Happy Belated Earth Day! Celebrate Mother Earth with Richmond by coming to the RVA Earth Day Festival in Manchester this Saturday, April 26. The RVA Earth Day Festival will provide a plethora of eco-friendly activities for people of all ages, including a kite festival, the JROC gear swap, and a petting farm.
Happy Belated Earth Day! Celebrate Mother Earth with Richmond by coming to the RVA Earth Day Festival in Manchester this Saturday, April 26. The RVA Earth Day Festival will provide a plethora of eco-friendly activities for people of all ages, including a kite festival, the JROC gear swap, and a petting farm.
The mini kite festival, an event in collaboration with Central Montessori School and Art 180, will be held on Mayo Island from 11am to 2pm. This sustainable, family-friendly, make-your-own-kite event is the first annual one of its kind. Workstations with all materials needed will be provided, along with “kite masters” who will help you make your kite. Flying pre-made creations are encouraged as well. In addition, World of Mirth will be selling pre-made kites for those who are physically unable (or too uncool) to make one.
The James River Outdoor Coalition’s gear swap will also be happening as well. This is their 14th annual swap, where you can sell your outdoor gear–bikes, kayaks, hiking poles, wet suits, etc.–and buy used ones! 10% of the funds will go to JROC for maintaining trails, river access projects, water fountains, and more. Using, reusing, and sharing is a huge part of living sustainably and can help people save hundreds of dollars on expensive gear. For more information, visit their Facebook event page.
As with any other Richmond event, there will be an abundance of alcohol at the RVA Earth Day Festival. Taste the Local and Brown Distributing are supporting the 20 Virginia craft beer options, including Hardywood, COTU, Midnight Brewery, Devil’s Backbone, Strangeways, and the new Triple Crossing Brewery, as well as Manchester’s Blue Bee Cider, and wine in a keg, which is the most sustainable way to serve wine. Not only are kegs reusable, but according to Wine Spectator, they also “weigh less than an equivalent amount of wine bottles, which reduces transportation costs.” This benefits not only the environment as a whole, but also the consumer: keg wines can be sold at up to a 25 percent discount off of the wholesale bottle price, which is passed down to the customer as well. An average keg can hold up to around 26 bottles of wine.
And again, as with any other Richmond event, local, live music will add to the fun of celebrating Earth and Richmond. This year, Three Sheets To The Wind, The Hit List, Black Girls, Mighty Joshua, and DJ Williams Projekt will be taking over the stage.
Other events in the festival include a recycled art show, a bike valet, and appearances by Nutzy from the Flying Squirrels and Jonathan Austin, a Richmond magician and juggler. Artists, jewelers, and other local vendors will be there handing out information or selling their products, and local produce from GrowRVA’s farmers’ markets will be providing fresh, local food.
Part of the proceeds from the festival will go towards FeedRVA, a nonprofit organization that promotes access to locally farmed foods for everyone in the Richmond area.
The RVA Earth Day Festival will take place on Saturday, April 26, from 11am to 7pm, starting on the south side of the 14th Street Mayo Bridge. Admission is free and open to the public. For more information, visit the RVA Earth Day Festival’s Facebook event page, or go to rvaearthdayfest.org.
