Norwalk Earth Day Festival on the Green

Norwalk’s Earth Day Festival returns to the Green on Saturday, April 25, with a free four-hour program built around climate groups, family activities and local vendors. (norwalkct.gov) City of Norwalk listings say the 5th Annual festival will run from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Norwalk Green, 8 Park St., and will go on rain or shine. (norwalkct.gov) Visit Norwalk says the event is expected to draw thousands of residents and will include more than 75 exhibitors and vendors, plus live music, food trucks, speakers and a “Trashion” show. (visitnorwalk.org) The Norwalk River Valley Trail is using the festival as one stop in a wider Earth Day weekend across its corridor, which links Norwalk, Wilton, Redding, Ridgefield and Danbury. The trail group says the greenway is planned to stretch about 38 miles when complete. (nrvt-trail.com 1) (nrvt-trail.com 2) That gives the Norwalk event a second role beyond a town festival: it also serves as a public entry point to the region’s trail network, with organizers urging visitors to pair the afternoon program with a walk, bike ride or roll on the Norwalk section. (nrvt-trail.com) The Norwalk section itself is already a 5.6-mile hard-surface linear park, according to the trail organization, connecting waterfront and downtown segments through places including Calf Pasture Beach, the Maritime Aquarium area, Oyster Shell Park and Union Park. (nrvt-trail.com) School district and tourism listings describe the Earth Day gathering as family-friendly and free, with children’s activities and environmental groups alongside the entertainment lineup. (norwalkps.org) (ctvisit.com) For Norwalk, the pitch is simple: show up at the Green on April 25, spend an afternoon with local environmental groups and neighbors, and, if the weather holds, keep the day going on the trail a few blocks away. (norwalkct.gov) (nrvt-trail.com)