Celebrate 2013 Earth Day at the 17th Street Farmers’ Market

The Richmond Earth Day Festival kicks-off on Saturday, April 20, from 11a.m. to 5 p.m. at the 17^th Street Farmers’ Market in the city’s historic Shockoe Bottom. Admission to the festival is free.

      The Richmond Earth Day Festival will entertain and educate attendees about local resources that make the world a better place, as well as featuring great live music and local food, beer and wine vendors. As one of the oldest Farmers’ Markets in the country, the 17^th Street Farmers’ Market is the perfect location for attendees to explore the interactive areas of the festival that will include:

·         Eco-Home presented by Earth Craft Virginia

-         Energy efficient home supplies

-         Contractors/builders

-         Eco-friendly clothes/fabrics

-         Eco-friendly home services

·         Eco-Outdoors

-         Eco-friendly lawn care

-         Eco-friendly outdoor supplies

-         Eco-friendly lumber/play sets

·         Eco-Kids - An array of hands-on activities for kids of all ages provided by Backyard Farmer and Virginia Center for Latin American Art

-         Hands-on gardening activities

-         Games made out of repurposed materials

-         Eco-friendly art projects

·         Eco-On-the-Go

-         Eco-friendly cars

-         Eco-friendly modes of transportation

-         Coordinated group rides to and from the festival, a bike plaza as well as bike experts on-hand from Carytown Bikes, Bysolar, Ride Richmond and RA-MORE

·         Eco-Marketplace

-         Environmentally friendly arts & crafts vendors

-         Local food producers & farms

-         Local wineries

·         Eco-Adventure Interactive

-         Rock climbing

-         Segway rides – presented by River City Segs

-         Sign up for exclusive Virginia Capital Trail walks/Richmond Slave Trail walks

-         Biking adventures

-         Interactive art demonstrations

 

       Live music will take place throughout the day on two stages, and include performances by Susan Greenbaum, Bio Ritmo, Andy Vaughan and the Driveline and Sons of Zebedee. Festival guests can also enjoy an eco-friendly art court, where local artists will be on-site creating amazing large-scale sculptures with recycled materials. The Mayor’s Youth Academy Future Leaders Council will be on-site selling small recyclable tote bags to raise funds to provide a book scholarship for students attending college in the fall.

       The Richmond Earth Day Festival is produced by the City of Richmond in partnership with Enrichmond, a foundation serving Richmond’s people, parks and public spaces. The event is supported by Virginia Commonwealth University, Virginia State University, University of Richmond, Sierra Club, James River Park, Richmond Public Library Foundation, and many more. Event sponsors include Earth Craft Virginia, Brown Distributing, River City Recycling, NBC12, Cox Radio, and Dominion/Honeywell.

      For more information on the Richmond Earth Day Festival visit www.earthdayrichmond.org.

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