EcoFest Music!

Check out the music line-up for EcoFest here!

EcoFest Events @ Cherry Building

All day:

• BOOK SALE – Friends of the Library
• Ceramics Center
• Hearthstone Gifts
• Illuminations
  

  Planting Seeds
  Water Bottle Rattles
  Reduscyclified Creations

At noon:
Safe Cleaning Products: It’s time to start our spring house cleaning and it’s also time to ditch all of those toxic cleaning products. Come and learn how simple and inexpensive ingredients can help you safely clean your home. An instruction sheet with recipes will also be handed out. Location: Hearthstone Gifts & Supplies (Suite 126 in the Cherry Building).

At 1:30:
Soy Wax Candle Making Demonstration: Did you know that you can make a soy wax candle in your microwave in about 5 minutes? Soy wax also cleans up with soap and water so you can reuse your candle containers over and over. Free soy wax tealights will be handed out. Location: Hearthstone Gifts & Supplies (Suite 126 in the Cherry Building).

Learning Stations

Stop by at least six of these stations, get “stamped”, and be eligible for a prize! (Prize drawings at conclusion of event. You do not need to be present to win.)

Cedar Rapids Linn County Solid Waste Agency

• Recycling Do’s and Don’ts

City of Cedar Rapids

• Stormwater Management Trailer
• iGreen CR Activities

Czech Village/New Bohemia Main Street (at the Firehouse)

Soilmates – Composting

Green Iowa Americorps – Home Energy Efficiency

Hibu YellowBook – Origami art from recycled phone books

Iowa Department of Natural Resources

Iowa Renewable Energy Association (I-RENEW) – Solar Traveler

Linn County Conservation and Indian Creek Nature Center

• Nature Play Area

New Bo Art Bikes (Matyk Building)

New Bo Books

ReStore

• Paint / decorate recycled tiles
• Decorate recycled fan blades
• Create garden candles out of recycled materials

Rockwell Collins

EcoFest events @ CSPS

Kick-off reception/fashion show, film fest, concert…

This year’s CSPS-based Eco-Fest events include a kick-off reception/fashion show, a film fest, a concert and eco-centric exhibits.

Kick-off reception/fashion show, April 19, 7 pm
Eco-Fest 2013 begins  with a stylish bang Friday, April 19 at 7 pm as Legion Arts convenes a reception in the CSPS Carlo bar with goodies and an open bar. Then at 8 pm, New York artist/fashion designer Melissa Lockwood, with a little help from local models, shows off the recycled fashions that have been causing such a stir in New York fashion and art circles. Melissa, a Cedar Rapids native, transforms fabric discarded by the garment industry into dresses, T-shirts, etc, often enlivening them with her own hand-drawn art. A self-taught fashion designer, Melissa holds an MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts from the University of Iowa. Her CSPS exhibit in the Club Room Gallery runs through April 28.

Eco Film Festival, April 20, 10 am – 6pm
A festival of short eco-films will run Saturday, April 20, from 10 am to 6 pm in C Space. Ranging from a one-minute meditation on a childhood memory of bees to a 30-minute film about ecological accounting, the program will run twice. The series originated at EarthDance, “the short attention-span environmental film festival” in San Francisco. At 5 pm, the documentary The Greenest Building will be screened. This acclaimed film examines the ecological benefits of restoring existing and historic buildings.

Concert by David Berkley, April 20, 8 pm
Called “the best of the young American songwriters” by The Boston Phoenix, David Berkeley will play CSPS on Saturday, April 20 at 8 pm as part of Eco-Fest. Tickets are $12 in advance and $15 at the door. A committed environmentalist, David will weave in a few of his favorite eco-flavored tunes and spin some of the stories for which he is so well-known. David has appeared on “This American Life,” “Mountain Stage,” “Daytrotter” and “World Café.” Advance tickets can be purchased at www.legionarts.org or by calling 319-364-1580.

