Central Oregon’s Earth Day celebration adapts to the times
Virtual activities, fun-at-home learning opportunities
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- The Environmental Center’s annual Earth Day celebration has been reimagined so that Central Oregonians can celebrate, connect and take action for the 50th anniversary of Earth Day in safe and meaningful ways.
The annual Earth Day Fair & Parade, originally scheduled for Saturday, April 25, was canceled quickly after the threat of COVID-19 became clear. The event, which typically gathers thousands of people, features a family-friendly parade, live music and a street fair with vendors and community partners, local food and several hands-on activities.
“We still want to harness the power of collective impact on Earth Day – despite all the challenges we face right now,” said Mike Riley, executive director of The Environmental Center. “We can each play a role in caring for our home and our neighbors, and also stay safe.”
The new celebration features various virtual activities and fun at-home learning opportunities.
One highlight is a new Earth-Day themed scavenger hunt with 20+ challenges that will engage participants in a friendly competition to learn, laugh, and win gift cards worth $25-$100. The scavenger hunt, an app for iPhone and Android, will be live for participation from April 13th – April 25th.
In addition, the parade has been moved online. Community members of all ages are encouraged to create colorful costumes and submit a photo by April 25th. The Environmental Center will compile a video montage – a “virtual parade” – to share with the community. The first 100 participants will also receive a prize.
Three large-scale Earth Guardian puppets, which were revealed at the 2017 parade, will still have an appearance this year. Teafly Peterson, who designed the Guardians, will live-stream the story and inspiration behind these unique creations.
Each year, the annual Earth Day event features original artwork from a local artist. This year’s celebration features a beautiful piece by Jefferson Greene, who was born and raised on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation. Jefferson created a unique expression of what Earth Day evokes for him, and a fierce encouragement to examine our own individual actions.
To view Jefferson’s artwork and learn about all the activities planned for Earth Day, https://envirocenter.org/tec-events/earth-day-fair/.
The 2020 Earth Day celebration is sponsored by Strictly Organic Coffee Co., the City of Bend and Energy Trust of Oregon.
