Earth Day
Next year's festival will be April 21, 2012.
This year's festival was April 23, 2011!
Mutt Strut & Earth Day Festival
Fountain Park & Memorial Row
Chestertown
Spring flowers, local artisans, live music, tasty baked goods, fresh eggs, meats and produce highlighted the Farmers Market in Fountain Park. Across the street Memorial Row transformed into a dog- and pedestrian-only "street fair," with Rose Green's fried fish and funnel cake wafting through the air, the local Elks lodge selling hamburgers, hotdogs and french fries, eco-friendly exhibitors, green merchants, and free services for paper shredding and recycling drop-offs (household batteries, cell-phones, CFL bulbs and fluorescent tubes). Everyone joined together in support of a healthy environment that includes "clean air, land and water," says Mayor Margo Bailey.
According to Andy Goddard, one of the event organizers, center stage featured Ford "open mic" Schumann and friends, a duet by Jay and Lisa Yerkes, and musicians Bob and Pamela Ortiz among others. "Open air concerts and festivals are a lot of fun," says Goddard, because they encourage a community to come out and meet their neighbors. Mayor Bailey notes the positive impact on our local economy. She credits volunteers Jon Hanley, JoAnn Fairchild and Ms. Goddard for orchestrating the festival and other events that bring the community together while attracting visitors and tourists. "But by far the biggest draw is the Farmers Market," says Bailey, and we have Owen McCoy and all our local growers to thank for that.
The Earth Day Festival & Mutt Strut is a collaborative event sponsored by the Town of Chestertown, the Kent County Humane Society, and the Center for Environment & Society at Washington College. Read about last year's event below.
Last year's festival: 2010 Earth Day Festival
View photos from the 2009 celebration.
View photos from the 2008 celebration.
The day started off with the Humane Society's annual Mutt Strut.
Dogs big and small prepared for the Mutt Strut.
Many dogs wear green bandanas to show support for Earth Day.
John Evans '13, Danny Wood '11, and the WC men's soccer team volunteered to walk dogs up for adoption at the Humane Society.
Jared Parks and Jennifer Pollard of the Eastern Shore Land Conservancy pause to spend some time with one of the Mutt Strut participants.
Staff Archaelogist Liz Seidel distributes plants at the CES booth.
Ford Schuman of Infinity Recycling takes guesses for the weights of compacted recyclables.
Chesapeake Semester Program Manager Mike Hardesty '05 and Benji Duke '10 explain the CES Oyster Program to a festival goer.
Ian Rushin '13 enthusiastically educates about composting at the WC Recycling and Composting booth.
Sabine Harvey of the UMD Extension Office explains the Grow It Eat It Program.
Chesapeake Conservation Nurseries demonstrates how to use native plants.
Andy Goddard of Green Irene discusses how to green your home and business.
The Chestertown Farmer's Market went on as usual.
A potential future Chesapeake Semester student checks out the information on the upcoming semester.
Jenny Lee '13, Thomas Luttrell '11 and Nicole Robinson '11 man the Student Environmental Alliance table.
Kelsey Hallowell '12 helps festival goers to plant seeds for Earth Day.
The Mutt Strut led around town and along the waterfront.
Jon Hanley mans the Chestertown Goes Green booth.
The Women in Need booth featured gently used items for sale.
The Solar Harvest booth explains how to put solar panels on residences.
A student from Radcliffe Creek School shows off another four legged creature who joined the Mutt Strut.
Yerkes construction demonstrates how to build green homes.
Climate Action Coordinator Briggs Cunningham points out features of the Chestertown Urban Greening program.
The Sassafras River Association talks about water quality in Kent County.
CES Program Manager JoAnn Fairchild and Kees DeMooy distribute rain garden information.
Many painters were out to enjoy the beautiful weather.
CES Director John Seidel explains CES programs to Professors Richard and Barbara Gillin.
Town residents came out to protest the ending of Kent County curbside recycling.
Alumni Trevor Williams '08, Jake Deal '10, Brooks Long '08 and Ian Trusheim '07 of the band The Took rock Earth Day for the 5th year running.