Earth Day Festival is April 25 at A.K. Bissell Park

Keep Anderson County Beautiful will host the eighth annual Earth Day festival in Oak Ridge on Saturday, April 25, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at A.K. Bissell Park.

East Tennessee residents living in or around Oak Ridge are invited to participate in the festival, organizers said. It features free activities and events that promote healthy living and environmental education, and that encourage individuals to create and contribute to a sustainable community.

Sponsored in major part by KACB and Leidos, Earth Day will feature outdoor games for children, music, healthy food vendors, exhibitors showcasing educational booths, an on-site scavenger hunt, and neighborhood games such as hopscotch, bocce, croquet, flying discs, ladder ball and a special reduce, reuse, recycle game. There will be a special area for preschool children.

There will be a Trashformations art exhibit created by local area students made from recycled/found materials.

The popular “Erase Your Trace” special recycling program will be held from 10 a.m. till 3 p.m. April 25 at the ORAU parking lot on Badger Road by the Friendship Bell in A.K. Bissell Park in Oak Ridge. The drive-through event will collect old computers and peripherals, personal documents for on-site shredding (sponsored by Enrichment Federal Credit Union), gently worn shoes, books, eyeglasses, cell phones, rechargeable and button batteries (no alkaline batteries), and old towels, blankets, and  bed-spreads (for the animal shelter). This is a rain-or-shine event at the parking lot.

Earth Day 2015 will also have an entire month devoted to exploring the city and its greenways. To find clues that lead to hidden prizes with its Geo-Expedition event, check www.orearthday.org.

Festival organizers are expanding the festival this year to encompass not only Oak Ridge and the immediate surrounding counties, but the cities of Knoxville and Lenoir City as well.

“We want people to come join us and see what we’re all about. The more people that come, the more we can get the word out about how important sustainable communities are,” said Pat Imperato, a member of the KACB planning committee.

You can find out more about the event, sponsorships, volunteering, plus local drop-off centers for shoe collection at www.orearthday.org.

In case of rain, the event will be moved indoors to the Oak Ridge Civic Center gym at Bissell Park.