Election-Themed Participation Row Coming to Lockn’

Heading to LOCKN' this year? Swing by the Participation Row social action village to get some sweet rewards for boning up on issues related to the 2016 election!

Any attendee who completes four of the activities will receive a complimentary 30 day subscription to Qello Concerts - the premiere streaming service for concerts and music documentaries  - plus a chance to win a D’Angelico guitar signed by the LOCKN’ headliners, and a free scoop of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream.

We've teamed up with Qello Concerts to bring Participation Row to LOCKN’ every year since the festival debuted in 2013. We expect to register more than 500 voters at the festival this year, and collect an even greater number of “Pledge to Vote” postcards provided by Ben + Jerry’s. With Virginia considered one of the most critical states on the electoral map, this year’s Participation Row has added significance.

“The impact that Participation Row has on the local non-for-profits is always a tremendously fulfilling experience for us. We couldn’t be happier to give these great charities a platform to spread their message to their local community. And working with HeadCount, especially in an election year, gives us the opportunity to help music fans exercise their rights to vote,” said Qello’s co-founder, Richard Johnson.

“This is a chance for fans at LOCKN’ to get in touch with their powers as voters and what their votes really mean,” said Andy Bernstein, HeadCount’s executive director. “But it will all be in a fun setting with no partisan agenda.”

The Charlottesville, VA-based Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression will be asking festival-goers to “Vote your Voice” and learn where candidates stand on issues of freedom of speech and press. Wild Virginia, also based in Charlottesville, will stage a petition drive asking Governor Terry McAuliffe to establish a Citizens Advisory Panel to hear people’s concerns about the Dominion Pipeline project. Project GROWS out of Staunton, VA will be playing “Name that Candidate” based on their views on food policy.

In addition to giving away free ice cream, Qello Concerts 30-day subscriptions, and a signed guitar, Participation Row will also feature a silent auction for a second signed guitar and a signed poster. Last year, one of these “LEGENDARY LOCKN’ GUITARS” fetched $65,000. The proceeds from these auctions are split among all the participating non-profit organizations, as well as the Nelson County Food Pantry.

Other organizations on Participation Row this year will include local and Virginia based organizations The Lynchburg Humane Society, Nelson County Tourism, the North Branch School, The Park School, and Wintergreen Adaptive Sports. They’ll be joined by Virginia chapters of NORML and Giving Hope Foundation and national groups like Appalachian Voices, Conscious Alliance, MIMA Music, Love Hope Strength, Recycle Life, REVERB, Moms Clean Air Force and United Plant Savers.