We won! Thursday 16th March at MACBA, Barcelona saw the 2nd Edition of the Iberian Festival Awards organised by TalkFest. The Riba Rocks team went along to the Gala Ceremony having been Shortlisted for the ‘Contribution to Sustainability’ Award. Out of some 23 nominated festivals in this category, the Riba Rocks festival won the Iberian award for it’s focus on environmental, cultural, social and economic sustainability.

What a night!

These are just some of the things that we do here at Riba Rocks to avoid a negative impact on the Valley and to promote local culture:

• All our toilets are waterless compost toilets
• Our campsite is run via solar power
• We have a solar phone charging station
• Our showers are heated by the sun
• All water in the campsite comes from rain catching
• All waste is separated, reused or recycled
• Our bars all use re-usable cups
• Our food stalls use compostable folks, knives, plates and cups (made from vegetable starch)
• Presentations on culture and ecology (including a talk on the history of the juniper oven)
• Rent-a-tent to avoid discarded tents
• Paperless ticket option encouraged
• Subsidised 500 tickets to local people from village
• Low ticket prices (maximum price 35 euros, early bird tickets 20 euros) to make it affordable for local community to see international acts that would normally only play in cities like Barcelona, this is to encourage a larger music culture in a small rural village
• Promoting the village as a place to visit and live, helping to grow the local economy
• Riba Rocks is a not-for-profit festival with none of the organising team taking a wage

To ensure that we continue to assess our impact and to safeguard the future of the festival, 2017 will see the valley take a break, breathe and regrow. Without the support of the Ajuntament of Riba-roja d’Ebre, the festival would not be possible, so we want to take this opportunity to thank them for all their support, as well as our amazing sponsors and collaborators and the awesome volunteers and festival goers who attend to the event each year.

We’ll see you soon!

What superb news we have for you today!!

The Riba Rocks music and arts festival has been SHORTLISTED for it’s CONTRIBUTION TO SUSTAINABILITY in the Iberian Festival Awards!!!!

We are absolutely thrilled to be invited to the Gala Award Ceremony next month in Barcelona where we will grab the opportunity to not only talk about our grass roots event but more importantly to promote the amazing village of Riba-roja d’Ebre, Catalunya as a place to work, live and party.

The category ‘Contribution to Sustainability’ is something very, very close to Riba Rock’s heart as we are set in a beautiful olive finca in rural Catalunya near the village of Riba-roja d’Ebre called ‘The Valley’ (La Vall). We strive to protect the impact of a large gathering on our natural environment and to be recognised for this effort is just fantastic!

The Riba Rocks team: Abi Bright, Richard Bright, Chris Thornton and Sarah Misselbrook would like to take this opportunity to thank the Town Hall (Ajuntament) of Riba-roja d’Ebre for their support each and every year to enable this event to be socially and culturally sustainable.

The festival has been shortlisted by a panel of international judges and they took a very close look at the event considering the following points:

• All our toilets are waterless compost toilets
• Our campsite is run via solar power
• We have a solar phone charging station
• Our showers are heated by the sun
• All water in the campsite comes from rain catching (not drinking water)
• All waste is separated
• Our bars all use re-usable cups
• Our food stalls all use compostable folks, knives, plates and cups (made from vegetable starch)
• Supporting emerging local and international artists, DJs and performers
• Presentations on culture and ecology (including a talk on the history of the juniper oven)
• Rent-a-tent to avoid discarded tents
• Paperless ticket option encouraged
• Subsidized tickets to Riba-rojans
• Low ticket prices (maximum price 35 euros, early bird tickets 20 euros) to make it affordable for local community to see international acts that would normally only play in cities like Barcelona, this is to encourage a larger music culture in a small rural village
• Promoting the village as a place to visit and live and helping to grow its local economy
• Riba Rocks is a not-for-profit festival with none of the organising team taking a wage

La Vall, the festival site, is managed by volunteers all year round as an eco olive farm and events host. The site is completely off grid, run by solar, rain catching and heated by olive wood from the farm in wood burners. Our satellite internet is run by solar all year round.

Finally, a HUGE THANK YOU to all you Riba Rockers out there who have joined us in La Vall to dance in the dust xx

We cannot wait for this! Dates for your diary! Remember the awesome Juniper Oil presentation in the tipi at last year’s Riba Rocks festival?

This March (3rd and 4th) the Amics de Riba-roja d’Ebre will make a demonstration of how the oil is produced. (In collaboration with the Ajuntament of Riba-roja d’Ebre).

On Friday 3rd March, at 7pm, there will be a presentation in the Zona Liquida (the co-working centre in the village) by Antoni Castellvi Casa and Josep Aguila Alabart.

On Saturday 4th March at 9am, there will be an actual demonstration of the distillation of Juniper oil. A fascinating glimpse into the history and heritage of the area. This will take place at the recreational area of the Garita, followed by a mid-morning breakfast (5 euros – tickets available from the Ajuntament).

We are thrilled to announce that Riba Rocks has been nominated for ‘Best Small Festival’ AND for it’s contribution to sustainability in the 2nd edition of the Iberian Festival Awards! Read more »

This month saw the 3rd annual olive harvest at Riba Rocks HQ. Read more »

The Riba Rocks team are absolutely thrilled to announce that Riba Rocks has been nominated for ‘Best Small Festival’ at the European Festival Awards! Read more »

We have put together a review of the Summer Season here at Riba Rocks, which highlights collaborations and various projects we have had the pleasure of working on. Read more »

The Riba Rocks team believes that transparency is important when it comes to the finances of our events. We are very grateful to our wonderful sponsors who continue to show their support for the festival as well as our fantastic festival goers who return annually to enjoy the event in the valley.

Click here to download the full expenditure and income report for this year’s festival. If you have any questions, please contact us.

Riba Rocks 2016 Accounts.

Sunday at this year’s Riba Rocks… a beautiful Handfast ceremony in the tipi, daytime DJ sessions by Solar Loon, a surprise secret session by DJ Sarah Main, a superb sunset session by Joe Misselbrook DJ Joe Brook, culminating in a crew closing party with tunes from Dee Washington.