Earth Day Fun

All shades of green are on the lineup for Saturday’s Earth Day Festival, which promises to be the best one yet, according to Erin Cooke, environmental affairs coordinator.

“Where other Earth Day Festivals tend toward educational booths and vendor tables, our event deviates and shines,” Cooke says.

The third-annual festival, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at City Hall Plaza, will have interactive activities, three live musical performances and multiple workshops.

Some of the more than 50 nonprofit organizations and businesses that will be there include Cupertino’s own Yamagami’s Nursery and Euphrat Museum of Art. The Pacific Coast Farmers Market will be there, and artists will be on hand for face painting.

A “creative reuse workshop on wheels,” Cooke says, is just one of the highlights.

“(We’re) bringing the “Bay Area Best in Class” when it comes to diverting valuable materials from the landfill through hands-on ecofabulous arts and crafts projects.”

FabMo is a Mountain View-based nonprofit that finds new homes for unused designer fabrics and is among the groups finding unique ways to keep material from our landfills.

At 11 a.m. the will get the crowd warmed up before Mayor Gilbert Wong, “our city celebrity storyteller,” reads “an eco-adventurer tale featuring a favorite literary bear family at 11:45,” Cooke adds.

Among the hands-on activities is an opportunity to ride an electric bike or motorcycle and a lesson on how to turn a T-shirt into an enviro-tote bag.

Gardners and nature lovers will be pleased to see that in addition to Yamagami’s, the California Native Plant Society, Summer Winds Nursery, Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society, National Wildlife Refuge, Santa Clara County Parks and more will be available to guide you in your landscaping and recreational decisions.

Plus there will information on composting, solar technology, live animals and a chance to listen to eco-poetry inspired by local students.

The following four workshops are also on the agenda:

• 10 a.m. Pivotal environmental issues in Cupertino
• 11 a.m. GO SOLAR & here’s how
• 12 p.m. Gardening with NATIVE PLANTS
• 1 p.m. Organic, natural, etc.: Explaining food labels