If every day were Earth Day, we wouldn’t need a designated holiday to honor our favorite celestial spinning orb.
The shopping carts and dirty diapers wouldn’t need to be pulled from our creeks. Al Gore wouldn’t need to make documentaries. The Coastal Cleanup Day wouldn’t yield more than 2,300 pounds of debris along the Sonoma Coast, like it did last year.
But alas, that’s why U.S. Sen. Gaylord Nelson, D-Wis., founded Earth Day in 1970.
In Sonoma County, the annual event is a seasonal unclogging of the arteries and much-needed spring cleaning for the watershed.
“We’ve seen a lot of parents with kids coming out in recent years,” says Santa Rosa volunteer coordinator Alistair Bleifuss. “It’s such a good way to teach them volunteerism and instill environmental consciousness.”
So if you’re looking to lend a hand, or just load up on live music and get your face painted, here are a few Earth Day cleanups and throwdowns to check out this weekend:
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Earth Day Festival, Healdsburg: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday
When a man named Rebel is running the show, you know something progressive is afoot.
“Our goal is educate and empower people to take action to save themselves,” says festival organizer and Healdsburg High School teacher Rebel Fagin.
This year’s annual Earth Day Festival in the Healdsburg Plaza spotlights congressional candidate Norman Solomon, KPFA’s Miguel Molina, the investigative journalists of Project Censored and live music from Hoytus and One Heart, Happy Accident, Hannah & Sky and many more.
Healsburg Plaza. Info: 431-3420.
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Environmental Discovery Center Earth Day, Santa Rosa: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday
Come for Earth Day, stay for the tide pools and reptile petting. That’s the unofficial motto of the Environmental Discovery Center’s 10th anniversary family day loaded with lots of face painting, eco-crafts, storytelling and naturalist-led family hikes to Annadel and Spring Lake parks.
Spring Lake Regional Park Environmental Discovery Center (located just inside the Violetti Road entrance to Spring Lake Regional Park), Santa Rosa. Info: 539-2865.
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Earth Day Festival, Santa Rosa: Noon to 4 p.m. Sunday
McKenna Faith leads the musicians’ brigade and the kids chime in with a song circle in this annual downtown Santa Rosa fair. Learn how to build a bird house, finance a solar project or just save on your water and electric bills.
Courthouse Square, Santa Rosa. Info: 543-3935 or srcity.org/earthday
Santa Rosa Cleanups:
* Santa Rosa Creek Cleanup — 9 a.m. to noon Saturday. Meet at the Olive Park footbridge.
Steele and Piner Creeks Cleanup — 9 a.m. to noon Saturday. Meet at Biella Elementary School, 2140 Jennings Ave.
Contact for both: Alistair Bleifuss at 543-3845.
* Piner Creek Cleanup — 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday. Meet at Movement Oasis center, 1808-B Empire Industrial Court.
Contact: Michelle Keip at 544-2673.
* Community Park Cleanup — 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. Sunday at Youth Park, 1700 Fulton Road (across from Piner High).
Info: www.facebook.com/SantaRosaUtopia.
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Sonoma Ecology Center Earth Day, Sonoma: 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Saturday
Free coffee and pastries fuel the morning cleanup of the Sonoma Creek watershed, then you bring a dish for the potluck party afterward. Bring your own gloves and buckets and meet up at Maxwell Farms Regional Park, 100 Verano Ave., Sonoma.
Info: Jim Chayka at 996-0712 x115.
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Windsor Earth Day and Wellness Festival: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday
Kazamoze supplies the world music. Sonoma County Bird Rescue brings the raptors. And the kids go nuts with volleyball, soccer and chasing after a giant inflatable earth ball. Pull up on a bike and you get free valet parking. Look for the Pomo Youth Dance Group and seasonal veggies and fruit on the opening day of Windsor Farmers Market.
Windsor Town Green. Info: 838-1260 or go to www.ci.windsor.ca.us and click on “special events.”
Bay Area freelancer John Beck writes about entertainment for The Press Democrat. You can reach him at 280-8014, [email protected] and follow on Twitter @becksay.
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