City of Laredo, Keep Laredo Beautiful Invite Community to Celebrate Planet Earth
Written by admin, Mar 28, 2011, 0 Comments
Courtesy Xochitl Mora,
6th Annual Earth Day Festival at Laredo Civic Center to be held on April 9
Laredo, TX – Join the City of Laredo and Keep Laredo Beautiful as together, they invite the community to come celebrate Earth Day at the 6th Annual Earth Day Festival on April 9, 2011 as part of the “Keep Laredo Beautiful” Festivities at the Laredo Civic Center Grounds. The event is free and runs from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
“Keeping Laredo Beautiful is everyone’s responsibility – and privilege,” said City of Laredo Mayor Raul G. Salinas. “By coming together to celebrate Earth and finding out all the wonderful, fun and interesting ways to protect and preserve our planet’s natural resources, we will all make a positive impact that will help our community in the long run!”
Mayor Salinas will officially kick-off the festivities at 12:00 p.m. with a proclamation and crowning the Earth Day Festival King and Queen. Freshman and sophomore-aged students from throughout Laredo who wish to compete for the coveted title of Earth Day Festival King and Queen must make a video on “Why We Should Keep Laredo Beautiful.” Rules for this competition are listed on the attached form; potential royalty can also e-mail keeplaredobeautiful@gmail.com for more information.
The Mascot Green Olympics, featuring the community’s favorite team, company and City of Laredo mascots, will also take place during this hour.
The festival will offer educational workshops; arts & crafts with re-usable materials; informational booths; a farmers’ market; native plants exhibits; native animal exhibits; cultural and environmental displays; a “green couture” fashion show; as well as music and entertainment for the entire family; and a café lounge where people can rest and enjoy the afternoon admiring a sculpture made out of recycled material designed by Victor Garcia.
Additionally, this is a great opportunity to bring the kids so they can learn more about the environment and how all actions affect the eco system; especially, the other inhabitants of the planets: animals throughout the globe. Thanks to the generosity of sponsor HEB, the Texas-based grocery store chain will be sponsoring two presentations of Disney’s “Earth,” a detailed documentary-style movie that amazed audiences when it was released in theaters, thanks to its amazing footage of locations captured by cameras for the first time, and exploring species from around the world. The presentations will be inside the Civic Center Auditorium, with an early bird showing at 10:00 a.m. and the final show at 4:00 p.m.
“HEB is committed to leading the way to help protect our environment,” said Mike Conners, HEB representative and Keep Laredo Beautiful Board President. “By showcasing this beautiful movie, which not only captivates audiences with its brilliant cinematography, but also, and more importantly, its message of protecting our planet for all living species is powerful. I hope anyone who hasn’t had a chance to see this movie stops by, and while there, takes part in all of the other activities that teach us all how to Keep Laredo Beautiful.”
Other activities for the children will be moonwalks and a climbing wall, as well as lots of arts and crafts projects made from recycled material for kids and adults of all ages will take place throughout the day.
Students representing environmental clubs from various schools across Laredo will participate in a Green Couture Fashion Show, starting at 2:30 p.m. The fun part of this event is that the students will have 30 minutes to create a fashion masterpiece made only out of recycled goods and strut it down the runway for the public to enjoy. There are three divisions: Organic, Inorganic, and Mix Media. Prizes will be awarded to the first place winners in each category. Sign up with your school principal or email at keeplaredobeautiful@gmail.com for the form.
Participants will also be able to take home some ladybugs to release in their own gardens or neighborhoods. Ladybugs are natural pesticides, eating bugs that destroy flowers and shrubs.
Any vendors who wish to participate in the Earth Day Festival, as either a volunteer; or an artisan or photographer who would like to display/sell any creative work; a vendor with green/natural/landscape products or services; a school or institution promoting green jobs; school clubs wishing to sell food products; or non-profit or government agencies who wish to participate and distribute information must sign up by April 1. All categories, except volunteers, non-profits and government agencies include a $50 fee.
For a complete schedule of events and activities taking place at the Earth Day Festival, or to sign up in any of the above mentioned categories, please contact Keep Laredo Beautiful at 740-5966 or event coordinator, Vanessa Contreras at 744-3382 for more information.
This event is brought to the community by the City of Laredo, Keep Laredo Beautiful and sponsors HEB; BorderPlex Area Wide Phonebook; The CW; and V Designs.
