Irish Spring Earth Day Fest

On Sunday, April 22 from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. everything from earthworm and food composting, zero waste zones and recycled auto windshield art to champion Irish dancers and Irish potatoes will be sharing the spotlight during this new event.

Three Irish dance schools will take center stage with shows all day, starting at 10 a.m. Nearly 100 dancers, many of them world champions, will perform jigs, reels, and soft and hard shoe numbers while donning their academy’s distinctive colorful costumes.… Show more The Claddagh School of Irish Dancing from Lake Forest performs at 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. followed by the Aniar Academy of Irish Dance from Laguna Niguel at Noon and 1 p.m. Butler-Fearon O’Connor School of Irish Dance in Mission Viejo will round out the Festival dancing at 2 p.m. and 3p.m.

Gourmet food trucks will offer Irish bill of fare along with their regular menu items including corned beef fries from Spudrunners, Irish potatoes by Flavor Rush and corned beef and cabbage tacos from Barcelona on the Go. Tropical Shave Ice will have an Earth Day Special. Elsewhere green beer and green lemonade will be available, along with green mint ice cream.

Other entertainment includes Abbit the Average Leprechaun’s Recycled Magic and Comedy, Stilt Walking Celtic Tree, free face painting by Mother Nature, and pianist Sebastian Sidi performing classical new age influenced music.

Among the eco-friendly vendors will be featured artist William Stell of Lakewood who creates wall hangings, furniture and other pieces from recycled auto windshield glass. Fiber art, paper jewelry and other eco-crafting will be offered.

Of significance and its unique tie to the Emerald Isle is the Plastic Bag Drive which encourages attendees to bring and donate their plastic bags to be used for crocheting purposes, reusable bags and sleeping mats for the homeless.

According to many sources including a 2008 article in the New York Times by Elisabeth Rosenthal, Ireland was the first country to take a strong stand against the use of plastic bags, and develop a tax on them, which was in 2002. This resulted in an almost immediate 94% drop in plastic bag use in Ireland after the tax was effective and set the standard for other countries to follow suit.

In lieu of donating the plastic bags at the Festival, you can bring your cache and can learn how to make jump ropes and other crafts with them.

A host of other eco activities and educational opportunities will be presented by Earth Resource Foundation, a non profit organization that teaches people how to integrate environmental responsibility where they live, work and play.

Subjects covered through the use of interactive displays, games, booths and mini stage presentations include worm/vermin-composting, food composting, zero waste zones, native plants, electric cars, solar panels, recycling, green jobs and education, eco-youth clubs and organizations, protecting wildlife and reusable products.

Alan Piercy of ENRECOS/Vermi Pro will show simple ways for composting using earth worms and the products required to start and maintain the process.

Also, many activities will be geared towards educating children including green games and crafts; interactive gardening, seed planting, eco tips and songs with Astrid Strudelman aka the Unicorn Whisperer. An Eco-Friendly Scavenger Hunt will have kids looking for Market Place vendors who sell green products and eco-friendly items topped off with receiving a prize at journey’s end.

The Earth Resource Foundation booth will serve as the grand central location for donating plastic bottles. Whether from use during the Festival or brought from home, the Foundation will accept plastic recyclable bottles, which helps the organization reap funds to support their mission. Anyone who donates will be entered into a drawing to win eco-friendly prizes.

The Irish Spring Earth Day Fest activities and entertainment are included in the swap meet general admission, which is $2, or will be waived with a canned food donation to benefit the Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County. Children 12 and under are free.

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