If you live in a town with a bustling downtown area then you are probably appreciative of all of the amenities that are offered there, such as parks, stages, benches, and canopies. The town of Missoula, Montana has recently completed renovations in their downtown to offer residents similar amenities, reported the Missoulian.

Missoula officials and residents raised enough money to complete renovations in their downtown area, which is occurring in three phases. The first phase was the addition of a concert stage and canopy to Caras Park; but the changes did not stop there in the park, there was also new grass, irrigation, and electrical infrastructure. This phase of the renovation cost nearly $200,000 and the costs were covered by community donations and Urban Renewal District funding.

On the day that the ribbon cutting ceremony was supposed to occur at the concert stage Mother Nature rolled in and decided to pour down on the event. The canopy proved to be particularly useful at this point:

As rain soaked the new grass surrounding the stage, local sound engineer Jason Blanchard simply continued to set up his equipment for the event and subsequent Downtown ToNight festival.

“All in all, it’s a much better setup now,” said Blanchard. “The power situation is fantastic, having more space and not fighting with the physical constraints of the old tent is great, and the ramp is great for rolling gear up there rather than having to lift it.”

It is no secret that canopies are useful and that is probably why the third phase of Missoula’s downtown renovations includes a second canopy. There is a large pavilion in Caras Park that is covered with a fabric canopy that is due for replacement. “The canopy has a 12- to 15-year shelf life, and we’re in year 14 now,” said Linda McCarthy, the executive director of the Missoula Downtown Association. “We want to replace it before it gets torn or beaten up or taken off by a tornado.”

For many students lunch time is the favorite part of the day; it is a time to escape from the stress of academia and socialize with peers. School cafeterias are the epicenter of communication in many schools and students can often be found chatting and chewing simultaneously in a cafeteria. Like many schools in warmer climates one Orange County, Florida school, Jones High School, allowed students to eat their lunch outside; there was an outdoor cafeteria located beneath a permanent canopy so students could get a breath of fresh air while eating.

But last October the structural integrity of the canopy became compromised due to rust, meaning that the lunches at Jones High School had to remain indoors which led to cafeteria overcrowding, reported the Orlando Sentinel.

Since late October, the massive outdoor gazebo where students sat to eat their lunches at Jones High School has been blocked off with orange fencing and caution tape. District officials say the interior structure is so rusty that it could have collapsed at any time.

After nearly a year of overcrowded lunches, the structure – which is really a giant outdoor canopy outside the cafeteria doors – will be repaired over the summer. Jones Principal Valeria Maxwell said she would have scheduled three lunches, instead of two, if she had known most of her outdoor seating space would be blocked off for the majority of the school year.

It is currently being disputed who is at fault for the damage to the canopy, but neither Orange County Public Schools nor Construct Two Group, the company that rebuilt the school, are accepting fault for the damaged canopy. But regardless of who is at fault one thing is certain: once the canopy is completed students will be able to enjoy their lunches as much as they did before and not have to worry about being able to find a seat.

Now that the canopy will be repaired the students of Jones High School will be able to enjoy their lunch outdoors without the fear of sun damage or other elements such as rain. The completion of the canopy will lead to a more accessible indoor lunchroom for those who wish to eat inside and will ensure that every student has a seat to chat and chew.

It is no secret that canopies are incredibly useful whether you are using them at your home, a small business, or taking them on the go with you. The U.S. Air Force has decided that they want to take advantage of the usefulness of canopies and install six of them on Andersen Air Force Base on Guam. The island of Guam has a climate that is characterized as tropical marine and it can get very hot, humid and sunny there. Canopies provide shade for those serving at Andersen Air Force Base which can prevent sun damage and offer at least somewhat cooler temperatures.

The United States Air Force has not yet found a contractor to provide their canopies but they do know exactly what they are looking for. The canopies must measure 20 feet by 20 feet and have 2-square-inch anodized aluminum main arches and base pads fit with anchors for earth, asphalt, or concrete. This may seem like a very specialized order but the Air Force needs durable canopies that they will be able to place in any time of location. Some may wonder if the Air Force is requesting that their contractor install the canopies, but according to Guam Buildup News they are not requiring it at this time.

