This year’s 29th Annual Earth Day
Festival will be held on Sunday, April 28, 2019 (rain or shine) at 6700 Delilah
Road in Egg Harbor Township from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. There are lots of free, fun and educational
activities for everyone. The celebration has many exciting events and
entertainment throughout the day. Over
150 vendors, crafters, food vendors and exhibitors will be part of the
celebration.
Exhibitors
Part of the
celebration includes exhibits by many community and environmental groups
including: the Great Egg Harbor Watershed Association, Marine Mammal Stranding
Center, Atlantic Audubon Society, Pinelands Preservation Alliance, Unexpected
Wildlife Refuge, animal activist groups and many family service organizations.
Crafters/Vendors/Food
A variety of
items will be for sale during the festival such as handmade jewelry, vegetable
and native plants, flowers, bath & body products, yoga demonstrations,
solar vendors, books, handmade glass items, local honey, beeswax candles, health/nutritional
products, repurposed/upcycled items, local art and fair-trade products.
A variety of
food will be available in the food court and at various locations throughout
the festival. Enjoy empanadas,
bbq, pizza, salads, smoothies, ice cream, cheesesteaks, gyros, shrimp,
burritos, tater tots, milkshakes, vegetarian items, water ice, cupcakes and
much more.
Free Workshops
Recycling 101
Richard Dovey, ACUA President
11 a.m. (Recycling Center)
Learn about ACUA's new recycling guidelines and why there
are changes to the program.
All About Monarchs
Pamela Almeida, Endangered Wings
12 p.m. (Amphitheater)
Learn all about monarch butterflies; why they’re threatened,
their incredible life cycle and what you can do to welcome and support them.
Farming the Forest - An Introduction to Shiitake Mushroom Cultivation
Mary Faith, Faith Flower Farm
1 p.m. (Amphitheater)
Mary Faith will discuss their mushroom farm and provide an overview of mushroom cultivation that will include mushroom biology, log selection, inoculation, setting a log yard, harvest, and post-harvest.
Native Plant Walk and Talk
Raven Ahmed, Earth First Native Nursery
1:30 p.m. (Garden Area)
Learn about
the importance of native plants while exploring ACUA’s native plant garden.
Rain Garden Talks
Isabella Castiglioni of the Pinelands Preservation Alliance (Garden Area)
12:30 p.m. , 1:30 p.m., 2:30 p.m.
Learn about rain gardens and how to manage water resources on your own property.
Fermentation
Eric Schmehl, Fermented
2 p.m. (Amphitheater)
Join Fermented for a workshop on all things fermentation! Did you know about
40% of all food produced is thrown away in this country? Fermentation is one
way to help reduce the waste! Humans have been preserving food and beverage
through fermentation for millennia. A somewhat forgotten culinary technique,
fermentation is slowly making its way back into homes around the country.
Fermented food and beverage can also contain loads of beneficial probiotic
bacteria. We'll walk through some of the basics to help get you started on your
next adventure in fermentation!
How to Make a Rain Barrel Demonstration
Kristen Andrada, Americorps Watershed Ambassador
3 p.m. (Amphitheater)
Learn the importance of rain barrels and how you can construct one at home
Backyard Compost Information - all day (Garden Area)
Join the Atlantic County Master Composters for information on how easy it is to turn your food scrapes, leaves and grass into valuable soil amendment.
Music and
Entertainment
Showtime USA NJ
10 a.m. (Food Court Stage)
Steve Kuzma, Andrew Hink, and Robert Meunier
10 a.m. to 12 p.m. (Amphitheater)
The group will sing and perform easy listening music to inspire and promote unity, peace, and Love. Their highly enjoyable heartfelt originals and covers touch deeply and speak to our true nature, that we are all together on this wonderful beautiful planet, Mother Earth.
Middle Earth Studios
10:30 a.m., 12 p.m., 1:30 p.m., 3 p.m.
