Annual Earth Day Festival Scheduled for Sunday, April 19

By Debra Lordan

The 18th annual Maui Earth Day Festival will be held on Sunday, April 19, 2015, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Keōpūolani Park in Kahului.

Keōpūolani Park, photo by Wendy Osher.Park Amphitheater, behind the Maui Nui Botanical Garden, across from the War Memorial Stadium, in the same favorite location as the last few years.

“We are looking forward to a day of celebrating the Earth, our ʻāina and our Maui ʻohana with two stages of live music, information booths and a silent auction,” said event organizer Bruce Douglas.

The event will include many environmental and social awareness organization members, who will feature their work on Maui.

Booths will provide healthy fare including a healing zone with massage therapists, intuitive healers and body workers.

The main stage can be enjoyed from the natural, grassy amphitheater under the shade of the surrounding trees.

The second stage is inside a 36-foot geodesic dome.

A special, educational, inspirational hour is scheduled after lunch from 2 to 3 p.m. on the main stage with a number of speakers offering six-minute talks about how to co-create a healthy future for Maui–the challenges and solutions.

All keiki are welcome to join in the Keiki Parade at 2 p.m., which will start at the keiki zone. The parade will proceed to the dome, where there will be fun, music and games for the children.

Meanwhile, parents are welcome to attend the educational hour on main stage.

At the end of the hour, keiki will parade back to the main stage, where they will take part in a presentation of their own.

“Earth Day is a great place to meet old friends and make new ones,” said Douglas. “The day promises to be fun-filled as well as educational.”