Earth Day Festival continues to grow (3 photos)

Earth Day Festival co-ordinators Sara-Jo Pipher and Heather Thoma have a vision for the annual event.

“We want this to be more than just an environmental tradeshow,” said Pipher. “We have a vision of all of us, as Earth creatures, and our non-human brothers and sisters, to find a way to recognize our complete dependence on Earth and what it gives us. We want this festival to be a way to look at what we can change, to celebrate what we're already doing, and to present opportunities for people to reflect on that.”

This year marked the 10th anniversary of the Greater Sudbury Earth Day Festival. Hundreds of people took in the activities at Sudbury Secondary School on April 25.

“We've work full out for six months on many community engagement opportunities, and partnering with many community organizations,” said Pipher. “We have such a wide variety of activities, from indigenous story telling to make your own labyrinth to panel discussions on spirituality and earth care to entertainment and the many exhibitors we have.

“There are so many groups in Sudbury doing so many great things, and I'm excited to be a part of it. There's so much potential, and there's so many people getting involved.”

A great deal of promotion went into this year's event. For instance, a flash mob on April 24 in downtown Sudbury was held to promote the event.

“We have had a lot of positive feedback from the public,” Pipher said.

This was the second time Jenny Fortier set up as an exhibitor at the Earth Day Festival. Owner and operator of Northern Wildflowers, she had a selection of native plants and heirloom vegetable for sale.

“(This festival) a nice way for the community to come together, and for different like-minded organizations to talk about what they are doing, and what we've got coming up in the summer,” Fortier said. “It's great to have this outlet to show people what I've got this year for products. People like to get involved in Earth Day, and April is a great time to get excited about spring.”