Smalltown for the Cause, formerly Campout for the Cause, returns in September after hiatus

By Tiffany Thompson

It has been six years since Campout for the Cause took place in Colorado. Now, as the world has changed in post-pandemic society, the festival has been revived as Smalltown for the Cause. The new iteration will bring back the causes, activities, artistry, and mindfulness previous attendees have grown to love about the three-day yoga and music festival.

“It's still all the bells and whistles of Camp Out for the Cause,” says festival producer Scotty Stoughton, “but the campsite’s now a mile and a half away. So we decided smalltown seemed like a cool name. It really, for us, encapsulated the charm of that community and it really is a small town still. Developing a gritty, beautiful, diverse socioeconomic community that really felt right.”

Smalltown for the Cause, scheduled for Sept. 18-20 in Salida, is heavily inspired by mindfulness, artistry and community. Despite the name change, the festival still serves two primary purposes: for participants to have a good time; and to help out different causes that are in need. The festival organizers achieve this by giving a portion of the ticket sales to the causes that they have chosen to support that year.

“We always align a philanthropic element,” Stoughton explains. “We're wide open to working with different organizations, whether it's land conservation or humanitarian or children's education, those are kind of our pillars.”

This year’s causes include supporting the Colorado Tick-Borne Disease Awareness Association, and donating to Hutchinson Ranch.

Hutchinson Ranch has a history with Smalltown for the Cause, as it was supposed to be the location for this year’s event. However, the seven generation cattle ranch was not able to participate this year because of certain legalities concerning land-trusts and the allowed usage of the land.

This information, sprung on the ranch and the festival organizers after they had already planned out a large portion of the festival, proved to be a difficult obstacle, though not impossible to overcome. Smalltown was able to move their festival to Riverside Park in Salida, while also continuing to help out the ranch that offered their hand in the partnership in the first place. “Their farming is not making enough money to survive currently,” Stoughton says. “We have a tough year on water, we have a tough year on cattle prices. What are their options? So we thought it’d be nice to help them.”

As for the Tick-Borne Disease Awareness Association, Stoughton feels that it is important for people who go to events like this to be more aware of the damage that tick-borne disease can cause. Tick-borne diseases such as Lyme disease can be pervasive across communities of people who enjoy hiking and camping, but not everybody is aware of where to get support for these issues.

“It's pretty devastating if you don't know where to get support. We thought, hey, let's just keep raising awareness. If you get a tick bite just be aware and take care of it before it turns into something long term,” Stoughton says.

The music and activities that take place at Smalltown for the Cause share the same mindfulness that goes into the causes the festival supports every year. The festival has yoga classes taking place throughout the day and in between music sets. The yoga classes aren’t only for the adult attendees of the festival. There is a kids zone, where the children of adult attendees can take part in kids yoga, face painting and music workshops.

“I think the kids are inspired and influenced by what we do, not what we say. So having them see us and their parents and their parents' friends and maybe the musician on stage doing yoga or playing music is inspiring and then they get into it,” Stoughton says. “I think face painting is still the most popular activity in the kids zone though,” he jokes.

Though the artists selected to perform at Smalltown for the Cause are not all the same genre, they share the common theme that runs through all the elements of the festival, from the causes to the yoga: They are inclusive, mindful, and have high intentions and high integrity. This year, artists slated to perform include Elephant Revival, Magoo, Pickin’ on the Dead, Bonfire Dub, and many more.

As for the future of the festival, Stoughton hopes Smalltown for the Cause continues to be a safe, healthy, positive and fun festival for everybody that participates. He hopes that it will grow and integrate in the town of Salida because community is at the heart of the festival.

“Community is the number one thing. Personally, I'm on a daily mission to create a space for conversation that is challenging, that is met with empathy and an understanding of multiple perspectives,” Stoughton says. “That's the foundation of a community. We've connected eye to eye, hand to hand over the fire, over music. And we've worked out really challenging disputes, we've come to some commonality and we've evolved as a human race. This festival is about getting back to that.”

Tiffany Thompson is a Colorado-born writer and musician. In addition to her creative pursuits, she spends her time reading, checking out the Denver music scene, and watching movies with her partner and their cat.