The sun shined over downtown as students, volunteers, families and dog-lovers made their way through Peace Park for the Columbia Earth Day festivities.
Elm Street took the name “Eco Avenue” for the day. The festival took place from noon to 7 p.m.
In the street fair, artisans, non-profits and businesses handed out promotional materials and sold a variety of products such as soaps, flowers and aprons. The Islamic Center of Central Missouri offered people free hummus and henna tattoos.
Volunteers collected donations and distributed resource guides to Earth Day enthusiasts. These resource guides included a Local Source Directory, in which one could find thrift shops, bulk food and recycling in the central Missouri area.
Chalk drawings and solar panels covered the sidewalks. Children played in Peace Park’s creek and climbed trees. Festival attendees watched live entertainment from 13 different groups who performed on a stage among the trees.
The festival broadcasted live on KOPN 89.5 FM, a public-funded radio station and sponsor of Earth Day festivities since 1990.
Eleven local organizations sponsored the event, including Sustain Mizzou, Alpha Phi Omega Service Fraternity, Columbia Parks and Recreation, Columbia Public Works, Downtown Columbia Associations, KOPN, MU College of Human Environmental Sciences Extension, MU Sustainability Office, Peace Nook, Peaceworks’ Center for Sustainable Living and the Voluntary Action Center.
This was volunteer Ed Rupkey’s fourth year participating in the Columbia Earth Day festival. It is part of his Wiccan religion to give back to the community. His favorite thing about volunteer work at the festival is the people watching, Rupkey said.
“It’s interesting to see what moves people make and seeing if they are interested in the ecology part or if it’s just more of a shopping center for them,” Rupkey said.
The MU Sustainability Office set up a booth to promote the upcoming Tiger Treasures Rummage Sale and the new Campus Master Plan and Sustainability Plan Update. Volunteers handed out 75 clean, reusable water bottles that had been discarded by students in the Student Center and the Memorial Student Union. Additionally, they gave away plants to Earth Day attendees.
“We brought a couple hundred plant starts that we have been working on since before spring break, and they went within the first hour or two,” said Alicia LaVaute, a Sustainability Office administrative assistant.
The event attracted student volunteers from both MU and Columbia College.
Sophomore Brittney Haffner volunteered because of her interest in going green, and she needed hours for her service fraternity.
“I got to see a lot of things I didn’t expect, like the animal pelt booth right next to the no-kill shelter’s booth,” Haffner said. “I liked seeing all the different people.”
Freshman Caroline Rombaut also attended the festival. Her favorite part of the festival was taking home an oak sapling, Rombaut said.
“I have yet to figure out where I’m going to plant it,” Rombaut said. “I liked the festival because it’s a new experience, and it will help me get in touch with the nature side of this world and not just school and stuff.”
