The Grey to Green festival celebrated its sixth year and was held in Wick Park and at the First Unitarian Universalist Church on Youngstown’s North Side. The festival will be free and open to the public. The Grey to Green Festival is organized by a coalition of community organizations and environmental groups. The festival includes a fun-filled day of family activities, exhibits, events and a “gre
en vending zone” where citizens from the region and the city can learn about the significant opportunities in the green economy and how to improve their overall quality of life by implementing green practices into daily life.
• Wick Park will be transformed into a “green world” for the festival.
• The park there will be exhibits about alternative sources of energy, transportation, local organic food production and importance of being a locavore.
• There will also be information about recycling, the importance of trees and green space in carbon offsetting, as well as numerous educational exhibits about keeping our world cleaner and safer for all of us.
• Recreate (a non –profit group that encourages the recycling of building and household goods and materials) will set up an area for drop off of unused items and participants may also take items that they would like home with them.
• A Green Market for purchasing a variety of organic, recycled products and products that makes our community and our world more sustainable.
• A children’s area where children may be dropped off while their parents enjoy the festival. The children will be under supervision of staff and the Green Fairy, and will engage in numerous fun and exciting learning activities.
• Entertainment will be provided throughout the park
• Organic Food will be available for purchase from the Farmers Market and vendors. One of the overriding goals of the festival is to “walk our talk” and provide an example of how events can be “green” and produce very little waste. This event is solution –oriented – participants can engage in activities meant to enable them to immediately make changes to conserve water or energy and engage in other sustainable practices. Marketing and promotional materials will use double sided printing on recyclable paper. Letters and materials sent to participants will clearly state our expectation for environmentally sound policies. Food Service providers will sell products that come in recyclable, little, or no packaging. Excess food will be donated to charitable organizations. Attendees will be encouraged to bring their own bags or purchase one of the festivals reusable bags to be sold as a fundraiser for Wick Park. This is a not-for-profit festival and there is no charge for admission. We are currently seeking help from sponsors to cover the costs of putting on the festival. The Grey to Green Festival Committee believes your sponsorship is a key to our success because of your involvement in the community and your efforts to promote sustainability through example, mission, or product. We believe that the participants at the festival are among your target audiences. The Grey to Green Festival invites organizations that support our objectives to join us in helping produce a unique community oriented event. Sponsorship provides you, your organization or business with enhanced visibility among those who attend the festival as well as to a much larger audience before and after the event. Sponsor names will be featured in all Grey to Green Festival materials. The prominence of the listing will increase as sponsorship levels increase. For further information please contact the organizers. If you are interested in vending please contact the organizers for information and materials.
