By Mavis Bates
The Aurora GreenFest is back! Save the date for Saturday, May 13. After a three-year hiatus due to COVID, we are excited to present the 11th Annual Aurora GreenFest, and it’s going to be better than ever!
The GreenFest will be from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Prisco Community Center and McCullough Park, 150 W. Illinois Avenue in Aurora. As always, the GreenFest is a free and accessible event, so bring the whole family.
This year the May 13 GreenFest will be the day prior to Mother’s Day, so our theme will be “For the Love of Our Mother Earth.”
Our community has come a long way in making sustainability a priority. The GreenFest has had a lot to do with this progress, by teaching the residents of the Fox Valley on sustainability, resilience, and how we all can walk more gently on our planet. We really are growing greener every day.
We would like to invite all interested exhibitors and vendors to go to our webpage, www.auroragreenfest.org and click on the “Get Involved” button. There you will find everything you need to sign up for a booth, either inside Prisco Center or outside, under the beautiful oak trees in McCullough Park. We are eager to welcome sources for:
• Alternative, sustainable, and organic food choices, especially Community Supported Agriculture (CSAs);
• Fair trade products;
• Animal protection, rescue, and care;
• Organic, herbal, homemade aromatherapy, soaps, body products;
• Upcycled/Recycled, handmade art, crafts, and jewelry;
• Energy-efficient homes and native gardens;
• Local/regional home and business recycling efforts and methods;
• Non-profit global, local environmental, and justice causes;
• Electric vehicles and EV charging stations;
• Renewable energy, including wind, solar, and geothermal;
• There will be many other wonderful things. Surprise us!
The State of Illinois passed the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA) and the federal government passed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA); both provide increased support for renewable energy, electrical vehicles, and energy efficiency.
One of our main goals for this year’s GreenFest will be Implementing CEJA and IRA in Kane County. We are seeking solar-installers, home-energy efficiency experts, and electrical-vehicle charger vendors. Our crowds will be looking for ways to take advantage of this important $9 billion legislation.
More than 2,000 attended our 2019 GreenFest. We hope you will join us May 13, on the banks of the beautiful Fox River, as we celebrate with you and our other partners, working together to build a sustainable community for ourselves and our children.
Aurora GreenLights, an affiliate of The Conservation Foundation, is a 501c3 organization, and organizes the festival.
Parents, bring your kids. Kids, bring your parents. Come to the Aurora GreenFest May 13. For more information, please call Mavis Bates at 630-605-9244.
—Mavis Bates