Canopies are an excellent way to keep the sun, rain, and any other elements that may come their way off of the soldiers when needed. There was not any mention of where these canopies would be placed on Andersen United States Air Force base, but one thing is for sure: they will be used time and time again. But even if you don’t live on an Air Force base a canopy may still be the right choice for you, even if it is in your own back yard.

Many restaurants that you pass by today have an outdoor eating area for patrons to enjoy when the weather is pleasant. Some of these restaurants have umbrellas over their dining tables but sometimes that is not enough to protect the diners and their food from the hot sun; and if it starts to rain the umbrellas will certainly not offer ample protection so the diners can continue to enjoy their food. One excellent solution for both your restaurant and your diners is the addition of a canopy to the exterior of your restaurant – and this is exactly what one suburban Atlanta pizzeria aimed to do.

Sandy Springs is the quaint Atlanta suburb that is home to Hearth Pizza Tavern that has been diligently trying to get a canopy installed outside of their restaurant and they have finally managed to succeed, reported Neighbor Newspaper.

“By a 4-0 vote, the board allowed Hearth Pizza Tavern, located in the Exchange at Hammond shopping center at 5992 Roswell Road, a building permit to replace outdoor patio umbrellas with a nine-foot-high fabric canopy.

“Third time’s the charm,” board chair Colin Lichtenstein said to applicant Jeff Newsham about the matter, which was heard at the board’s April 24 meeting and deferred at the May 24 meeting.”

Hearth Pizza Tavern is in a busy shopping center and the partners of the restaurant wanted to install an eight-foot-tall brick wall that would keep the noise from the busy street away from the diners and the noise of the diners away from the shoppers. It was important for the pizzeria’s operating partners and members of the board to come to a conclusion so all parties could leave satisfied.

“It was designed as a sound-blocking, acoustical device to allow our customers to enjoy their meals on the patio without the constant interruption of vehicle traffic noise,” operating partner Dave Pazienza wrote in an undated letter, which the city received May 11. “It is a vital part of our patio design and an integral part of our business.”

The new design reduces the wall to a height of six feet above its base.

Board member Melton Mobley said he was still unsatisfied by the lack of an “open” look.

“To me, this is not much of a compromise,” he said. “I think it should be high enough to screen seated diners.”

Hearth Pizza Tavern patrons will now be able to enjoy their meals outside while avoiding having to hear the ruckus of the hustle and bustle just a parking lot away thanks to a canopy and a sound dampening wall.

Sustainable energy has been a hot topic lately and it has been covered frequently on this blog when it comes to canopies. Solar canopies are being installed across the country and we have covered that extensively on this blog; but until recently most of the solar canopies on this blog powered the establishment where they were located. But a new solar canopy that has been installed in Portland, Oregon has been built to strictly power electric vehicles.

The solar canopy, which is called Energy Transfer Merchant, was debuted in January at the Portland International Auto Show by EV4 Oregon, LLC. Business partners Chad Biasi and Hans van der Meer worked with Christenson Electric Inc. and The Lynch Company the have the prototype built for the auto show and they intended on having it relocated upon the completion of the show, reported Sustainable Business Oregon.

Biasi and Van der Meer’s dreams became a reality on Wednesday when the solar canopy was installed in Northeast Oregon.This canopy is going to allow those who drive electric cars to charge their vehicle in ways that other charging stations may not:

Van der Meer said the electrical engineering of the structure allows for battery storage of the solar energy and smart grid integration for grid back-up power.

“That is the big difference between our product and other car chargers,” van der Meer said.

The system claims a 20-minute electric vehicle charging capability.

There was no word from Van der Meer or Biasi on whether or not Oregon residents would be finding similar canopies popping up any time soon. When these canopies were designed they were intended to be placed in parking lots so it only makes sense that their creators have big plans for the future. “We allow you to take back the parking lot, two parking spaces at a time,” Biasi said.

If you are an electric car owner who lives in Portland make sure to check out this new piece of technology. You can find the canopy at 3620 N.E. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in Portland, Oregon.

