Earth Day Festival

Tag: Earth Day Festival

Folk Singer Peter Siegel Performs at Lawrence University Earth Day Festival

Peter Siegel brings his unique brand of politically tinted folk music to the Lawrence University Wriston Art Center amphitheatre Saturday, April 22 with a 3 p.m. concert as part of the college’s eighth annual Earth Day Festival.

The day-long salute to all things environmental begins at 9 a.m. with a group trash clean-up of the north bank of the Fox River. All interested participants are asked to meet at the Wriston Art Center turnaround.

From 11 a.m. -2 p.m., the Main Hall Green will feature a variety of earth-friendly activity and information booths from student and community environmental organizations. A “Bring Your Own Plate & Cup” picnic lunch also be served with Lawrence student groups providing musical entertainment.

Siegel, whose eclectic performances that mix blues, swing and hip hop on the guitar, banjo and mandolin with traditional fiddle tunes have been dubbed “Space Age Vaudeville,” headlines the day’s celebration. In the event of inclement weather, Siegel will perform in Riverview Lounge inside the Lawrence Memorial Union.

A native of suburban New York City, Siegel credits the likes of Pete Seeger, Miles Davis, Run DMC and TV theme songs as musical influences. He first made a name for himself as a member of the Hudson River Valley’s Harmonious Hogchokers, singing original and traditional songs of political and environmental significance.

Siegel is a former grand prize winner of Massachusett’s WRSI singer-songwriter competition. He has performed at festivals and venues throughout the nation, including the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage, the New England Folk Festival and the American Festival of Fiddle Tunes in Port Townsend, Wash. During his career, he has opened for Peter Mulvey, Tim O’Brian and Tony Trishka and shared the stage with such performers as Pete Seeger, Tom Chapin and Paul Stookey.

Folk Concert by Greg Brown Highlights Annual Lawrence University Earth Day Festival

Acclaimed folk singer/songwriter Greg Brown, a two-time Grammy Award nominee, will perform Saturday, April 23 as part of Lawrence University’s seventh annual Earth Day Festival.

The day-long celebration of Mother Earth will feature live music, information booths on environmental issues and volunteer work on Lawrence’s new organic garden. Appleton singer/songwriter Susan Howe will open the concert portion of the Earth Day Festival at 2:45 p.m. in the Lawrence Memorial Chapel with Brown scheduled to perform at 3:45 p.m.

Tickets for Brown’s concert are $15 in advance, $18 at the door. For more information, contact the Lawrence box office at 920-832-6749. Doors to the chapel will open at 2:15 p.m.

Known for a distinctive Midwestern sensibility that combines humor with empathy, Brown has penned songs that have been performed by musical legends Willie Nelson and Carlos Santana as well as Shawn Colvin, Mary Chapin Carpenter and others.
An Iowa native who still lives on his grandparents’ farm there, Brown is the offspring of a Pentecostal preacher father and an electric guitar playing mother. He has recorded more than two dozen albums, including 1985’s “In the Dark With You,” which has been hailed as an acoustic classic and “One Big Town,” which earned him the first of his two Indie Awards for Adult Contemporary Album of the Year in 1989.

Brown earned a Grammy nomination in 1993 for “Friend of Mine” with Bill Morrissey and four years later received a second Grammy nomination for “Slant 6 Mind.” Veering from his familiar territory of domestic concerns, Brown has also recorded an album of William Blake poems, “Songs Of Innocence And Experience” in 1986, and a collection of children’s music, “Bath Tub Blues” in 1993. His most recent album, “Honey in the Lion’s Head,” was released last year.

Earth Day Festival activities kick off at 9:30 a.m. with Lawrence students participating in the official ground-breaking of a new organic garden Lawrence will be planting later this spring at the bottom of Union Hill. The first of its kind on-campus garden will be used to grow organic produce that will be served in the dining halls as well as sold during the summer at local farmer’s markets and to area food subscribers.

From 11:30 a.m – 2:45 p.m., Main Hall green will be abuzz with a variety of activities, including live music performed by Lawrence students, a display of environmentally friendly hybrid vehicles and educational booths with information on environmental activism. In addition, the Lawrence geology department will sponsor a rock, mineral and fossil identification booth, along with a free “tour” of Wisconsin through geologic time, free samples from the department’s rock pile and an opportunity to “fish for fossils” from the Silurian seas that once covered the state.

Prior to Brown’s concert, John Peck, executive director of Family Farm Defenders will deliver the address “Putting the Culture Back into Agriculture: Defending Food Sovereignty From Corporate Globalization” in the chapel.

