On Earth Hartford: A Vibrant Celebration of the Earth!
A SPECIAL EARTH DAY CELEBRATION COMING TO POPE PARK WEST
As Earth Day approaches, the Greater Hartford community is gearing up for a special celebration of our planet. On Earth Hartford, presented by Breakfast Lunch & Dinner (BL&D) in partnership with the Connecticut River Conservancy, Natural Dividends, and Blue Earth Compost, is a mini-festival that promises to be a vibrant and engaging celebration of the Earth.
Taking place on April 22nd, 2023, from 2-7 pm at Pope Park West on Pope Park Highway in Hartford, On Earth Hartford is designed to highlight the importance of sustainable living and civic engagement in the Greater Hartford community. The event aims to bring people together from all walks of life to celebrate our planet and to inspire positive action.
This year's On Earth event promises to be even more special than last year's, with a pop-up vintage market in collaboration with Forgotten Flea, featuring more than 30 vintage dealers. In addition to this, there will be a pop-up Cafeteria Radio Record Fair and a wide range of small business vendors and environmental groups from all over the state. The day will be packed with activities, including workshops, a 24’ rock climbing wall, free Ben & Jerry's ice cream, and a food waste cook-off event hosted by Blue Earth Compost. Musical performances will be happening all day in collaboration with Funnybone Records, and information panels and Q&A sessions with local experts in environmental studies will be happening throughout the day as well.
On Earth Hartford will also feature a collection of interactive vendors, including Murphy's Mushrooms, Need a Bee, CT State Environmental Conservation Police, and more! Food trucks will be on site to provide delicious snacks and meals, including Smetana Food Truck and No Pork on Dis Fork. Returning vendors from last year's event include A Clay Zone, Reboot Eco, Shola Skincare & The Ital Juicery Company.
One of the primary goals of On Earth Hartford is to recognize the hard work of volunteers in the region, highlighting the amazing volunteer work happening on and around Earth Day, as well as the volunteer opportunities that benefit our community all year long. As a reward for their hard work and dedication, volunteers from partner organizations will have free access to On Earth, where they can enjoy a fun, engaging celebration of the Earth. And if you're interested in volunteering with us, we have teamed up with organizations including The Connecticut River Conservancy (CRC), Keney Park Sustainability Project (KPSP), and Natural Dividends. CRC and KPSP are transplanting stems into buckets to be grown for a nursery to benefit the park and the tree canopy in Hartford, while Natural Dividends is cleaning up Pope Park West and the adjoining road.
To help continue to celebrate Earth Day in a fun and civically engaging way, you can make a donation to On Earth Hartford. We are working with The Community Match Fund, a program of Sustainable CT, to help raise funds for On Earth. Our goal is $7,500, and if raised, Sustainable CT will double it for a total of $15,000. With those funds, we can continue to expand and grow this event for years to come. We’re thrilled to be participating in the Community Match Fund program, and we’re confident our community will help us raise our goal so we can receive a matching grant from Sustainable CT.
On Earth Hartford invites you to join us for this exciting event, which we hope will inspire you to take action for the planet and connect with your fellow citizens. Pope Park West is a beautiful park located in the Frog Hollow neighborhood of Hartford that is an underutilized section of the park and once was a landfill that was turned into a green space for the city of Hartford
