Moss Rock Festival 2016 in Picture

November 23, 2016

At Moss Rock Festival 2016, Nature, SmartLIVING, Art + Design & much more aligned for an exploratory experience like no other. We kicked off the festival’s 2nd decade at The Preserve in Hoover, Alabama with much anticipation. Thousands of visitors ventured outdoors November 5 & 6 excited to interact with the Fall festival’s unique and engaging programming presented through its eco-creative lens. What a line up for our 11th year too! Where else can you encounter this unique mix of entertainment all in one place?

100 Visual Artists inspired by nature. Featured below are just 2 of the talented artists who exhibited. Paul Cordes Wilm, our 2016 featured artist, is environmentally conscious, political and recycles most everything that goes into his work from house paint & ink to found plywood scraps that he uses as his canvases. Another, Celeste Pfau, uses nature and organic matter to create beautiful, graphic monoprints & more. Both are great local talents you should own!

Tiny homes visitors could step into showcased design innovations alongside the realities of compact, minimal living. Could you downsize your life for a tiny home?

The school Planet Project sculpture installations tackled flocks of birds and migration patterns and were created from recycled and natural materials by area elementary and high school students. Wonderful!

The SmartLIVING Market was full of great connections to interesting choices for everyday living related to food, home, body, health, tech & more — from an energy audit to a homemade ravioli to an organic dog biscuit to acupuncture treatments

Kids made art inspired by nature & recycling at the 12 WonderKid Studios projects (pictured:”recycled Bottle Top Pins”)

Fun activities & demos for the whole family were afoot in the great outdoors, including rock climbing, fly fishing, and a rope bridge. Plus the ever popular guided hikes into the MRF adjacent Moss Rock Preserve exploring the diverse ecosystems of the area’s own 350 acre nature preserve.

Drone flight demonstrations spotlighted the innovations and designs of this new technology.

Buttery sweet baklava and other Greek treats from a local baker you must know about at The Sweetery. (pictured: The Greek Kouzina table)

A rare imperial porter brewed from a collaboration between a guild of talented Alabama brewers, was only one of 50+ craft beer features from around the state (and a few beyond) at the 5th annual Beer Garden. (pictured: Fairhope Brewing feature at The J. Clyde’s Cask Garden)

Or lounging all day on the green to live music with delicious local food. (pictured: Amen Corner on Crescent Stage AND Snapper Grabbers and Eugene’s Hot Chicken food trucks)

2016 turned out to be one of Moss Rock Festival’s most exciting, informative, and inspiring years. And did you hear?! MRF was voted “Best Annual Festival” in the annual poll by Hoover’s Magazine. What a way to cap off our 11th year! If you couldn’t attend in 2016, or just want to remind yourself of the art, design, nature & fun from November 5-6, check out our Instagram page (@mossrockfest) over the next few weeks. We recently received a slew of great pictures from our festival photographer, Charity Ponter. And we’ll be sharing the many fabulous moments from Moss Rock Festival 11. We hope to see you for year #12 on November 4-5, 2017!

But before we go, we’d like to give special thanks to our sponsors, supporters, board of directors, volunteers, and of course, all of our great patrons for their support. Plus we certainly can’t forget all of MRF’s wonderful artists, exhibitors & partners who were with us in 2016:

Artist +Design
Nature District
SmartLIVING Market
Musicians
Special exhibition partners in the Greenways Pathways Expo and Aspiring Gardeners Spot
Tasting event features like Beer Garden and The Sweetery.

Hats off to all of you for everything you do! And thank. Your participation and partnership made 2016 a banner year!

We wish you and yours a happy holidays and prosperous new year!

Tiny homes visitors could step into showcased design innovations alongside the realities of compact, minimal living. Could you downsize your life for a tiny home?

The school Planet Project sculpture installations tackled flocks of birds and migration patterns and were created from recycled and natural materials by area elementary and high school students. Wonderful!

The SmartLIVING Market was full of great connections to interesting choices for everyday living related to food, home, body, health, tech & more — from an energy audit to a homemade ravioli to an organic dog biscuit to acupuncture treatments

Kids made art inspired by nature & recycling at the 12 WonderKid Studios projects (pictured:”recycled Bottle Top Pins”)

Fun activities & demos for the whole family were afoot in the great outdoors, including rock climbing, fly fishing, and a rope bridge. Plus the ever popular guided hikes into the MRF adjacent Moss Rock Preserve exploring the diverse ecosystems of the area’s own 350 acre nature preserve.

Drone flight demonstrations spotlighted the innovations and designs of this new technology.

Buttery sweet baklava and other Greek treats from a local baker you must know about at The Sweetery. (pictured: The Greek Kouzina table)

A rare imperial porter brewed from a collaboration between a guild of talented Alabama brewers, was only one of 50+ craft beer features from around the state (and a few beyond) at the 5th annual Beer Garden. (pictured: Fairhope Brewing feature at The J. Clyde’s Cask Garden)

Or lounging all day on the green to live music with delicious local food. (pictured: Amen Corner on Crescent Stage AND Snapper Grabbers and Eugene’s Hot Chicken food trucks)