Let Your Hair Down at the Albany Arts & Green Fest

To paraphrase Jeff Foxworthy, if you live in Albany, you might be an environmentalist. You probably have an opinion or two about , the proposed Whole Foods, and the best use for the Gill Tract. The proposed Lawrence Berkeley Lab expansion may have caused sleepless nights. But once a year, the environmentalists in Albany gather to let their long hair down at the Albany Arts & Green Festival. Sure, the artists will be there too. But they always let their hair down.

The event will take place at its usual Memorial Park location on Sunday, May 6, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The festival features booths hosted by local green organizations with ideas on how to help the planet while saving you money. Learn how to reduce your carbon footprint; connect with local green organizations; discover how your food and lifestyle choices make a difference; get tips on drought-tolerant gardening, raising chickens in your back yard, solar power, and more. And you won’t leave empty-handed – as free bags of compost will be provided.

Let’s not forget the arts - on stage all day will be local youth musicians, singers, and dance groups. Local artists will be showing and selling original works. Kids can decorate the park with chalk. The creative folks from Lawrence Hall of Science will use repurposed materials in fun science, gardening, and art projects for kids.

My personal favorite element of the event is the free or low-cost bike tune-ups provided by and Street Level Cycles. So ride your bike to the festival – there will be free bicycle valet parking! Oh, and there will be free computer and household e-waste collection provided by ACCRC, so bring that old broken DVD player with you too!

Please come on down and join us for some wonderful live entertainment, booths & vendors, hands-on crafts for the kids, and delicious food. The City’s will also have a booth – so please stop by and say hello. I promise I won’t bore you with talk about environmental politics, but would be happy to discuss renewable energy!

This event is brought to you by the City of Albany, the Albany Arts Committee, the Albany Sustainability Committee, the Albany Community Foundation, Albany Strollers & Rollers, Transition Albany, and many other volunteers from our community.