There are simple things you can do every day to make the Earth a better place and you can learn how at the 11th Annual Earth Day Celebration Friday.
The celebration, hosted by Keep Liberty Beautiful, will be at the Liberty County YMCA soccer fields, from 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. It is a free event.
Keep Liberty Beautiful Executive Director Sara Swida said there will be something for everyone to enjoy at Earth Day.
The KLB staff has been working on the event for almost a year, getting supplies and creating the booths and games by hand for visitors to enjoy.
The event will kickoff with an Earth Day parade. Kids are invited to join the parade with costume characters Swida calls “Earth Day Critters” and music. Usually 30 to 40 kids join in the parade.
Kids will have more chances to dance during the Animal Boogie, where they can go on stage and dance to animal songs.
There will be more than 60 booths, games and activities. This includes a Wild West laser shootout with plastic bottles, tote bags made out of T-shirts and an Eco Scavenger Hunt.
Kids will be given clues that match different booths, where they can get prizes.
Swida says the scavenger hunt will keep kids active visiting different booths and they will learn something new.
There will be a prizes for the best chalk art and Earth Day T-shirts decorated by middle school students in school.
“This has kind of evolved over the years. We try to make this fun because we do believe that kids will remember a lot more of the information if it’s made fun for them,” Swida said. “It also becomes a lot of fun for us (those working the event) too. The event itself is always enjoyable.”
One of the most popular activities is making a dead fish stencil shirt. Visitors use a real, dead fish, which is kept in a cooler, to imprint with paint the shape of a fish. Swida said it’s always been a favorite with people. Those who don’t want to touch the dead fish can use other available objects such as seashells and star fish.
The event doesn’t only appeal to kids.
“We have a lot of older people that come and their kids are grown, but they just come and hang out,” Swida says. “I really think there’s something enjoyable for kids of any age.”
The Earth Day celebration is a great way for kids to do something enjoyable and remember to take care of the earth, Swida said.
“I truly believe we are stewards of the earth,” she said. “I think the one thing we try to do really hard is have people think about what you can do to make a positive difference in the earth. Swida was thankful for all the sponsors over the years who have helped to make the Earth Day Celebration a large event.