Music could be heard up and down East Lansing’s streets Sunday as the city celebrated Earth Day with local bands, activities and a visit from Mother Nature at the Ann Street Plaza.
“It wasn’t that hard,” said Teri Parks, owner of Bohemian Barber, 223 M.A.C. Ave., about planning an East Lansing Earth Day celebration in just six weeks. “It’s just a different theme than anything else I’ve done.”
The Earth Day celebration, which used to be a regular event led by Vaughn Snyder - who owned Small Planet Food and Spirits - ended when the restaurant and bar closed last summer.
“We are calling it the ‘Resurrection Bash,’” she said. “Because there hasn’t been an Earth Day event for a couple of years.”
Parks and others got donations from 25 local businesses and enlisted the help of three local bands - Under Construction, Numeric and The Flow - to play at the event.
The crowd of nearly 100 gathered around the stage, clapping and dancing to the music - there was even a cardboard mat laid out for those who wanted to break-dance.
“Next year we are going to make it an even bigger event,” Parks said. “We are going to put the parade back in it.”
In between bands, “Mother Nature” herself, dressed in a long black and red dress with an olive wreath with ribbons perched on her hair, took to the stage with a special Earth Day message for the crowd.
“It is music to my ears,” she said, “when I hear recycling going on, fresh air and clean water.
“We need to be part of the fight and keep our Earth clean for our grandchildren.”
The event also had environmental booths set up to tell visitors about organizations and how to help the environment.
“We are here to remind the community that there are so many Earth Day activities we can do every day,” said Patrick Hudson, executive director of Urban Options, an East Lansing-based environmental group.
Twichell’s Cleaner and Tailors, 221 M.A.C. Ave., Hill of Beans Cafe & Tea house, 910 Elmwood Drive in Lansing, and SoBe beverage company came out to show their support for Earth Day.
Meesung Lee, owner of Twichell’s, said the cleaner uses biodegradable and nontoxic solutions.
“We are emphasizing the health and the environment,” she said. “We have to invest more money, but it is better for the Earth.”
Many MSU students came out to hear the bands play and check out the booths.
“This is a great idea, they should do it every Sunday,” nursing junior Joe Nelson said. “We came to see the bands - we are pretty serious music lovers.”
And for children who came out to partake in the Earth Day festivities, a table was set up with paint, glitter, stickers and hard hats.
“The hard hats are for the kids to decorate and they get prizes,” Parks said. “It makes light of all the construction going on downtown.”
Eric Denby, owner of East Lansing-based Awakened Entertainment, helped set up the entertainment for the celebration and was happy with the success of the event.
“We got the crowd and ages we wanted, all the way from 3 months to 80 years old,” he said. “The community needs to come together and do more for Earth Day.”
