As a sure sign that summer is just around the corner in Music City, the Nashville Earth Day Festival returns to Centennial Park on Saturday, April 20. This free, annual, family-friendly event, organized by the Nashville Parks Foundation and presented by Piedmont Natural Gas, is open to the public from 11 am, CT, to 6 pm, CT.
Nashville’s Earth Day Festival will feature exhibits and hand-on activities aimed to educate locals about protecting the environment and living green. With over 100 family-friendly booths, hosted by community groups, environmental organizations and government agencies, Earth Day is a fun festival for all ages.
“The 17th annual Nashville’s Earth Day Festival will once again highlight interactive, educational opportunities focused on caring for our planet and our community as well as providing fantastic, local entertainment.” Said Brian Taylor, chair of the Nashville Parks Foundation. “On behalf of The Nashville Parks Foundation, we are honored to be the lead organizer of this city-wide signature event to embrace, enhance, and preserve our natural resources by supporting Metro Parks and its outstanding recreational programs.”
Festival highlights for 2019 include music from Nashville’s own Sam Bush Band and a kid’s music program hosted by Rock and Roll Playhouse aimed to inspire creativity in children through music and movement. The Global Education Center, an anti-bias, multicultural education center that uses the arts of diverse cultures to highlight the commonalities of all people and to promote cross-cultural understanding and respect, will present a dance performance combining African dance, Latin dance, Polynesian dance, Flamenco, as well as World percussion performances. Throughout the event, guests can enjoy fare from local food trucks, products from the Green Market, as well as locally brewed beer and wine.
Guests of Nashville Earth Day are also encouraged to take advantage of the recycling and disposal drop-off opportunities which are available to drop off household goods including unused or expired pharmaceuticals at the Metro Nashville Police Department exhibit booth, and creative supplies such as paper, art and craft supplies, tools, office supplies, fabric and natural materials at the Turnip Green Creative Reuse.
The event begins with Global Education at 11 am, CT. Mayor David Briley will address the crowd at 4 pm, CT. And WRLT Lightning 100 will kick off music at 2:30 pm, CT, with Rock and Roll Playhouse and the Sam Bush Band. Earth Day will conclude at 6 pm.
To help save the planet, visitors are encouraged to use pedal power to get to Nashville Earth Day, with free bike valet parking secured and provided by Walk/Bike Nashville. Participants can also take the bus to Centennial Park via the Metro Transit Authority bus routes from West End #3, Charlotte #10 or the University Connector #21.
Each year the Nashville Earth Day Festival has a ‘Green Market,’ which features environmentally friendly items such as locally made clothing, organic products, locally made or grown food, daily-use consumables, environmental publications, and other green items. This will be a ‘producer only’ market meaning that the people standing at the booth are actively involved in making or growing the products they are selling.
Nashville Earth Day 2019 is sponsored by the following: Piedmont Natural Gas, Lamar Outdoor Advertising, Metro Parks, Metro Public Works, Metro Beautification and Environment Commission, Waste Management, Kroger, American Water Resources, Lightning 100, Stringfellow, Inc., Republic Services, Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, The Compost Company, Goodwill Industries International, Champion Window & Home Exteriors, Coca Cola Consolidated, Budweiser, Patagonia Beer, Yee-Haw Brewing, Green2Go Generator and Walk Bike Nashville.
