The 2013 New Orleans Earth Day Festival and Green Business Expo will be held on Sunday, April 21 from 9:00 a.m.- 7:30 p.m. at Bayou St. John on Orleans Avenue.
About the event:
The Louisiana Bucket Brigade, a New Orleans non-profit founded on environmental justice issues in 2000, organized the first New Orleans Earth Day Festival in 2009 in response to New Orleans residents’ interest in sustainability and environmental protection.
Establishing that first New Orleans Earth Day Festival was a natural expansion of our mission to promote clean air, environmental justice and sustainability. It was also an opportunity to celebrate the good work of environmental groups, learn about alternative energy and make a case for a strong green economy and reduced pollution. The New Orleans Earth Day Festival was a huge success, generating news and excitement throughout the greater New Orleans area and attracting more than 3,500 attendees for food, fun and live music.
New Orleans Earth Day Festival & Green Business Expo is unique. It’s the only event in the area focused exclusively on engaging the local community, environmental organizations and businesses around environmental sustainability. And, in the long term we believe our event has the potential to expand beyond New Orleans and become established as the premier sustainability event along the Gulf Coast.
What’s new for 2013:
In keeping with our mission to showcase green initiatives taken around the city, we are introducing 2 exciting new festival activities!
1. Green Scavenger Hunts
Earth Day will feature a Green Scavenger Hunt highlighting the festival’s green businesses, food vendors, craft vendors, or non-profit organizations that offer alternatives to petrochemical products or services. The scavenger hunt will take you on a tour of the festival, finding the answers to questions by talking to the festival’s vendors or reading the information at their booths. Completing the scavenger hunt will also enter you into a raffle to win exciting prizes!
2. Showcase Stage
This year’s festival will include not 1 stage but 2! This new stage will provide a relaxed, intimate setting to showcase local artists and exciting green initiatives. The stage will be located at the end of the festival opposite the main stage, and is open to any type of performance from theatre to soap box rants to fashion shows. Stay turned for a full list of Showcase Stage Acts!
3. Art Installation
The Art Installation tradition continues this year! In keeping with the festival theme of Rethinking Petrochemicals, the Bucket Brigade asks you to consider the question: where do Mardi Gras beads come from? The answer is that they are made in China, and being plastic, are made from petrochemicals. This year’s art installation, a 10ft oil derrick made out of Mardi Gras beads, will serve as a reminder of the source of these and many other commonly used products.
We can’t wait to see you at this year’s festival!
We are in NO from VT for the month and want to come to earth day. We only know bayou st john is near NOMA. Where exactly is the festival? Where can we park a car?
Hi Phyllis,
The map on the About page shows the location of the festival: Along Bayou St. John waterway at Orleans Avenue and North Jefferson Davis Parkway. From the NOMA/City Park area, you can take Carrollton to Orleans and follow Orleans south until you hit the bayou. Parking is on the street, or there’s a link on the About page showing public transportation options in the neighborhood. Hope that helps!
And hope to see you at the festival!
What’s the best way to get to the starting point of the bike ride, by bike, from St. Charles/S. Carrollton?
Thanks.
St. Charles to Nashville to Jeff Davis Parkway. Or if traffic’s not bad, take Carrollton the whole way up to Orleans, and turn right.
I hope this year’s festival is an even bigger success. And I hope the theme makes all of us pause to consider what we individually are doing for our Louisiana environment. Thanks for the great work.