Hershey, the chocolate giant, is working its way towards becoming an environmentally friendly company and with the recent installation of a solar canopy as Hershey’s Chocolate World they are making their dream a reality. The company installed a 1,092 panel canopy at their amusement park site in conjunction with a 182 panel system at their technical site.

If you have been following the going green movement lately you probably know that solar canopies such as these ones are popping up all over the country. However, Hershey decided to differentiate themselves slightly from the rest by installing two electrical vehicle charging stations beneath the canopy at Hershey’s Chocolate World. So the canopy is not only providing mega-watt hours for the park, but it is also allowing guests to charge their environmentally friendly vehicles, reported the Clean Energy Authority.

“The Pep car charging stations can be used by visitors to charge their vehicles while enjoying Chocolate World or Hershey’s Park. But they aren’t free. They have credit card readers and charge about $1 an hour to charge a vehicle. The solar canopies can charge a car in about three to four hours.”

And the installation of the canopies is not Hershey’s only attempts at going green:

The installation is consistent with a number of initiatives we’ve been doing to reduce our impacts on the environment,” Beckman said. In 2010, Chocolate World, which sees more than 3 million visitors annually, achieved negative waste status.

“We achieved negative waste status last year by recycling more volume than we sent to the landfill,” he (Spokesperson Jeff Beckman) said.

Hershey’s is also working to educate cacao farmers to help protect the environment. The cacao tree, from which most of Hershey’s products are derived, only grows in certain environments and within a certain range of the equator, according to Beckman.

“There’s a limited number of areas, and production is challenged by rising consumption worldwide and also by disease that challenge the cacao plant,” he said.

The company is also working to reduce packaging and make it more sustainable Beckman said. It’s installed high-efficiency lighting.

“We reduced our energy consumption from lighting by 50 percent,” Beckman said.”

The solar canopies at the Hershey complexes are the first of their kind in central Pennsylvania. With more and more amusement parks and attractions moving forward in the attempt to go green the question must be asked if we will see these solar canopies popping up elsewhere around the country.

Outdoor entertainment venues such as concert locations and restaurants can be a great place to spend the fair weather months. Many outdoor entertainment locations can be found throughout the United States and they are visited by millions every year, but what about the days where rain clouds move in and put a damper on the visitors’ day. One Baltimore, Maryland venue has implemented a solution to accommodate its 4 million visitors that visit every year.

Power Plant Live! is a venue that hosts concerts, plays, and other events outdoors that opened a decade ago. Because it is an outdoor venue Power Plant Live! has seen some snafus over the years because of rain but with the recent addition of a canopy they will never have a rained out event again. The renovation project which included the canopy and a few other handy extras such as a conservatory and a retractable roof was the first that had been done since the opening of the venue and cost $11 million.

The canopy doesn’t just cover the stage and surrounding area, it is an extremely large structure offering a great deal of protection, reported BlooLoop:

“The canopy covers an actual small street, creating an open yet intimate outdoor venue that’s great for seeing anything from a small regional act to big-name bands. Supported by several 20’ tall steel support columns spaced 25’ apart, the 1” thick polycarbonate roof is 151’ (46m) long x 37’ (11m) wide, and narrows to 23’ to cover the 14’ x 37’ stage set at one end of the structure. Truss rafters and the surrounding circa 1900 brick buildings give the area an elegant Victorian atmosphere.”

If the installation of this new canopy brings Power Plant Live! more success it is not far fetched that other outdoor venues will follow suit. By installing canopies such as this one at other venues people around the country will be able to enjoy outdoor events year round. While these canopies may not offer much protection from the cold in the winter months they will protect from snow, sleet, rain, and even hail.

If you have your own children, have children in your extended family, or even know children then there is a good chance that you hope for them to live long and health lives. It only makes sense that you would want to do everything in your power to protect them from harm when you are able to. This is exactly what the faculty members and parents at Jack D. Johnson Elementary School in Fort Worth, Texas were aiming to do when they began on the journey to have a canopy installed on their playground.