Eco artists
Abstract painting on thrift store shirts….a video about a consumer culture junkyard …. paintings culled directly from the earth….it’s all part of the ecologically focused exhibits showing as part of Eco-Fest in the CSPS galleries. Des Moines’ TJ Moberg uses recycled paint and objects in his bright painting collages, while Fort Dodge’s Madai Taylor creates his works from the dirt of local fields and the red earth of the Mississippi Delta where he grew up. Royal Jarmon, Cedar Rapids, paints on thrift store shirts and Kansas City video artist Barry Anderson’s work in the digital gallery is a slow-rolling tour of pop culture idols.

CSPS is located at 1103 Third St. SE, Cedar Rapids. Legion Arts, an artist-run nonprofit, has programmed CSPS Hall with art, music, theater, dance and film since 1992. The organization purchased CSPS following the flood of 2008 and gathered over $8 million in funding to restore and expand the 120-year-old former Czech social hall. For more info call 319-364-1580 or visit www.legionarts.org.

EcoFest 2013

EcoFest Vendors

The list of vendors for this year’s EcoFest is really growing! Check out some of your favorites that will be at the festival!

• Illuminations
• Juice Plus/Tower Garden
• Fraulein and the Fossil
• Norwex
• Iowa Climate Advocates
• Evergreen Packaging, Inc
• Iowa Valley Food Co-op
• Trees Forever
• Mt. Mercy Communication Program
• Prairiewoods
• Sierra Club
• The Tapestry
• Blue Butterfly Designs
• Slavic Dragon Creative
• IRENEW (Iowa Renewable Energy Association)
• RJ Solar Construction

Sneak Peek!

City of Cedar Rapids – iGreenCR

A variety of activities and information available to engage kids of all ages!

CleanUpCR

• Indoor Litterball. Putting litter in its place
• Which Bin? 30 seconds to sort their garbage, recycling, and compostables into the correct bin
• Reuse Beads. Make beads out of strips of magazines

Water Wise

• Fix the faucet. Learn how easy it is to fix a leaky faucet
• How much water is leaking? This activity to demonstrate how much water can be wasted by a leaky fixture

Bike CR/Transit

• How do you get there? Highlighting the interconnectivity of our bike paths and bus lines, participants will be given a starting and stopping location and they need to figure out how to get from point A to point B without using a car.

Parks & Gardens

• Create a Mural. A piece of paper will be taped to the table with the words: “What do you love about your Cedar Rapids Park?” Crayons will be available for people to draw what they love about their favorite CR Park. The mural will be hung up in Ambroze Recreation Center after EcoFest.

Energy Management – Light Box an activity to help us learn how to save energy in our home


Stormwater Management – An outdoor educational trailer that demonstrates stormwater runoff on different surfaces.

iGreenCR Trivia Game – Contestants roll a die with different elements of iGreenCR on each face and are asked a trivia question about the element that comes up.

Rockwell Collins Learning Station will highlight the company’s social responsibility efforts, including the Environmental, Safety and Health team and the company’s Green Workplace Community of Practice.  Learn about our work in:

• Reuse and recycling, through our recycling relationship with Goodwill Industries
• Active, healthy living, via the Rockwell Collins Bicycling Community and national “Bike to Work Week”
• Urban farming, through our new C Avenue employee volunteer garden and partnership with Feed Iowa First

Czech Village/New Bohemia Main Street District

• Interactive Learning Station - hands-on demonstrations on how you can complete small renovation projects in your historic home or business.
• Architectural Scavenger Hunt – Identify the location of the architectural details in the photographs of buildings from the Czech Village/New Bohemia Main Street District. Correct entries will be entered to win a prize.

• Architectural Walking Tour – Join neighborhood experts on a tour of the Czech Village/New Bohemia Main Street District’s historic architecture.

