It wasn’t just the sun that came out at the 2015 Festival!

Despite a rainy setup day and a muddy Earth Day Eve party, an estimated 50,000 people joined in celebrating Earth Day, Every Day…for Everyone at the 26th annual St. Louis Earth Day Festival on Sunday, April 26th in Forest Park at the Muny grounds. People from all across the St. Louis region converged on Forest Park to celebrate, taste, listen and learn from a record 250 vendors and exhibitors, making this the largest one-day Earth Day celebration yet!

Our full 2015 Festival Report is now available online. Take a look!

The Earth Day Cafe moved to a beautiful new location this year.

The Festival opened one hour earlier this year, with a ceremony conducted by Interfaith Power and Light, allowing attendees more time to participate in free yoga, listen to an incredible local music, and visit with all of exhibitors. Ray Hartman emceed the main stage, 26 years after he emceed the very first Earth Day Celebration in St. Louis, promising to return in another 26 years. Mayor Slay announced he signed Executive Order 52, furthering his sustainability agenda for the City of St. Louis.

Jake’s Leg performed as dozens danced in the rain at this year’s Earth Day Eve party.

The Festival was preceded on Saturday evening by the Earth Day Eve celebration and fundraiser. Jake’s Leg, a Grateful Dead cover band, played (also 26 years after playing at the first Earth Day celebration in St. Louis) to a hearty crowd of several hundred who would not let a little rain ruin the event. Earth Day Action Grant awards were presented, a SOLD OUT “Friends of St. Louis Earth Day” tent kept many dry and fed, limited-edition t-shirts were tie-dyed, and fun was had by all.

James S. McDonnell Planetarium glowing GREEN for the Earth Day Festival.

‘Eve attendees also witnessed the James S. McDonnell Planetarium illuminated green for Earth Day on their way out of the park.

2015 Festival highlights included…

Three stages of entertainment featuring local bands, regional talent, Circus Flora performers, live birds of prey from the World Bird Sanctuary and community dance troupes;
Diverse cuisine from local vendors, showcasing vegetarian, locally-sourced and organic options including 17 members of the Green Dining Alliance;
Earth Day Challenge recognizing and rewarding visitors who bring their own water bottle or shopping bag and use low-impact transportation to arrive;
The day was filled with activities for all ages.

Free bike valet by Trailnet;
A climbing wall brought in by Upper Limits;
MetroBus painting activity with artist Genevieve Esson;
Peace Garden area for reflective communion through activities like meditation and ceremonial drum circle;
Free yoga all day courtesy of Yoga Buzz
Joia All Species Jamboree for pedestrians to unite in celebrating the interdependence of all species, led by Joia World Percussion Ensemble; and,
Recycling Extravaganza collection event for hard-to-recycle items on the St. Louis Community College-Forest Park campus.

We could not do all of this without our volunteers.

Around 264 volunteers donated 867 hours toward making the weekend’s events a success – this included support of the Recycling Extravaganza. Volunteers were properly honored at a reception at Schlafly Bottleworks in May.

Event Sustainability

By applying our Recycling On the Go program strategies onsite at the Festival, we kept the majority of waste produced out of area landfills – 93% of all waste by weight was recycled and composted! Many thanks to our vendors for banning Styrofoam and #6 plastic.

1,325 people claimed prizes for completing the Earth Day Challenge – using low-impact transportation and bringing their own water bottle or shopping bag. You can read more about the event’s sustainability efforts, like fueling our generators with clean burning propane or purchasing organic cotton t-shirts.

…to everyone who helped make this day possible and to all who attended!

Thank you.

We are incredibly grateful for the many contributions of so many individuals, businesses and organizations that made this year’s Earth Day celebration another meaningful experience for the community. Thank you.