The Recycling and Waste Reduction District of Porter County is hosting its 10th annual Northwest Indiana Earth Day Celebration this weekend.
The event is from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday in the Main Expo, Expo East and 4-H buildings of the Porter County Expo Center, 215 E. Division Road. Admission and parking are free.
The event features a new “Re-Think Art” competition and exhibit with artwork made of 100 percent recycled materials, dozens of exhibitors, two stages of entertainment and education, a bike drive for the benefit of Working Bikes, the Great Cloth Diaper Change for the Guinness Book of World Records sponsored by Mothering by Nature and alternative-fuel vehicle displays.
The main stage schedule includes Silly Safaris live animal shows, music and fun with Dumpster Drummers, and games and prizes with the Lake County Solid Waste Management Green Team.
Additional learning opportunities on the small 4-H building stage include seminars about vermicomposting, repurposing, beekeeping, renewable energy and the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore Fire Management program featuring Smokey Bear.
Visitors also can bring old and unusable bikes and bike parts to Earth Day for a Bike Drive to benefit Working Bikes, an organization that donates used bicycles to those in need in developing countries and in low-income communities in Chicago. The first 20 bicycle donors will receive $50 off new Trek bicycles through Trek Bicycle Store in Schererville.
Additional highlights of the celebration include Build Your Own Birdhouse with Boy Scout Troop 907, rides in NIPSCO’s electric car, free reusable bags to the first 300 families, tree saplings for completed event surveys, yoga at noon with the Lotus Center and a “bingo” game for a chance to win Trek bicycles and other prizes.
The third annual school/class rain barrel design contest will be judged at the celebration. Thirty barrels from schools throughout Northwest Indiana will be on display, vying to win the grand prizes of classroom scholarships, sponsored by Bucher Construction. All Earth Day attendees can vote on their favorite rain barrels.
Suzie’s Cafe & Catering and Le Fountain Health Institute will supply food.
For a complete listing of programs and exhibitors, visit the Recycling and Waste Reduction District of Porter County’s website, http://www.ItMeanstheWorld.org or call (219) 465-3819 for more information.
The 2015 Northwest Indiana Earth Day Celebration is supported by the following sponsors: NIPSCO, Metro Recycling, Northern Indiana Regional Planning Commission, Duneland 28, Pratt Industries, Lakeshore Public Television and others.
— Post-Tribune