Environmental Film Festival – CSPS “C Space” on first level (enter via side alley off 3rd Street)

• The Greenest Building will be shown at 5pm, between the architectural walking tours
• Earth Dance Films – a series of “shorts”

Kids Nature Play Area

• Children will be able to interact with natural items such as tree blocks, pine cones and other natural materials to actively explore fun with nature.  They can spend some time searching for “urban nature” in areas around the table using magnifying glasses. They can also be introduced to some native plants and animals through pictures and hands on activities, furs and bones. Supervised by staff of the Indian Creek Nature Center and Wickiup Hill Outdoor Learning Center.

Make Your Own Dream Catcher

• Create your own personalized dream catcher made from local, recycled and hand-made items. (Prairiewoods Franciscan Spirituality Center)

Solar Energy Demonstration

• The Iowa Renewable Energy Association will be on hand with their solar traveler and information about solar energy, training and investments.

EcoVendor Area, in New Bo Market

• Enjoy the variety of handmade products from recycled materials, available from local craft vendors, and learn about the services and volunteer opportunities of area non-profit organizations

New Bo Market Kirkwood Kitchen Food Demonstration Sessions:

Pre-registration is required for these classes through Kirkwood. For online registration click here or call 319-398-1022. Fee is $10 per class.

Knockout Organic Hors d’oeuvres 12:15 – 1:15pm

• Make Cheddar Cheese Gougeres (Cheese Puffs), sweet and spicy Bacon-wrapped Chicken Bites, and Roasted Baby Tomatoes with spring greens and garlic rubbed foccocia part of your spring and summer party menu. In this demonstration class, you’ll learn to make these three easy, delicious, and wildly popular appetizers. Samples will be served.

It’s Easy Being Green 1:30 to 2:30pm

• Pomegranate, Balsamic-Basil Pesto, and Spicy Orange Vinaigrettes; Couscous, Fruits, and Organic Greens! Salad is more than ranch dressing and lettuce mix from a bag. “It’s Easy Being Green” is a demo based class featuring a few salads to consider before planting your organic victory garden this year. Samples and recipes will be provided.

Super Smoothies 2:45 – 3:45pm

• Smoothies are a popular, portable, and healthy way to fill up. In this demonstration class, you’ll learn how to make a Strawberry smoothie with chia seeds, a lemon basil smoothie that doubles as a cocktail, and the “Green Drink” that Dr. Oz made famous.

New Bo Books

Books, readings and children’s activities oriented toward nature and conservation will be featured.

Water Tower Place Green Roof Tour

Learn the technology and benefits of planting green roofs from the first one in Cedar Rapids.

NewBo Bikes

NewBo Bikes will host an open house during EcoFest. Guests can tour the shop, view an ArtBikes slide show, watch our mechanics restore/salvage/recycle used bikes, and create bike part art. We will also accept bike donations through-out the day.

• The NewBo Collective is a non-profit bike cooperative dedicated to recycling and re-purposing used bikes and parts. We offer classes in bike maintenance, saftey, salvage and design. We offer low-cost, transportation alternatives to Cedar Rapids residents seeking a healthier, greener Cedar Rapids. NewBo bikes is located in the Matyk Building at 1029 3rd Street, SE in the heart of new Bohemia.

And more to come! Keep visiting this website for additional details!

Good Green Fun!

Start marking your calendars now! Eco-Fest 2013 is right around the corner and there are some great activities planned!

Bottleworks Green Roof Tour

Eco Market

Film Festival

Interactive Demonstration and Displays

DNR Demo Trailer

Historic Walking Tours

Eco-Inspired Cooking Demos at the Kirkwood NewBo Kitchen

Art Activities

Architectural Scavenger Hunt

Vendors, Artists, Displays, Food and more to come!!

EcoFest 2013

The 2013 EcoFest is coming!

Saturday, April 20th along 3rd Street SE in the NewBo area!

Good Green Fun is Eastern Iowa’s premier Earth Day celebration. This family-friendly festival includes interactive art and educational activities, eco-product and eco-practice demonstrations, entertainment, health and fitness challenges, and fun ways to learn to reduce and reuse personal and household items. This event helps us connect our personal choices to community and planetary sustainability.