Croft Farm is transforming into a haven for the area’s sustainable businesses, groups and residents this Saturday.
The fourth annual Earth Festival is slated to kick off with a Family Fun Bike Ride at 9 a.m., and festivities will follow from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Admission is free and open to the public, and the event will be held no matter what conditions the weather brings, said Brenda Jorett, the festival’s organizer and communications director for Sustainable Cherry Hill.
“This is all about walking the walk and talking the talk and having everybody learn a little bit about sustainability,” she said.
Festival highlights include an appearance by the Phillie Phanatic, who will be stopping by between 11 a.m. and noon, parading around the festival, “and I’m sure creating a big fuss,” she said, laughing. There will be a Phillies display, as well as dozens more, including green crafters, all 19 of Cherry Hill’s public schools, and booths from Sustainable Cherry Hill’s task forces.
Students from the schools will be displaying projects, performng skits and songs and finding ways to connect sustainability with character education, she said.
“We’re really excited about that,” she said.
The gardening task force will have a plant swap again this year, allowing for area gardeners to bring an excess plant to the booth and trade it in for something else, she said.
Along those lines, the township will be bringing compost, free for attendees to take.
“We’re also having the Cherry Hill Food Pantry there,” Jorett said. “They will be collecting non-perishable foods.”
To reduce plastic, New Jersey American Water Company will be on hand with a truck to help visitors refill their water bottles. Electricity usage will also be minimized through solar panels powering the two entertainment stages and some of the displays. Food vendors were asked to do whatever possible to reduce waste, such as using recyclable plates, and avoiding plastics and foam products.
“We’re really trying to reduce our footprint the best we can,” she said.
Earth Festival is coming during the fifth anniversary of Sustainable Cherry Hill’s conception.
“The festival has the best of both worlds: a home-grown, community feel with the collaborative efforts of Cherry Hill Township, (the) school district and Sustainable Cherry Hill, combined with the strong regional draw of families from all over South Jersey,” the group’s executive director, Lori Braunstein, said. “We are ever expanding the view of community and the notion that we are all in this together.”
The first year of the festival had an attendance of 500 people, Jorett said. Now, between 3,000 and 5,000 people from across the region are expected to attend.
Both Cherry Hill Township and Camden County will have booths at the festival, and Freeholder Jeff Nash, an avid environmentalist and a leader of the new Sustainable Camden County, will be present.
Cherry Hill Mayor Chuck Cahn will make a speech and join the festivities, embarking on the bike ride with his wife, Township Spokeswoman Bridget Palmer said.
Festival-goers are also encouraged to bring along end-of-life computers, printers or other technology for safe recycling and disposal through Magnum Computer Recycling, Jorett said. The company will be situated at the main entrance. The annual Art Blooms festival will begin the same day as the Earth Festival, she said.
“Croft Farm is just the perfect place for an event like this,” she said. “Hopefully, the sustainability effort will just spread from there.”
The event is only four hours to give visitors a dose of sustainable practices and then allow them to move on freely with their weekend.
“Everybody’s lives are so busy, so we figured that we can give people a lot of fun…and learn about sustainability,” Jorett said.
