Let the Sun Shine In! Take the SustainFloyd Solar Home Ramble through Floyd, VA on Saturday, October 17, 2015
10:00am – 4:00pm: Self-guided driving tour of solar homes and buildings.
4:30pm: Reception at Floyd EcoVillage featuring speakers, hors d’oeuvres, a cash bar, and a vendor to answer questions.
Cost: $15 per person, children under 12 free.
IMPORTANT: Tickets are in pdf format and include a map and details about each site. A pdf download link will be available on the order confirmation page and in the confirmation email. Please print the pdf and bring it with you on the tour. If multiple tickets are purchased for people traveling together, each person needs a printed ticket, or you may print the order confirmation as proof of a multi-ticket purchase.
Please email info@sustainfloyd.org with questions.
[button link=”http://riverstoneorganicfarm.com/product/solar-home-ramble-october-17-2015/” type=”icon” icon=”heart” newwindow=”yes”] Purchase Tickets[/button]
Press Release
Floyd, Virginia – Just in time to enjoy the autumn sunshine and changing leaves, both residents and sightseers will hit the picturesque roads of Floyd County, VA on Saturday, October 17th to visit a dozen homes and buildings that have gone solar. The community group, SustainFloyd is sponsoring the county’s first “Solar Home Ramble” from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in which downtown buildings and homeowners throughout the county will open their doors to explain how the sun is powering their lives.
Tickets for the SustainFloyd Solar Home Ramble, a fundraiser for the organization, are $15 at www.sustainfloyd.org and will be available after September 15th. Children 12-years-old and younger are free. Following the tour, a reception at 4:30 p.m. will feature a fascinating speaker, a cash bar and solar power vendors who can answer questions that Solar Home Ramblers may have.
“Floyd is a leader in the solar movement,” says Billy Weitzenfeld, Vice-President of SustainFloyd and Executive Director of the Association of Energy Conservation Professionals. “Whether a visitor is just curious about how Old Time musician Mac Traynham uses solar to make his beautiful banjoes or someone wants to install solar panels right now, this will be a fascinating tour.”
About a dozen Floyd County homes and commercial buildings are participating in the tour, and several can be accessed by walking through downtown. Additional homes, the Floyd EcoVillage and a farm may be seen by car. Tour-goers will be provided with maps.
“From a 160-year-old downtown historic home to a modern, lake-side paradise in Willis, this tour will show how nearly any house can go solar,” adds Ricardo Brown, a SustainFloyd Solar Home Ramble organizer who heads SolShine Energy Alternatives, LLC. “As a local solar installer, I get to witness the excitement customers feel when they invest in a photovoltaic system. With this tour, people will have an opportunity to share in that excitement and come away with a better understanding of how these systems work and the benefits they convey.”
Included on the tour will be the opportunity to take a free guided walk around the Floyd EcoVillage with founder Jack Wall at 2 p.m. who will discuss the development’s extensive solar systems. Hotel Floyd and The Village Green will also be on the SustainFloyd Solar Home Ramble, as will the contemporary house downtown of attorney/musician Alan Graf and wife Eleanor; the 164-year-old downtown home of Floyd veterinarian Meredith McGrath and scientist David Burris; The Bright Farm where visitors can see pastured hogs and turkeys; the charming farm house and workshop of Old Time musicians Mac and Jenny Traynham in Willis; the new, modern lake home of Jack and Sam Price in Willis; and the spectacular new Victorian-style home of Rodger and Sherry Foster in Indian Valley.
Solar power is skyrocketing in popularity due to lower costs and environmental concerns. Cheaper panels, faster installation and creative financing are all powering the solar movement. There is also a 30% federal tax credit until 2016.
SustainFloyd is a nonprofit 501 (c) (3) organization that aims to localize the economy; enhance and protect natural and cultural resources; develop robust local food systems; and advance issues related to energy independence, access to markets, transportation, recycling and education.
Thanks to our sponsors:
- AECP
- Solshine Energy Alternatives, LLC
- Affordable Energy Concepts
- Wall Residences
- Direct Connect Solar
- Riverstone Organic Farm