On Aug. 31 Grouplove, Portugal the Man and more than a dozen other bands will perform at Floatfest, a festival in Martindale that aims to combine live music, art and river tubing. The festival has been in the works for two years, festival organizer Marcus Federman said. The first edition of the festival will be a one-day affair held at Cool River Ranch, but he said the team behind the festival's concept has larger ambitions. "The goal is to turn it into San Marcos' signature event," Federman said. "We want to be on the national festival landscape where we're bringing in large numbers of people from out of state. Obviously we want to get San Marcos behind it." Other confirmed artists include Wild Child and Run DMT, among others. Event sponsors include Grande Communications, Bud Light, Tequila 512, Monster Energy Drink, H-E-B, Don's Fish Camp, Austin radio station 101x, San Antonio radio station Mix 96.1, Four Hands Home, Skydive San Marcos and Beatbox Beverages, among others. Tickets will cost $30–$120. The most expensive package will include free food and drinks, premium concert viewing, tubing and parking. For Federman, a former San Marcos resident, floating is an integral part of living in Texas. He called floating a "rite of passage." "We want to pass that tradition on to people who aren't from Texas, because about half the people who go to music festivals aren't even from the state the festival happens in," Federman said. The festival is teaming with the Meadows Center for Water and the Environment to educate attendees about the importance of Texas' rivers. The Meadows Center was established by Texas State University to act as a leader in aquatic resource management. Shane Townsend, senior program advisor for strategic communications at the Meadows Center, said the organization engages 125,000 children and students each year. Partnering with Float Fest will help the center continue its mission. "Whatever money is raised here will go back into our environmental education programming that we do here at the Meadows Center," Townsend said. "But I think the larger opportunity here is that the economic impact of water recreation and paddling and all of that in Texas is tremendous. The water is a huge economic engine for the state. This is a great opportunity to get in front of however many thousands of people are going to attend this and get some of our messages out about responsible recreation, keeping the rivers clean and being good stewards of our resources." The event will also feature food vendors such as Black's Barbecue, Noble Sandwich Co., Amy's Ice Cream and others. More information is available at the event website.