Once Again Kent Asks, 'Who's Your Mama?'

As the 5th Annual "Who's Your Mama?" Earth Day Festival wrapped up Saturday afternoon, Kentites showed up to answer that question with a roar of eco-friendly celebration, food, and information. 

Before noon, vendors began setting up in the middle of Main Street between Depeyster and Water streets. By 1 p.m. the street was alive with people. Even the sun came out for the festival.

It comes as no surprise that the festival was a hit. Over the years I am certain that many of us have come to anticipate "Who's Your Mama?" as it adds to the city's flavor  in such an earthy and valuable way.  A great big thanks straight away to all who have made it happen time and time again.

Veterans of the festival recognized the famous bicycle generator and booths for the Kent Environmental Council and Bonnie's Bread while welcoming new vendors. 

Robert Kunst demonstrated a homemade loom on which he taught others to weave grass into panels.  These grass sheets will become walls for a teepee-like structure that he is building on the grounds of the Portage Country Historical Society. Kunst is a colorful man alive with passion for his art. It's worth a look sometime.

Breakneck Acres displayed a 100-year-old wheat cleaner, which they still use. They will soon be receiving a flour mill to grind their wheat into flour. In addition, employees Steve Larson and Lacey Smalldon  plan to start a bicycle delivery program for the produce from their vegetable garden. Contact Steve  at slarson3@kent.edu for more information. That was just one sample of the tastes at Saturday's festival.

Adding some class to the event, Beth and Josh Goran set up their velvet rope and worked as bike valets for all who rode to the festival. Together they created the Crooked River Recyclery, a community bike shop and education center that aims to bring more legs to the pedal and less pedal to the metal. This team plans to host bike maintenance and education workshops throughout the summer. 

Sounds interesting, right? And that is only a fraction of what this festival had to offer. 

In Home Savings Plaza, the outdoor stage was alive with drums, parades, puppets and poetry with a truly "Kent" line up.  

The Kent African Drum Community kicked things off with a lively performance that thumped right into your heart. 

Then the costumes came out for the Parade of Animals and Eco Heroes. And what costumes they were. Flowers, animals and trees (I even think I saw Superman in there) were all lead by a voluptuous Mother Earth. The parade circled around Main Street a few times before landing in the plaza. Animals and Eco Heroes alike rode along in a "boat" cleverly made from a long banner that wrapped around the paraders reading, "We are all in the same boat." A great flag rose from the middle painted with a brilliant sun shining upon flowers and birds.

The "boat" was provided by the Possibilitarian Puppet Theatre, who kept the action going with their "Garbage Insurrection Circus." This group of highly talented performers uses simple materials for a homemade feel that oozes with a vaudeville  flair.

As the show opened, two clowns were shuffling around as "garbagemen." In the following acts a Nuclear Lion was tamed (kind-of) by lion tamer, Ms. Everything is Under Control. Bears danced in recycled paper tutus and businesswomen danced into greed as they revealed the contents of their briefcases to be insatiable profit. All of this was set to delicious circus music. 

Following the puppet theater, Jim Vandenboom introduced the third-graders who participated in , an annual poetry workshop that goes into numerous third-grade classrooms and encourages students to write poems about trees. 

This year's young poets were not only adorable as ever, but they also offered heartfelt and thoughtful verse about the stately, protective, loving and supportive nature of the Earth's hearty plants. Some poems asked about a tree's life, some asked the tree to be a protector and some offered a taste of humor. 

If you missed the reading and would like to see some of the poems, stop by the Water Street Gallery before May 7th. These poems are part of "" Art Exhibition. 

As the wind began to pick up and the shadows thought about lengthening, African Soul International closed out the festival with their jubilant beats and celebratory dance.

Once again when Kent calls out "Who's Your Mama?" the response is loud and clear.