McAllen Hosts 2010 Earth Day Festival, Vida Verde, April 17

The City of McAllen hosts 2010 Earth Day Festival, Vida Verde, on April 17th, from 9 am to 4 pm, at Quinta Mazatlan, in McAllen.

The annual Earth Day Festival is a celebration of the Rio Grande Valley’s environmental community. The festival provides many educational opportunities highlighting the areas successes and challenges.
The festival has increased in popularity each year with more entertaining shows and educational booths. Manager, Colleen Hook states, "We are excited to host this festival as it give us an opportunity to reach out to our community and to share the benefits of all our city programs related to the environment."
This year, the festival will feature the winner of the art contest, Frank De La Rosa, fourth grade teacher at John H. Shary Elementary. De La Rosa’s design best celebrated the theme of the festival, VIDA VERDE or "Living Green".

Entertainment

• Live Birds of Prey Show with Jonathan Woods
• Live Reptile Adventures with Danny Conner
• Music in the Park
  • Eco-Elvis from Missouri
  • Ensamble la Mision from Brownsville
  • And other Earth Day Music
• Eco-Fashion Show by students from UTPA
• Theatre on the Trails "Creatures of the Thornforest"

Exhibits

• McAllen Parks and Recreation
  • Hike and Bike Trails --Where and How Far
  • Game "Aim t
  • Recycle" Plastic Bottles
  • Scavenger Hunt on the Trail "World of Birds"
• McAllen Public Works
  • Keep McAllen Beautiful– Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
  • Composting – Compost Your Garden
  • Recycled Glass Pulverized – Walk on Recycled Glass
  • Urban Forestry – Plant and Care For Healthy Trees
• McAllen International Airport
  • Workplace Recycling of Cardboard and Paper
• McAllen Transit
  • Public transit opportunities
  • Bus for visitors t
  • tour with "McFun Passes"
• McAllen Public Utilities
  • Water Conservation Exhibit
• McAllen Library System
  • Kids Nature Book Nook
• McAllen Public Information Office
  • Going Green--Success Stories
• Sierra Cool Cities
• Resaca de la Palma State Park
• Hidalgo County Extension Agency
• Caterpillar Caregiver by Mary Thorne
• Arroyo Colorado Watershed Partnership
• Native Plant Sale by Mike Heep
• Making Recycled Paper by STC Biology Club
• Texas Plant and Soil Lab
• Plus many more!

Experts Speaker Topics

• Design a Wildlife Garden PLUS PLANT SALE
• How to Plant and Prune a Tree
• Recycling – What goes where?
• Design a LEED Building/Home – Leader in Energy & Environmental Design
• Raising Caterpillars
• Cooking with Native Plants
• Mile Long Trail "Walk through Time"

Eco-Art for All Ages

• Newspaper Hats
• Coffee Painting
• Take-Home Planters
• Hummingbird Drawing Classes

Art Exhibits

• Santiago Family "According to Nature"
• Daniel Adams "Watercolors in Nature"
• MISD "Recycled Art" Outdoors

The VIDA VERDE Earth Day Festival is brought to you by the City of McAllen and sponsored by the McAllen Chamber of Commerce, Magic Valley Electric Cooperative, KVEO Channel 23, The Monitor, Chick-fil-A, Valley Memorial Gardens and CopyZone plus many other generous donors.

This year celebrates the 40th anniversary of Earth Day. Established in 1970, Earth Day is now the largest secular holiday in the world celebrated by over one billion people. Celebrate Earth Day at Quinta Mazatlan in McAllen, Saturday, April 17th, 9 am to 4 pm. For more information please visit www.quintamazatlan.com or call (956) 681-3370.