A Note From Alexis Lamb, Founder of Refugia

Refugia Festival began as a bold idea: to create place-based programs featuring music performances, educational workshops, and community stewardship that celebrate the beauty of our natural soundscapes and advocate for their preservation. Since its inaugural season in 2024 at Nichols Arboretum, the festival has brought together artists, scientists, and community members to celebrate soundscapes as essential to both cultural expression and ecological health. Born out of my doctoral research on the relationships between our human-made music and the music of the Living Earth, Refugia Festival has already inspired audiences to listen to their environment in new ways.

I invite you to attend the second season of Refugia Festival, which returns to Nichols Arboretum on Sunday, September 28, 2025, from noon to 7 p.m. Throughout the day, you will have the opportunity to experience an inspiring lineup of engaging music performances, interactive educational workshops, and a meaningful stewardship activity– all featuring Michigan-based artists, educators, and organizations.  New to this year’s festival is Field Resonances, a community-curated, “pop-up” multimedia arts gallery where local artists share nature-inspired work. In addition, the unveiling of our first of many Soundscape Meters will deepen awareness of the Arboretum’s acoustic ecology and invite you to sonically engage with your environment long after the festival ends.

Whether you are a music lover, a conservationist, or simply looking for an excuse to play in the Arb, Refugia Festival offers a space to connect with community and the natural world through sound. Refugia is a family-friendly event, and admission is pay-as-you-can to ensure accessibility for all.

I hope you will join us for this year’s Refugia Festival to listen, learn, and discover how sound connects us to the ecosystems we call home.

-Alexis C. Lamb, Refugia Festival’s Founder and Artistic Director

Getting to Refugia Festival

Location

The festival is held in the Nichols Arboretum “Stage in the Arb” Amphitheater and Dow Field. We recommend the 1610 Washington Heights (peony garden/Reader Center) entrance to access the space. Please note that the routes to the Stage are unpaved gravel paths and include slopes, staircases, grass, and gravel as part of the terrain.

Accessibility Note

Due to ​an ongoing construction project, the M-29 Parking Lot (Nichols Drive entrance), which is typically our ADA-accessible lot, is closed. Transportation by golf cart is available on the day of Refugia Festival from the 1610 Washington Heights entrance, but please contact Alexis Ford at [email protected] or at

734-819-0266 in advance to schedule your golf cart transportation or to have any other accessibility questions answered. 

Shuttles Available Between Nichols Arboretum, CCTC, and Matthaei Botanical Gardens!​

Want to make your transportation easier to attend Refugia Festival? A charter bus will be shuttling folks on a continuous loop every ~15 minutes from the Arb (Reader Center entrance, 1610 Washington Heights) to CCTC (428 Church St) to Matthaei Botanical Gardens/Campus Farm (1800 Dixboro Rd) and back.​​ Shuttles will run from noon through 4:30 pm.

What to Expect at Refugia Festival 2025!

Food Courtesy of Ginger Deli and Office of Sustainability Zero Waste Events!

Local restaurant Ginger Deli will be selling Bahn Mi sandwiches and other food offerings during the festival! Refugia is also a Zero Waste event! We have a goal to divert as much waste from the landfill as possible by reducing waste, composting, and recycling. All dining ware will be compostable, and please help us achieve our goal by being mindful of where you place your waste. Pay attention to signs and ask for help if you are unsure where something belongs.

Check Out the 2025 Event Schedule!

Please join us on Sunday, September 28th, for our second season at Nichols Arboretum in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Refugia Festival 2025 is a pay-as-you-can event, with free being the lowest admission cost. The event is family-friendly and welcome to all!

Learn more about our artists and educators

Check out our 2025 Season page to read up on the main stage lineup for Refugia Festival this year! This page also provides information on venue location, parking, and shuttling opportunities for this year.

Music Performances

Join us for performances from Stephanie Vasko, The Yvonne Pruneau Quartet, FLYDLPHN, White Flowers, and Regenerate! Orchestra🌲🎼

Educational Workshops

Learn about the Kirtland’s Warbler with Bill Rapai, sound mapping with David Clipner, and processing ecological loss with Hailey Becker!

Field Resonances

Local artists will be bringing photography, paintings, linocut prints, dance performance, and so much more to Dow Field🌲🎨

Engagement Opportunities

There are plenty of opportunities to get involved in the music, arts, and conservation activities! Come to the Arboretum to paint wood cookies, forage for native seeds, identify Kirtland’s Warbler calls, and so much more!

Featured Organizations

We are pleased to welcome these amazing local arts and conservation organizations! Join us at the festival to learn more about who’s making waves in our community.

New to this year’s merch: a Refugia Festival hat!

NEW rPET Recycled 100% Polyester hats are now available in our shop and at Refugia Festival!

About Refugia Festival

Refugia Festival advocates for environmental conservation and preservation through the sense of sound. Our festival highlights the sonic beauty of our natural surroundings through music performances, educational programming, and community service to create meaningful environmental change on a local level. With each presentation of Refugia Festival, communities will take steps to preserve and celebrate their ecosystem through awareness of and interaction with the surrounding soundscapes.

We envision a world where natural ecosystems thrive due to protection from and management of sound pollution.

Refugia Festival emphasizes the relationships between the Arts and our Living Earth to inspire change:

• We work with artists, educators, and local collaborators to curate immersive, place-based events suitable for all ages.

• We highlight local environmental organizations who are already working in the community in order to expand their outreach.

• ​We create experiences that lead to a lasting environmental and social impact.

Please visit www.refugiafestival.com for more information and to keep up with the latest updates.

Questions? Want to connect? Write to our Founder, Alexis Lamb!

Thanks for reading, and see you on September 28th!