar
- Published: August 11, 2025
Yellow Springs Porchfest is partnering with the nationwide SunDay event to power the music on village porches with clean solar energy for this year’s Porchfest on Saturday, Sept. 20.
A coalition of national and local environmental organizations are organizing SunDay, scheduled the weekend of Sept. 20 and 21. SunDay will be a time of action to celebrate the power of clean energy and encourage a just transition away from fossil fuels. According to the SunDay website (sunday.earth), on SunDay, “people everywhere will be showcasing solar installations, electric homes, and vehicles running on clean power [to] help accelerate the ongoing clean energy revolution.”
The organizers of SunDay chose the weekend of Sept. 21 for the fall equinox, when all the world receives an equal amount of sunlight, uniting the world under the rays of the sun. It also falls right before the annual meeting of the U.N. General Assembly, providing an opportunity to send a message to the U.S. and world leaders.
Local attorney Ellis Jacobs heard about SunDay from his involvement with a group of environmental lawyers. When he joined the Yellow Springs Porchfest committee, he saw an opportunity.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do on the climate,” Jacobs said. “Given the current political environment, that work is more important than ever, and we should infuse some joy into it.” He continued: “Porchfest is local, it’s participatory, it’s a ton of fun, so I thought, why not make it solar powered this year. The Porchfest Committee loved the idea.”
Jacobs then recruited Solar United Neighbors, which helped organize a solar co-operative venture for Yellow Springs several years ago; The Sustainable Ohio Public Energy Council (SOPEC); Drive Electric Dayton; and the Green Environmental Coalition to sponsor and support solar power for Yellow Springs Porchfest this year.
Some of the stages will be at homes that already have solar panels on the roof. Village Solar Co and Drive Electric Dayton will provide portable solar panels, batteries, and solar-charged electric vehicles to power additional stages throughout town.
Alex Rolland, founder of Village Solar Co said, “We will be using a variety of our available resources to help power the stages, including our two Rivian Electric trucks and our mobile solar and battery packs. We have a variety of energy sources that can be easily deployed for events like this one, emergency response, or recreational activities and of course they are all powered by sunshine.”
The Yellow Springs Arts Council is now the host organization for YS Porchfest. YSAC president Valerie Blackwell-Truitt said she welcomes the partnership with SunDay.
“It is imperative that we all take climate change seriously,” Blackwell-Truitt said. “There are certainly many ways to do this, and one is through art. As an arts council, we support the many ways people express their art not only for themselves, but for the benefit of the community. We want to create ways to express support for mother earth, whether that is through dance, poetry, music or creating installations which harness energy to power devices, or to create other types of interactive art, which benefit communities.”
YS Porchfest will also indicate on the Porchfest map which stages are solar powered. At each of those stages, there will be a display describing the power source and its benefits.
“I think people will see that solar power has come a long way in the last few years. It’s powerful, adaptable, saves a lot of money, and people love it.” Jacobs said.
David Seitz, the coordinator for this year’s Porchfest said, “This is our chance to show the Miami Valley our commitment to solar power in the village and our community.”
The goal is to have more than half of the stages solar powered, so YS Porchfest is looking for even more solar-powered sources. Anyone who has an electric vehicle (ideally one that was charged from rooftop solar), a portable solar array or a battery pack that can power a band is asked to contact the Porchfest committee at ysporchfest@gmail.com.
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