The Aurora GreenFest will move to September and get the schools and scouts more involved by holding the GreenFest during the school year. We are hoping to get some milder weather after a few very hot years on the second Saturday in June.
We will celebrate the ninth annual GreenFest Saturday, Sept. 22, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Prisco Community Center and McCullough Park, 150 W. Illinois Avenue in Aurora. As always, the Aurora GreenFest is a free event, so you can bring the whole family.
We are seeking lots of wonderful, sustainability-minded exhibitors, including Aurora area non-profits and businesses with a green story to tell. We welcome farmers, who help us find clean, organic food, that hasn’t flown hundreds or thousands of miles to reach our tables. We want artists and crafters with a theme of reusing old or found objects or nature themes. Volunteers, sponsors, and exhibitors can sign up on our website, www.auroragreenfest.com.
Our theme for this year is “Something Green is Happening Here,” which you may recognize as a take-off on Aurora mayor Richard Irvin’s slogan, “Something Great is Happening Here.”
Something Green can include ways to make our food healthier or our homes healthier and more energy efficient. It includes ways to make our transportation use less gas and produce less pollution, including carbon dioxide. That’s why we always have our Green Car Show every year.
It can be ways to do the four Rs: Reduce, reuse, recycle, and repair. What you repair or re-use stays out of the landfill and reduces the resources we have to take out of the earth. Something green can mean reconnecting to come together to build a sustainable, resilient community. We will have kids’ activities for fun and education. Kids are the future. We do this for ourselves and for them.
Something green means connecting with nature. The Chicago Herpetological Society will be back again this year to promote our connection with nature and the importance of habitat and species preservation. Nature exhibits, with bats, eagles, bees, skunks, and other creatures are always a big favorite. Loving nature is one way to teach children and grown-ups to protect the earth. Live music and food create a festival atmosphere. Green-friendly energy sources show ways to save money and save the world at the same time.
Other great exhibits include:
• A bike, car, and truck show featuring electric vehicles, including a new Tesla, a Nissan Leaf, and a Chevy Volt.
• A Kids Eco-village with games, crafts and recycled art projects: Kids teaching kids.
• A market and trade show with more than 100 exhibitors.
• Organic farmers from the Aurora area.
“This year’s GreenFest is going to be the best one ever,” said Mavis Bates, festival founder and organizer. “Now more than ever it’s important that we grow and nurture our local sustainability movement. We love bringing our community together to celebrate our planet.”
Aurora GreenLights, an affiliate of The Conservation Foundation, organizes the festival. The Dunham Fund generously has agreed to be a major sponsor of this year’s festival, in accordance with John C. Dunham’s dream of “making the world a more comfortable, safer place for mankind to live and prosper.”
For more information visit www.AuroraGreen
Fest.com. Volunteers and sponsors are needed.
— Aurora GreenFest
