Reno Earth Day Festival — community celebration

Reno’s annual Earth Day festival returned to Idlewild Park on Saturday, April 18, with a full day of exhibits, performances and family activities centered on sustainability. (visitrenotahoe.com) The event ran from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Idlewild Park in Reno, and organizers billed it as a free public celebration of “sustainability, learning, and community.” (ktmb.org) Keep Truckee Meadows Beautiful promoted hands-on activities, educational booths, food and drinks, and water refill stations with reusable cups at the park. (ktmb.org) Tourism officials described Reno Earth Day as an “award-winning, eco-friendly celebration” featuring hundreds of local nonprofits and artisans with products, services and ideas tied to environmental action. (visitrenotahoe.com) Vendor materials set expected attendance at 15,000 people and told applicants that every selling, informational or nonprofit booth had to fit the event’s “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” mission. (eventspecialtiesnv.com) Promotional listings said the festival also included live performances, eco-focused groups, a craft fair and guidance on cutting waste, conserving energy and living more sustainably at home. (stayhappening.com) Great American Craft Fairs, which promotes the event, said Reno Earth Day spreads nearly 300 booths across the park and uses four stages for music and other performances. (greatamericancraftfairs.com) Earth Day itself falls on Wednesday, April 22, and Reno’s festival landed four days earlier, giving local groups a weekend crowd ahead of the national observance. (earthday.org) The Reno gathering has become one of the region’s regular spring outdoor events, using Idlewild Park and the Truckee River setting to turn Earth Day into a public fair as much as an environmental teach-in. (visitrenotahoe.com)