Earth Day Festival planned at Bedford Village Memorial Park

By JEFF MORRIS 

This year’s Earth Day celebration in Bedford is Sunday, April 26, with a festival co-sponsored by Bedford Recreation & Parks and Bedford 2030.

Taking place from noon to 4 p.m. at Bedford Village Memorial Park, the vibe is being promoted as a combo of “fresh coffee, melty pizza, street tacos, cold local beer, and ice cream in hand while live rock music drifts through the park.”

Everyone is invited to dig into gardening with local experts, browse sustainably made goods, explore textile recycling and electric vehicles, and discover practical ways to live greener, at what Bedford 2030 is calling “an Earth Day celebration rooted in joy and action.”

Food offerings are a big part of the day. There will be coffee from The Taiguey Company, which bills itself as “crafted in the Bronx, brewed for the world.” Plant-based tacos are from Paradise Taqueria, just over the Hudson in Orangeburg, whose popular items include Taquitos De Birria, Esquites, and Queso Birria with broth.

Clear the palate with a second course: a compostable cup of vanilla ice cream with cookie dough on top, from Jimmy’s Soft Serve. 

Then try a whole pie of veggie Pizza Napoletana from Pizza Vitale Truck, making authentic Pizza Napoletana in a wood fired oven on wheels. Wash it down with a locally brewed Liquid Gold Belgian beer from Elmsford’s Captain Lawrence Brewing Company. 

To finish things off, sample some American Herbal Tea — and learn how to grow your own, and try green smoothies from Plant-Based Treaty.

Kids will have tons of fun, between a bounce house, face painting, rescue animals, and a petting zoo. Everywhere you turn, there will be something to taste, try, or learn. 

Activities include Puppy Cuddles, with adoptable dogs from SPCA Westchester; goats, guinea pigs and bunnies from Blue Barn Rescue; Earth Day-inspired face paint by Creative Face Painting; wild and wolfy crafts and games from South Salem’s Wolf Conservation Center; and eco-education for budding naturalists with The Rewilding School.

Author Kathryn LaCombe will be on hand with copies of “A Rescue Feast” for sale. It’s a children’s picture book about food rescue, community, and caring for the planet. 

Additionally, participants will have an opportunity to get down to the roots — literally — with Bedford 2030 Rooted Solutions coaches helping to identify native versus invasive plants, and can then join them for a native ground-cover installation at 2 p.m.. There will also be an Arbor Day tree planting in the park by the town of Bedford at 1 p.m.

More opportunities will come with gardening experts from Healthy Yards, Rusticus Garden Club, and Plan It Wild, and eco-landscaping techniques from Organic Ways & Means and Mill River Supply. And you can learn how to plant your own microgreens and create a sustainable food system right in your kitchen with Middle Earth Microgreens.

More planting opportunities will come with native seeds and starter plants for amateur, expert, and chaos gardeners. 

More activities and exhibits include bird trivia and a raffle from Bedford Audubon; building a forest filter out of natural materials with Teatown Lake Reservation; plant seedlings will be on display courtesy of Wild Woods Restoration Project; and the Bedford Wetlands Commission will have a mosquito quiz!

With gas prices rising, it’s an ideal time to check out the EV car expo, with the Sierra EV and giveaways from GMC Bedford Hills; see the Hyundai IONIQ 5; and explore ways to keep your old car with EV conversions from Inductive Autoworks.

Much more will be going on as well, with home health questions answered by Bedford 2030’s energy coach; home energy trivia and an energy-efficient dollhouse from Sustainable Westchester; an energy experiment station from Renewal by Andersen showing sunlight in action; and heat-signature Polaroids of your face that you can hang on your fridge, from Healthy Home Energy & Consulting.

Meanwhile, the Fox Lane Green Team is partnering with Helpsy to collect and properly recycle textile waste. Bring any fabric scraps you have lying around to dispose of at the festival. The New York League of Conservation Voters will be on hand with activist games and resources. And Westchester Alliance for Sustainable Solutions will have kids’ games and compost examples. 

There will be plenty of entertainment provided by Whirlwind, an eclectic acoustic trio playing oldies and goodies from 12:30 to 2 p.m., and the School of Rock Band playing from 2:30 to 4 p.m.

The rain date is Sunday, May 3.