George Fagét purchased a 20-acre farm on Jordan Lake and wasn’t sure what he was going to do with all that open space at first.

He thought he might grow something, like junipers. He even bought an old firetruck to use as a water reserve. But then the drought came and he decided against planting.

Then, at a Jimmy Buffett concert, he had a brainstorm: He likes caring for the environment, and he likes watching people have a good time. Why not combine the two?

He did just that, with a bluegrass festival to raise awareness about keeping Jordan Lake clean.

He’s now on his third festival and wants the public to come out and enjoy his farm on Martha’s Chapel Road in Chatham County while sitting on his lawn listening to some of the area’s best bluegrass bands.

The event, “Jordan Lake Car Show and Music Benefit,” takes place Saturday and Sunday, May 2-3.

“It’s more of a ‘fun’ raiser,” Fagét said one sunny morning at his farm as his hens came up to greet him.

“My mission is to keep Jordan Lake clean,” Fagét said. “From my perspective, I think I can have more of an impact by encouraging people any time they come out to the lake — birding, boating, hiking, swimming — if they see any litter, pick it up and take it with them. It’s an easy way for the community to be proactive.”

Fagét, who owns two optical stores in Durham, says his environmental awareness stems from lessons he learned from an ecology teacher in Miami in the fifth grade. That was in the late 1960s, well before environmental causes became mainstream.

He’s been a picker-upper ever since. “It doesn’t matter whether it’s a lake or Cary or Chapel Hill. It’s real simple: Pick it up and put it in the garbage,” he said.

Fagét has been living in the Triangle area for more than 30 years.

Before Jordan Lake was built, he used to go to Kerr Lake for recreation.

“My thing is nature. I’ll go out on a boat and throw a line out there.... It’s about looking at the osprey and the herons and the eagles and the cormorants. It’s about looking at the beautiful lake.”

Well, sometimes he spots a bit of ugliness, in the form of old bottles, cans or discarded picnic supplies. He says he has long been in the habit of just reaching down and picking up that kind of stuff.

Lately, though, friends and others have taken an interest in his “sunset cleanups” at Jordan Lake — casual outings in which the group scours the lakeshore for garbage. Sometimes they find a bag full, sometimes 10 bags. “Sometimes we go out and there’s no trash. That’s really a treat,” Fagét said.

“We’re really appreciative of what he’s doing,” said Tara Arnette, a park ranger with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, about Fagét’s cleanup efforts.

The Army Corps, which owns the lake, will be setting up a tent at the festival with a prize wheel and water safety information.

Arnette said that aside from the obvious eyesore that garbage presents, trash can be harmful to the wildlife habitats and the wildlife itself.

At the Corps’ last cleanup day, volunteers picked up about 150 tires along a half-mile stretch of shoreline, Arnette said. They even found an old black and white TV.

A day on the farm
Fagét purchased the 1800s farm, “In a state of disrepair,” on Martha’s Chapel Road in Chatham County about six years ago. Since then he’s been fixing the place up, restoring buildings and clearing overgrowth.

The farm conveniently has two open fields — one for gathering and the other where people can park for his bluegrass events.

Three stages — he uses his firetruck as one — are set up for the weekend of music, food and wholesome family fun. There are nature trails where visitors can learn about native plants, birdhouse painting for the kids, environmental information and an antique car display.

This time Fagét says he will “MC” — “something I’ve never done in my life” — bringing his environmental message to festivalgoers.

His resident hens and peacocks will be roaming, and Fagét encourages kids to bring their bicycles to ride on the open land.

He only has three rules, which will be displayed at the venue: “Meet and greet, don’t get hurt, have fun.”

And he means it — especially that last rule.