2019 EcoFest Activities
Heirloom plants and heritage livestock breeds tell stories just like your family’s recipes do. Stories of how people teamed up with another species and each other forming bonds and growing together over centuries to appease the others tastes.”
Join us for a workshop filled with a few tasty bites of food and knowledge, Saturday April 20 at 10:00am at the NewBo Market Kitchen. Rodina Restaurant and New Pi Food Coop are partnering to tell a story of abundance; one where food is not wasted, is grown and procured sustainably and fosters a deeper connection to our community. Chef-Owner of Rodina, Sam Charles will be showcasing his favorite dish, a beautiful half-roasted chicken accompanied by seasonal vegetables utilizing nearly 100% local ingredients found at New Pioneer Food Coop.
EcoFest Guest Speaker: Stephanie Arne Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom’s current host Stephanie Arne will be on the outdoor stage at New Bo City Market at 11:00am. “Since taking the reigns of this legendary show in 2013, Stephanie has dove beneath the waves and braved the elements to bring the Wild Kingdom into our homes. Learn how Stephanie became the host and learn about some of her favorite conservation projects to date.”
Stephanie Arne will also host a talk for children and their families at 2:00pm at the main stage at CSPS where she will share her adventures in how she became a wildlife expert and Wild Kingdom host. Todd Fagan, City of Cedar Rapids Arborist, will talk about the status of Emerald Ash Borer for about 5-10 minutes at 12:15, and then will be at Trees Forever’s booth for Q & A until 1:00pm.
EcoChamp Awards at 12:30 Categories • Nonprofit (2) • Small business (2) • K-12 student (2) • College student (2) • Resident (2)
WaterRocks at NewBo Stage at 1:00pm EcoFest is excited to announce the interactive band Water Rocks who will take the outdoor stage at NewBo City Market on April 20! This group, from ISU helps children and adults learn the science of water quality through music with their rockin’ programs. The interactive songs are developed to touch the hearts and minds of youth, teachers and parents using music, plays and total participation. They educate, challenge, and inspire young people towards a greater appreciation of our water resources. Your kids are going to love this! You will too.
RARE Raptor Programs Live bird will be displayed during this program about Iowa Raptors. Programs will be held at the backyard of the Cherry Building at 10am and 2pm.
Urban Bees and the Problems They Face 10am in CSPS Black Box Theater Bees and their urban problems will be the focus of University of Iowa’s professor, Dr. Hendrix, a member of the Urban Bee Task Force, which sponsored by the National Pollinator Protection Program. His focus is outreach in urban areas.
Alliant Energy - Birds, bees, wind and more! Visit the Alliant Energy area to experience: • A virtual reality tour of a wind farm, plus find out how we carefully select wind turbine locations to protect wildlife • An up-close look at a power pole and the equipment that keeps birds safe • How we’re restoring pollinator habitats • The latest in electric vehicle technologies
The workshop will start at 10 am and run until 10:50 just in time to catch Ecofests keynote speaker, Stephanie Arne from Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom. The charge for this workshop is $15.00.
Travel to the Top of Mount Trashmore with Cedar Rapids/Linn County Solid Waste Come see the view from the top of Mount Trashmore. Shuttles will be available from the Geonetric parking lot to take Eco Fest patrons to the top of Mount Trashmore beginning at 10:00am with the last shuttle trip down at 3:00pm. Shuttles will run approximately every 10-15 minutes between the parking lot and top of Mount Trashmore. Visitors may remain at the top of Mount Trashmore as long as they like and catch a shuttle down at their discretion. Walking and biking will not be available during Eco Fest shuttle trips, visitors must use the shuttles provided.
Trees Forever We will be giving away Compost bags with the CR SWA and Green Iowa AmeriCorps, Jason will bring it up today. We would like to be involved in some way with that and have communicated with both groups.
Bring Your Own T-shirt and Print an Eco Friendly Design. 10am – 4pm Bring a blank or used t-shirt, or tote bag from home and choose from our designs to screen print! EduSkate Board Shop is printing on site for you to take home the day of the event. Printing on a used t-shirt conserves clean water and energy!
Free Face Painting All Day Brighten your day with a little face painting. Become a lion or a monarch butterfly and let your face shine. EcoFest Movie Festival 11:00am – 4:00pm in Black Box Theater at CSPS. Paris to Pittsburgh: Climate change is a huge problem, but we can all be part of the solution. Don’t miss our free screening.
Pallet Benches and Waste Containers The bench and trash container project was developed by The Pintos, a community based art group organized in Lisbon, Portugal. A video of this and other projects will be part of a Legion Arts/ C.S.P.S. exhibit: Strategies of Belonging, April 4-28. The Pintos will be in Cedar Rapids to do community outreach through the Iowa Ceramics Center this July. For further information contact Ellen Kleckner at the Iowa Ceramics Center.
Jane Gilmor started this project locally as a continuation of that program. Shipping pallets are reconstructed into usable fixtures to enhance yards parks and streetscapes instead of discarding them. There will be examples of completed benches on display at the Firehouse at C.S.P.S. during the day at EcoFest. In addition, plans will be available for download in order to help people with do it yourself projects. We will have some materials available, as well as demonstrations on building and painting projects.
The EcoFest Art Show The focus of the show is the creation of art from unexpected materials. These materials include recycled, repurposed, sustainable, green, and naturally sourced materials. Repurposed or recycled materials can come from the waste stream (nonrecyclable plastic or metals, ect.)or salvaged from other products. Green materials are those manufactured from waste stream materials such as newspaper, agricultural products or building construction. Objects made from naturally sourced material can include those made from natural fibers using plant dyes or other sustainably harvested materials. This will include student work from the Eastern Iowa Arts Academy and work from adult artists. Adult artists should contact John Schwartzkopf at john@johnsawdust.com for details. Space is somewhat limited so images of the work need to be submitted in advance. We may not have room for everyone, so please allow for a certain amount of curating of the work. The work must be delivered by April 17 to allow for installation. The show will run for one week, starting on Earth Day April 20th.