Earth Day Celebrations Culminate with Block Party Saturday

Many communities have ignored Earth Day since its inception 41 years ago. In Kent, however, the “holiday” inspires a week of celebratory and educational events ranging from water quality testing to a film festival and an old-fashioned block party.

Jeff Ingram, director of , serves as producer of the “Who’s Your Mama?” Earth Day festivities and Environmental Film Festival. He started the ever-growing event five years ago with Christine Craycroft, director of the Portage Park District.

“We thought environmental education needed revamping," Ingram said. "It was boring and all gloom and doom, and we really wanted to celebrate the Earth."

The inaugural event took place at and involved mostly films and about 10 display booths set up inside the building.

“That year was just a little crowded, so we decided to block off the street for the next year. Then three years ago we added the Vegan Iron Chef Competition,” Ingram said.

That on the campus, and several other events were held earlier this week.

Now in its fifth year, "Who’s Your Mama?" has blossomed into a weeklong celebration of Mother Earth that culminates this weekend with a film festival and a street festival.

A free local food reception will be held from 5 to 6 p.m. Friday at the Kent Stage, where the film festival kicks off at 6 p.m. with short eco films for kids.

Ingram said Dante D’Avello of Totally Cooked Catering in Cuyahoga Falls will be making pizzas, as well as a pesto made from garlic mustard pulled Wednesday from River Edge Park. in Kent donated five pounds of goat cheese for diners to sample.

Playing on the big screen from 7:30 to 8:45 p.m. will be Turtle: The Incredible Journey by Nick Stringer. It will be followed by James Cameron’s Oscar-winning film Avatar.

Prices are $2 for the children’s hour, $5 for each of the feature films or $10 for everything ($7 for students and senior citizens).

Saturday’s free block party will take place on Main Street, which will be closed off between DePeyster and Water streets from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The street festival will include 27 eco-friendly vendors and display booths, a lineup of free musical and dance performances, a parade and poetry readings by area schoolchildren.

Some of the Earth Day displays will even serve a function. A solar power station will be set up by Dovetail Solar and Wind to provide solar power for the street festival and run the DVD projector for Friday’s film festival. A windmill provided by AZ Renewable Energy will provide the power for performances Saturday at Home Savings Plaza.

Other alternative energy displays will include “The Grease Machine,” a 1984 Volkswagen Rabbit that runs on waste vegetable oil, and the pedal-powered generator “energy bike” built by members of the Environmental Science Club.

There will be numerous activities for children, who play a big role in the festival thanks to the " event. About 20 Portage County elementary school students will take the stage starting at 4 p.m. Saturday to read poems they have written about trees.

“This is the third year for ‘Poems From the Tree,’ and it’s always a highlight of the festival,” Ingram said.

One display sure to attract attention from children will be a grass-weaving machine. Attendees will be able to weave grass into mats, which will become part of a wigwam roof at The Portage County Historical Society in Ravenna.

Saturday’s activities will include:

• A nature hike to the Cuyahoga River will be led by naturalist Cathy Ricks. Participants should meet at 11:30 a.m. at The Kent Stage. Hikers will visit River Edge Park below the Main Street Bridge.
• Kent African Drum Community will perform at 1 p.m.
• The Parade of Animals and Eco Heroes will start at The Kent Stage at 2 p.m.
• Possibilitarians Puppet Theatre will take the stage at 3 p.m.
• African Soul International will perform at 4:45 p.m.

For details, visit the “Who’s Your Mama?” website. It’s powered by the wind!