The San Diego Traveler

EarthFair 2008

by Carole A. Lane on April 22nd, 2008

Last weekend’s EarthFair was the largest environmental fair yet. That’s saying a lot, as EarthFair was already billed as:

“The world’s largest annual environmental fair and
Earth Day Celebration – produced by volunteers”

Over 300 exhibitors provided the framework for this festival. Some were educational, providing guidance on living greener, minimizing waste, and so on. Included in this group were the Sierra Club and other environmental groups. Children’s activities, such as decorating a paper cup flower pot in order to plant seeded paper, or making paper airplanes, were popular among the younger set. I suppose you could

also put the free belly dancing lesson booth in the educational category; it certainly drew an enthusiastic crowd, though I’m not sure they were all there to learn belly dancing.

Other booths were political, promoting candidates or causes. Many anti-war protestors wandered through the crowd displaying their posters and sharing their views. The anti-abortion extremists were also out in force, with severely gory photos to shock the crowd. It’s a shame that those  who appear to care so deeply about the unborn children have so little concern for those who we’ve chosen to actually bring into the world. These were not pictures that they needed to be confronted with at an otherwise family-friendly event.

Many, many, many vendors were there to sell “green” products such as clothing, jewelry, baskets, and food. The wrap dresses/scarves seemed to be among the most popular items of clothing available at multiple booths.

Some booths provided a mixture of education and product sales. In that category I’d include the solar companies and hybrid and alternate fuel vehicles. You might not be able to walk away with a product from them, but they’d be happy to share information and contact you later to sell you something.

Music pored out over the crowd, both from stages and from groups gathered for a little impromptu singing and dancing.

Regardless of your reason for attending, or your political leanings, EarthFair was a great place for people watching. Green hair was the height of fashion, and came in many wild forms. Clothing ranged from long, flowing dresses to absolutely skimpy. It was almost like stepping back into the sixties, with hippies, cults, and a variety of other interesting types, all passionate about their views and interests, yet the vibe was generally laid back and friendly.

EarthFair was also a fabulous place to dog watch. They came in every shape and size imaginable, and seemed to enjoy the event almost as much as their human families. Check out these cuties!

If you missed EarthFair this year, there are still many upcoming events that you can join in to Celebrate the Earth. (Just click the link to learn more.)

Happy Earth Day!

Photo credits: All photos by Carole Lane

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