Columbia’s 35th annual Earth Day Festival will be in full bloom this Sunday, May 4, filling up downtown and Peace Park. The festival features over 230 vendor booths, live music and educational opportunities for people of all ages. While it was originally planned for April 27, the event was postponed one week because of rainy weather.
Festival coordinator Laura Wacker and her team aim to bring the 2025 Earth Day’s phrase “Our Power, Our Planet” to life this year.
Sitting between Seventh and Eighth Streets, Eco Avenue consists of 39 booths that plan to educate festival attendees on the planet with subjects consisting of solar panel use, sustainability through thrifting and more.. Wacker has been coordinating the event since 2013 and is passionate about both the education and entertainment aspects.
“We have really been trying to amp up our education aspect of the festival,” Wacker said. “The great thing about the Columbia area Earth Day Festival is that it’s really fun. It attracts people, and those people accidentally get educated while they’re there.”
While the festival aims to educate people on environmental causes as a whole, certain aspects focus on Columbia.
“This year we’re focused on energy,” Wacker said. “One of our sponsors is Renew Missouri, and that’s their big thing, getting Missouri to go to more renewable energy. There’s a whole community of organizations in this city that’s trying to get Columbia to reduce the carbon footprint on electric energy.”
One organization tabling at this year’s festival is Sustain Mizzou, a University of Missouri student-led organization that runs campus and community environmental programs. Elizabeth McCush, marketing and communications executive of the organization, says that Earth Day is more than just a festival.
“The main thing is just understanding that Earth Day festivals, it’s more than just getting a goodie bag,” McCush said. “I don’t think that our knowledge on the earth should be that if we go to these things, we’re going to get something in turn. Rather, it’s like we are here. We live on this earth, and this is how we’re giving back to it. The better aspect is not getting something out of it, but understanding or educating yourself through that.”
As Wacker waits for the months of planning and careful thought to come alive through the festival, she already feels a sense of satisfaction.
“The thing that makes me happiest is when I feel like the vendors have done a great job of participating in the education aspect of the festival,” Wacker said. “And every year, for the last few years, it’s gotten better, so I’m proud of that.”
Wacker hopes to see many adults, teenagers and children alike attending the festival this Sunday, May 4.
Edited by Maggie LeBeau and Eric Hughes | mlebeau@themaneater.com and ehughes@themaneater.com
Copy edited by Natalie Kientzy | nkientzy@themaneater.com
Edited by Emily Skidmore | eskidmore@themaneater.com
