Martin Luther King, Jr. Park in downtown welcomes Asheville Earth Day presented by Greenlife Grocery on Saturday April 19th from 10am – 10pm. The City of Asheville, The Asheville Music Jamboree (AMJam), Arts 2 People and Foothills Brewing are sponsoring this free event.
If, in years past, you have enjoyed Greenlife Grocery’s Asheville Earth Day efforts you will appreciate the change in venue and boost in entertainment. Greenlife, the presenting sponsor, has teamed up with Mountain Roots Management to bring this years event to a new level. Plenty of WNC-based vendors will be on hand for the day’s activities.
Asheville Earth Day will feature an expansive Eco-Village, Earth Eco Stage and a variety of musical entertainment. The Eco-Village will feature conscious cause-defending organizations participating with information booths and calls to action. The Earth Eco Stage is a platform for educational speakers to develop awareness of how our community members can get involved in creating a sustainable planet. Participating organizations include Blue Ridge Bio-Fuels, Clean Water for NC, Canary Collation, Mountain Area Information Network, WNC Green Building Council and many others. HeadCount, a national voter registration group will also be on hand to register voters for the upcoming May primary.
Asheville Earth Day will have live music stage with New Orleans funk masters, Porter, Batiste and Stoltz (PBS) headlining. Other artists include Josh Phillips Folks Festival, The Asheville Horns, Shining Rock, Boo Ray, Grand Pappy, Mother Song and The Mayan Dancing Group. Music begins at 11am and continues until 10pm.
Beer is being provided by North Carolina’s Foothills Brewing. A portion of the proceeds from beer sales will be donated to local arts non-profit Arts 2 People, whose projects include the Lexington Avenue Arts and Fun Festival, REACH Programming and the Asheville Mural Project. To find out more visit http://www.arts2people.org.
Asheville Earth Day is fun for the whole family and will have a Kids Universe featuring arts, crafts, face painting and story teller Laura “Lulu” Edmonds, from the Oakley Library in East Asheville, telling her favorite children’s stories. Everyone can join in the fun and use their imagination in creating an earth-friendly sculpture project using trash and recycled materials.
Everyone is encouraged to ride their bikes to the event. The first 50 cyclists will receive a free basket for their bikes from Cynthia’s Twigs. There will be a bike corral hosted by Strive Not to Drive whose goal is to raise awareness about the connection between transportation, air quality and health. Strive Not to Drive will take place May 12-16; organizers encourage people to avoid driving their cars part of a day or several days to experience the benefits and opportunities of walking, bicycling, riding the bus, carpooling, rollerblading, telecommuting and other forms of alternative transportation. To find out more visit http://www.blueridgecommute.com.
Another way to take advantage of alternative transportation is to ride Lazoom Tours, the purple biodiesel art bus, from MLK Park to the post-event party at Stella Blue. Porter, Batiste and Stoltz will take the stage for a late-night set starting around 11 pm. The ticket price for the after-party is $12.
Mountain Roots Management, an event company based in Black Mountain, has handled the logistics of Asheville Earth Day Celebration for 2008’s edition. Volunteers, non-profit organizations and like-minded individuals interested in participating are encouraged to get in touch with the event organizers at mtnbob4@gmail.com.
Greenlife Grocery sponsors this free event at Martin Luther King, Jr. Park.
For general information, please email ashevilleearthday@gmail.com.
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