Celebrate Santa Cruz Earth Day on Saturday, April 16

Santa Cruz Earth Day 2016 welcomes all ages to celebrate the environment on Saturday, April 16, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at San Lorenzo Park. Sponsored and organized by the City of Santa Cruz, County of Santa Cruz, Ecology Action and the UC Santa Cruz Sustainability Office, the free annual event includes over 100 educational and green retail booths, fun-filled youth activities, an electric vehicle display, live music, food, a beer garden and valet bike parking provided by Bike Santa Cruz County.

New this year is the Enviro Passport available to kids at the information table. Youth who earn eight passport stamps at educational booths will receive a coupon good for one kid’s scoop at the Penny Ice Creamery or Mission Hill Creamery downtown locations. Also new to the festival is Ecology Action’s zany dress-up environmental pledge photo booth.

Other youth activities include arts and crafts, tumbling gymnastics and face painting. A free rock climbing wall is open to all ages. Students from three local schools will display their environmental projects and the Santa Cruz Library booth will host author Paul Fleischman to discuss his book “Eyes Wide Open” and the community read project.

Young and old are invited to help Save Our Shores clean up the San Lorenzo River from 10 a.m. to 12 noon; participants are asked to bring gloves and a bucket. There are composting workshops at the Master Gardeners booth every hour starting at 12 noon.

Entertainment occurs throughout the day on the main stage including local favorite SambaDá at 11:45 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Teens will model their creations in a Recycled Fashion Show at 1:30 p.m. Another new element this year is a second acoustic stage that will feature Mothersong with Joya Winwood and the Ukulele Club of Santa Cruz.

For the first time ever, Santa Cruz Earth Day has Super Community Sponsors: Dignity Health, Dignity Health Medical Group, Good Times, New Leaf Community Markets, Santa Cruz Community Credit Union and Santa Cruz Waves. These sponsors have contributed over $10,000 financially or through in-kind donation to benefit four signature Ecology Action programs including Earth Day Santa Cruz. These sponsors help the event's environmental mission to raise awareness, address concerns, showcase solutions and present balanced ways of living.

Earth Day 2016 is a Zero Waste event; it is recommended that visitors bring reusable shopping bags and refillable water bottles. Thanks to Pure Water of Santa Cruz, there will be a free water station at the event.

More information including a schedule of events and complete list of participants and sponsors is available at www.scearthday.org.