Solar One, New York City’s first solar-powered arts and education center, kicked off its annual Citysol festival yesterday. In what the Times calls “Live Earth without the hype”, the four day festival featuring an enormous selection of music acts, panel discussions, stand-up comedy, green activity workshops, installation art, and DJ sets is educating the city through one big sustainable party.

The lineup of musicians, curated by Alec Hanley Bemis (Cantaloupe Records, Brassland) and Digiwaxx Media, offers a great, if eclectic, mix. Saturday’s all-day-event will be bringing together everyone from Dirty Projectors, Ecstatic Sunshine, No Surrender and Shilpa Ray (formerly of Beat the Devil) toworld-electronica and conceptual ensembles Burkina Electric and So Percussion, R&B act Selan and Brooklyn-by-way- of-Ghana crossover Hip Hop artist Blitz the Ambassador.

A ton of great art will also be on view including Solar Pavilion 3, a 1500 sq. ft. sustainably constructed pavilion by Situ Studio. And being the design dorks that we are, we’ll be over by the panel discussions, like the one tonight on Sustainable Design–Situ Studio, Kiss + Cathcart,  Charles McKinney, Chief of Design for New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, and Christopher Collins, Executive Director of Solar One will be talking about designing the first carbon neutral building Solar 2.

There’s a ton more, so vigorously apply your sunscreen, bring a cup (those who bring cups receive a $2 discount on beer while those who re-use the cups they get receive a $1 discount), and head to Stuyvesant Cove Park for all the fun. The festival ends the evening of Sunday June 29th. All events are free (and solar powered!). For the calendar, directions, and other festival info, click here.

The mission of Citysol is to provide a new venue for creative artistic collaborations, while engaging young New Yorkers in an advocacy campaign to bring about stronger policies in support of clean, renewable solar power in New York State. Festival-goers will be given opportunities to learn about solar potential in the Big Apple, and to direct feedback to their local elected officials right on site. The festival will conclude on Sunday afternoon with workshops and expert panel discussions that will address various aspects of the subject in an accessible manner.