Based in Madison, Family Farmer Defenders is a national nonprofit grassroots organization that promotes sustainable agriculture, rural justice, workers rights, animal welfare, consumer safety, fair trade and food sovereignty. Founded in 1994, FFD works to empower farmers and consumers toward reclaiming their local food and farm systems from corporate agribusiness control.

Lawrence University Earth Day Festival Features State Legislator, Literature Drop

Live music, information booths, a rock climbing wall, a literature drop and an address by State Representative Spencer Black (D-Madison) highlight Lawrence University’s sixth annual Earth Day Festival Saturday, May 1 on the Lawrence Main Hall Green. All Earth Day Festival activities are free and open to the public. In the event of inclement weather, the event will be moved inside the Lawrence Memorial Union.

Black, one of the state legislature’s strongest environmental advocates, presents “Protecting the Earth in a Time of Challenges” at 1 p.m. Black will review recent environmental accomplishments, examine some of the biggest challenges that remain and discuss ways individual citizens can affect decisions that are made regarding the environment.Black, one of the state legislature’s strongest environmental advocates, presents “Protecting the Earth in a Time of Challenges” at 1 p.m. Black will review recent environmental accomplishments, examine some of the biggest challenges that remain and discuss ways individual citizens can affect decisions that are made regarding the environment.

First elected to the state assembly in 1984, Black’s work on behalf of conservation and environmental issues has been recognized with the Clean Water Action Council Environmental Advocate of the Year Award, the Midwest Renewable Energy Association Environmental Excellence Award, the Audubon Society Environmentalist of the Year Award and The Nature Conservancy President’s Public Service Award, among others.

Lawrence’s Earth Day Festival activities begin at 9 a.m. with a trash pickup along the north banks of the Fox River adjacent to the Lawrence campus. All volunteers interested in participating can meet at the front of the Lawrence Memorial Union.

Between 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. on the Main Hall Green, the festival will feature information booths addressing various environmental issues, including environmentally friendly hybrid automobiles, energy efficiency, wildlife rehabilitation and rock identification conducted by members of the Lawrence geology department. Lawrence’s Lower Six Brass Band will provide musical entertainment from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.

Beginning at 2 p.m., members of Greenfire, Lawrence’s student environmental awareness organization, and other area residents, will participate in a door-to-door “literature drop” to an estimated 2,700 households in the Fox Cities. Greenfire is part of a 57-member, state-wide coalition of organizations and businesses that is distributing information aimed at educating Wisconsin residents about recent attacks on environmental protections and urging them to contact their elected officials. In addition to Appleton, the literature drop is targeting Milwaukee, Madison, La Crosse and Green Bay with a goal of reaching 40,000 households across the state.

“Earth Day has always been a time when Americans come together to demonstrate their concern for the environment and acknowledge that we must care for our Earth if we are to care for ourselves,” said Steve Rogness, president of Greenfire. “This Earth Day, we hope to empower
Wisconsinites to participate in the political process by proclaiming their love for the outdoors and demanding better environmental protections from our state and federal government.”

Talks by DNR Chief, Secretary of State Highlight Lawrence University Earth Day Celebration

Appearances by Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Secretary Scott Hassett and Secretary of State Douglas La Follette highlight Lawrence University’s fifth annual Earth Day Festival Saturday, April 26. All Earth Day Festival activities are free and open to the public.

Hassett, who began his duties as DNR secretary in January of this year, delivers the address “Environmental Challenges Facing Wisconsin” at 2 p.m. in Youngchild Hall, Room 121. Following his talk, La Follette, who helped organize the first Earth Day celebration in 1970, presents “Black Smoke to Backlash — 30 Years of U.S. Environmental History.”

Lawrence’s Earth Day Festival begins at 9 a.m. with a trash pickup along the north banks of the Fox River adjacent to the Lawrence campus. Refuse collected during the pickup will be used to create a one-of-a-kind Fox River “trash sculpture” near Main Hall. All volunteers interested in participating can meet at the front of the Lawrence Memorial Union.

Between 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. on the Main Hall Green, the festival will feature information booths addressing various environmental issues, including organic food and Fair Trade coffee, a display of environmentally friendly hybrid automobiles and arts and crafts activities for children. Lawrence’s award-winning, six-member jazz combo will provide musical entertainment from 11 a.m.-12 noon.

Lawrence’s Earth Day Festival is sponsored by EARTH House, a student organization that promotes environmentally sustainable lifestyles, Greenfire, a student environmental awareness organization and the Co-op House. In the event of inclement weather, festival activities will be moved inside the Lawrence Memorial Union and the Buchanan Kiewit Recreation Center.