This year's show, The Free Folk of Middle-Earth, features the good king and his knights armed with swords & shields, beautiful princesses, the village folk and animals of the Lonely Mountain - who also happen to be the kingdom's finest organic vegetable growers; and a crew of wicked goblins. It's a quest to recover the prize organic pumpkin stolen by the goblins. Peace is won by cooperation among different kinds of beings.
Valerie Vaughn
11 a.m. and 1 p.m. (Food
Court Stage)
Interactive Stories and Songs for the Environment - Valerie
is a multi-talented musician and educator from Tuckerton, NJ. She specializes
in writing tunes with New Jersey themes covering folklore and history of the
people and places of South Jersey and the Pinelands.
Magic of Energy
12 p.m. and 2 p.m. (Food Court Stage)
An exciting, skillful and comical exploration of renewable
energy resources: Solar, Hydroelectric, Biomass, Geothermal and Wind Power.
What about our trash? Garbage can not only be recycled, it can be converted to
energy! We use a series of comedy magic & circus tricks to explode
everyone’s understanding of plasma generators, composting and conservation!
Insectropolis
12 p.m. and 2 p.m. (Recycling Center)
Insectropolis will motivate visitors to discover the little known lives of insects and foster a greater appreciation for bugs and their place in our world. Through a variety of live arthropods, as well as pinned specimens, participants will gain an understanding of the structure, characteristics and basic needs of organisms and will investigate the diversity of life.
Eyes of the Wild
1 p.m. and 3 p.m. (Recycling Center)
“When Animals Attack” - Many mammals have developed amazing characteristics to avoid becoming "lunch." Learning how these creatures use some of their self-defense tools.
Gabe Coia
3 p.m. (Food Court Stage)
A compilation of original songs that celebrate the history
and folklore of the New Jersey Pinelands. Gabe's music evokes a sense of
nostalgia and captures the haunting beauty that defines the region.
Interactive
Activities and Exhibits
Recycling Center Tours
- all day (Recycling
Center)
This sophisticated system of conveyors, magnets, eddy currents, optical sorting
and manual quality control sorting is incredible! Come see how mixed recycling
collected from Atlantic County residents, schools and businesses is processed
and separated into valuable commodities to market.
Wind, Solar and
Wastewater Facility Tours - First tour leaves at 10 a.m. Last shuttle
at 3:15 p.m. (Shuttle Near Big Tent)
Take a tour of New Jersey’s first commercial wind farm. Jitneys powered by
compressed natural gas will shuttle participants from the Environmental Park in
Egg Harbor Township to the wind farm and back. This tour also includes the ACUA
Wastewater Treatment Plant, solar project and green roof located at the
Atlantic City facility.
Touch a Truck - all day (Outside Recycling Center)
Get up close to one of ACUA's recycling trucks and learn how they work from one
of our collection professionals.
Eco
Hayrides – all day
Eco Hayrides, a
perennial favorite, take visitors to the top of the landfill for panoramic
views of the area, including Atlantic City and the Jersey-Atlantic Wind Farm.
Free Seedlings Giveaway
- all day (Around the Pond)
The ACUA will be giving out a mixed variety of free Cornelian cherry tree
seedlings, as well as free seed packets while supplies last.
The Turtlesinger - all
day (Recycling Center)
An interactive program and where you will learn about, touch and feed live
turtles.
Meet Supercan -
all day (Various
Locations)
Meet and take photos with our favorite Mascot Supercan.
Recycled Art Contest
Artwork - all day (Recycling Center)
See the artwork submitted by area students and artists for our fifth annual
Recycled Art Contest. Winners will be announced at an award ceremony held at the Hamilton Mall on May 5, starting at 12 noon.
Mini-Yoga Sessions with Lexicore Yoga
11:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 3 p.m. (Garden Area)
Atlantic County 4H Club
Petting Zoo - all day (Garden Area)
This club will showcase various farm animals for a petting zoo.
Award Ceremonies
Recycle-Bowl Awards –
10 a.m. (Recycling Center)
Participants and winners of the 2018 Recycle-Bowl competition will be
celebrated.