Earth Day 2000 Offers Music, Exhibits

BY JERALD JACKSON

"Clean Energy Now" is the international Earth Day message for the millennium, and Pensacola's 11th Annual Earth Day festival will echo that message locally on Saturday, April 22nd in Seville Square.

The festival features free live music all day long. Performers include hot local talent as well as headliner Felicia Divine and the Deacons of Blues. Solar panels will power the stage.

In support of Earth Day, Blues Angel Music, Harris Music and Sound, Tringas Music, and Dollarhide's Music and Sound have combined their efforts to donate a $1,000 electric guitar package to be raffled at Earth Day. It's a brand new DanElectro guitar with gig bag, amplifier, music stand, instruction books, tuner, capo, strap, cord, strings, and picks. Tickets will be sold for $1 each. High school students attending Earth Day will be entered into the raffle for free if their school has the most students registered at Earth Day.

In addition to the free concert, Earth Day visitors may also tour environmental exhibits by government agencies, activist groups, artists and craftspeople, and vendors of environmentally friendly products. Gulf Coast Environmental Defense will hand out information at their Clean Energy booth. Environmental groups will demonstrate their progress on a variety of issues.

Ever'man Natural Foods is sponsoring a health fair at Earth Day 2000. The fair features naturopaths, chiropractors, vitamin distributors, massage therapists, and other alternative health practitioners demonstrating how to live a more healthful life to protect one's own personal environment--the body.

Children will enjoy face-painting, Sylvester the Clown, the recycle relay, story time, clay shaping, nature lessons, and more.

Other activities include a sustainable cities walking tour by Urban Renaissance, an herb walk by Coyote Moon Herbs, and an environmental history tour by local naturalist and historian Tom Garner. Those who prefer mental activity can enjoy the ideas presented in the eco-topics tent, with discussions on environmental history, the World Trade Organization, greenwashing, and green living. A special election-year activity will feature presentations on environmental concerns by candidates for local and state offices.

The 11th Annual Earth Day Pensacola will be held Saturday, April 22nd in downtown Pensacola's Seville Square. Earth Day 2000 promises to be a great way to be a part of a great festival tradition in Pensacola, enjoy free live music, and get the Earth Day spirit.

Jerry Jackson is a local environmental activist and an organizer of Pensacola's Earth Day celebration.