Amid an abundance of sunshine and warm breezes, East Lansing business owners and residents gathered to celebrate the city's annual Earth Day jubilee Sunday afternoon.
Live music, informational booths, poetry readings and environmental crafts filled the block of M.A.C. Avenue between Grand River and Albert avenues, which was blocked off from traffic for the event.
Early Sunday afternoon, Teri Parks, the celebration's coordinator, rushed around from table to table, greeting volunteers and putting the finishing touches on all of the displays.
"I asked Mother Nature to please give us a warmer, nice day, and she complied," Parks said, her arms coated in the glitter used at the crafts table.
Parks, who operates Bohemian Barber, 223 M.A.C. Ave., has organized the event for the past four years. It initially was started years ago by the now out-of-business vegetarian restaurant Small Planet.
The event is funded by donations from area businesses, including a $500 contribution from the Silver Dollar, 3411 E. Michigan Ave. in Lansing.
"It's just about asking and going door-to-door," Parks said. "It's a grassroots approach."
Earth Day, which officially will be celebrated Thursday, was established in the 1970s to promote environmental issues. The worldwide event is now celebrated in 140 nations.
Shannon Brady-Werner, the staff director for the Michigan Consumer Federation, sat at the event behind a table covered in informational handouts and poster board displays.
The group has backed many consumer-rights causes, including establishing the telemarketing "do not call" list last year.
On Sunday, Brady-Werner was advocating the importance of affordable energy, especially the use of wind power.
Informing people about things related to the environment is important, she said.
"The first step is public education," Brady-Werner said. "Our government works best when people get involved in it."
And trying to get people actively involved in politics was exactly what Okemos resident Sally Wallace tried to do at the Earth Day event.
Wallace sold cakes and muffins as part of the MoveOn Bake Sale, an event held throughout the country over the weekend to raise money for anti-President Bush organizations.
All of the proceeds will go to Wallace's group, the Ingham County Volunteers for John Kerry.
"I'm angry about what happened in the last election," she said. "It's about the war and it's about the lies."
A few feet from Wallace's booth, an array of disheveled water bowls rested below a table covered in dog treats.
Butch, a brown and white springer spaniel, took full advantage of the free food as his owner, East Lansing resident Joel Scott, listened to the live music and checked out the informational displays.
"It's partly educational," Scott said of the annual event. "You're exposed to things you're not used to. It's also nice for the community to be out in the nice weather."