In 2010 there were 114,900 new cases of melanoma and 8,700 deaths as a result of the cancer, reported the Star Telegram. The Fort Worth elementary school has been working diligently for the past year to help fight against cancer and ensure that they would be able to have a canopy installed on their playground to protect children from the hot Texas sun.

The school had to have a sun protection and skin cancer awareness program in place for at least a year before they could be awarded the $8,000 grant from the American Academy of Dermatology to purchase the canopy with. Now that the school has installed the canopy over their playground the school has seen very positive results:

“Kids are really playing a lot under the structure,” said Blake Bunnell, a fourth-grader whose mother, Gina Bunnell, helped apply for a grant to pay for it. “Everyone I talk to about it says they absolutely love it.”

Jack D. Johnson Elementary school is one of a growing number of schools that are receiving the shade grant from the American Academy of Dermatology. By installing these canopies on playgrounds across the country the generous organization could be preventing cases of melanoma in years to come.

These canopies are especially effective on playgrounds where no natural tree shading is available for students to take shelter under. The canopy protects students from ultraviolet rays while still allowing them to be outside and exercise while taking in fresh air.

If you have turned on a television or radio lately or opened a newspaper it is no secret that America is ‘going green’. Individuals may decide to drive hybrid vehicles or cut back on their electricity consumption; but corporations are able to play a larger part in the conservation game and while all may not opt to do this there is one company that is working hard to be ‘green’. TD Bank has opened its first zero-emissions bank branch ever in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

According to the South Florida Business Journal the Florida branch has solar panels on the roof and has a drive-thru canopy composed of solar panels. Jacquelynn Henke, TD Bank’s VP of real estate green strategy said that the solar canopy drive-thru actually cost less to build than a traditional drive-thru.

“The solar panels are expected to produce 100,000 kilowatt-hours of power a year, while the branch should need only 97,000 kilowatt-hours over that time, Henke said. The building is connected to the power grid so it has electricity when there is no sunlight. During daylight hours when the branch is closed, its excess power will be pumped into the grid.”

This ‘green’ building will not only help with conservation efforts but it will also allow TD Bank to save money. Other measures are being taken at the bank to promote going green, such as parking spaces reserved for alternative fuel vehicles, convenient bike racks, and recycling receptacles. This eco-friendly bank will obviously be beneficial for the environment, but it can also educate customers about going green and what they can do the play their part.

With aspects of the zero-emissions bank being less expensive than their traditional alternatives it must be asked whether or not other banks will follow suit in years to come. While there is no word of other banks replacing their canopies with solar alternatives just yet it is sure to happen in the future.

If you have animals, especially large farm animals, you can probably attest to how important it is to keep them protected from the elements. While those who are only passing by may see animals, like horses and cows, out grazing in the field it is important to offer protection for them when needed. Most animal owners have barns for their animals to seek shelter in, but what if your herd outgrows your barn and you need temporary shelter or you need shelter that you can take with you on the go? The perfect solution would be a portable animal shelter.

These canopies are durable and offer a great deal of convenience as they can be moved around at your leisure. They are also large enough to provide shelter for multiple animals and can be placed away from the barn for a secondary shelter on large plots of land. These shelters will be able to protect your animals from sun, rain, snow, and other potentially harmful elements, but they should never be relied upon in the case of a bad storm – always stow your animals safely in a secure barn in a storm.

If you do invest in an animal shelter you will find dozens of way to repurpose it down the road if needed. You can store hay, farm equipment, livestock, and anything else that may need protected beneath the shelter. There are also shelters that are made specifically for the purpose of storing things aside from animals so consider the addition of these canopies to your farm for the ultimate convenience.

If you are someone who is constantly on the go with your animals, for example if your family shows horses, then a smaller collapsible animal shelter could offer excellent protection while on the road. Animals are a member of the owner’s family for some so it is important to protect them; an animal shelter is an excellent and affordable way to do this when it is raining or the sun is beating down harder than normal. So whether you are in the process of expanding your barn or you just want a more movable home for your animals consider purchasing a portable animal shelter.