Encircled by the trees of Thornden Park’s Amphitheater, a sea of tie-dye shirts and hula hoops flood the area at this year’s Earthfest. The opening band, Greener Days and High Water, kicked things off as students, families, and even Otto the Orange rested on blankets and hammocks. And with the weather and the guests in good spirits, it was a great day to enjoy the outdoors.

Earthfest, a sustainability-themed music and arts festival celebrating Earth Day, was put together by the Students of Sustainability, the Syracuse chapter of the New York Public Interest Research Group, BrainFeeders and Syracuse University Sustainability Management. The annual festival aims to connect Syracuse University and the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry with the broader Syracuse community through promoting sustainability and environmental issues.

The day featured live music, art installations, student and community organizations, speakers, local craft vendors and food trucks. Activities including henna tattoos, jewelry making, and a pre-event yoga session were also provided.

Overcast Clothing, a clothing line and design that specializes in screen-printing, was one of the several vendors at Earthfest. The Syracuse-based company was founded by four local graduates Dan Mabie, Travis Adenau, Jimmy Becker and Zachary Field, who all design the shirts themselves and print their shirts with organic cotton. They’ve participated at Earthfest for two years.

Although they’ve shown at larger events like the State Fair, the crowd at Earthfest allowed people to easily stop by and learn more about their products.

“It’s well attended, it’s a good crowd,” Mabie said. “It’s more important to be somewhere with the right kind of people rather than just having a lot of people.”

Earthfest also showcases work from local artists, like Brett Rewakowski of the Marcellus-based art studio, Living the Dream. After showing one painting last year, he decided to bring all of his artwork this time.

Rewakowski, who specializes in invisible black light paint, or paint that lights up at night, likes that the festival creates a “good gathering of hippies.”

“It’s for people who are conscious of more than just consumerism,” he said. “It’s very grassroots and earthy, and people are conscious of our footprint wherever we go. I like that.”

Maizy Ludden, president of SOS, has helped coordinate the day’s activities. The SU sophomore first joined the organization as a freshman, since she was “always really big on sustainability.”

With a large crowd of people, Ludden said today’s attendance is a testament in people who care about the environment and want to fight back against actions happening in the environment. She hopes that the Earthfest provides a way for people to come together in other ways and make a difference.

“Just the fact that so many people are here shows that our community does care about protecting the environment and being in solidarity with one another,” Ludden said. “It can get a little depressing sometimes with what’s going on in the political climate, but I think just demonstrations of solidarity like this are really heartening.”

After attending the March for Science on Saturday, SU sophomore Kate Chmielewski “was really intrigued” to see all the politically active groups at Earthfest. Her friends Marlowe Reardon and Megan Falk, also sophomores at SU, attended the festival last year and have been interested in issues on climate change.

“I like getting to know all the different groups, what they’re advocating for, and to learn more about what we can do to get involved and help these groups,” Falk said.

One of those several organizations in attendance was Solarize CNY, the largest Solarize campaign in New York State. The campaign helps local homeowners go solar, and has advocated about the benefits of going solar to the university.

Katelyn Kriesel, project coordinator of Solarize CNY, has enjoyed talking to the students about Community Solar, a solar option for low to moderate individuals or students who rent their homes.

“It’s the perfect crowd for talking about solar,” Kriesel said. “There’s a lot of cool people here, and the energy is awesome.”

In addition to the weather and close proximity of the festival, Danielle Manna and Billie Li enjoyed seeing everyone come together under the same cause. This is the third year they’ve attended Earthfest.

Although “every day is Earth Day” for the ESF juniors, Manna added that “it’s nice to see other people acknowledging it.”

Published on April 23, 2017 at 10:10 pm