Wilton's Go Green Festival Is This Sunday

Celebrate sustainable living and the Earth's incredible bounty at the 4th annual Wilton Go Green Festival on May 4th. Live music, delicious food, wildlife ambassadors, electric cars, children's activities, and more than 60 craftsmen and exhibitors will gather around the Town Green and Library for what promises to be an exciting day of discovery, entertainment and family fun.

Festivities begin Sunday morning with the sixth annual Where the Wild Things Run, sponsored by Woodcock Nature Center. The 5K course traverses WNC's bucolic preserve over 90% groomed trails,
and 10% rugged terrain, narrow bridges, and boardwalks, highlighting the ecological diversity and beauty of the nature center's property. Runners, joggers and walkers of all ages are welcome (no strollers, please).

Preceding the race, kids can enjoy their own fun run through the nature center's waterfall trail and over a bridge. Runners receive complementary trail cookie medals and T-shirts. Registration for both runs opens at 7:30AM at Woodcock Nature Center, 56 Deer Run Road, Wilton, (203) 762-7280. Register online at www.woodcocknaturecenter.org by May 1st and receive a $5 discount off of the $30 adult and $15 child (ages 13 and under) registration fee. The kids' fun run begins at 8:30AM followed by the 5K at 9:00AM.

Later in the morning, follow the strains of music, laughter and joyful chatter to Wilton Town Green and the Library parking lots as the festival officially gets underway at 11:00AM with live performances, May Pole dancing and creative children's activities, delicious food, fabulous green shopping, and exhibitors eager to share their knowledge of energy conservation, building, transportation, recycling, and sustainable living.

Exciting new participants join past favorites, including Atka, the beautiful Artic gray wolf who will be on hand from 1:00-2:00PM. An ambassador from the Wolf Conservation Center, Atka has inspired and educated hundreds of people about the vial role that wild wolves play in the environment and our role in protecting their future. Sponsored by Deloitte, Atka's presence at this year's festival reinforces the importance of our shared responsibility for the well being of our planet and all who inhabit it.

Woodcock Nature Center's professional naturalists will introduce festival-goers to several of the center's native and exotic wildlife, such as frogs, salamanders. turtles, lizards, and snakes. "At WNC, we're dedicated to reconnecting people of all ages to the natural wonders that exist in their own backyards," says Executive Director, Henryk Teraszkiewicz. "Outdoor exposure leads to healthier lives today, and appreciation of the outdoors leads to a healthier environment tomorrow."

Live music will fill the air throughout the day as Wilton bands and soloists perform on stage in front of the library, including the acoustic band Grey Rocks, jazz quartet The Four, soloists Carter Vail and Peter McDowell, and Arthur Lipner's Wilton Steel.

Skinny Pines Pizza will serve up tempting, wood-fired brick oven pies using seasonally sourced ingredients while The Stand offers delicious fare made with the freshest organic, sustainable and ethically sourced ingredients. Those yearning for something more decadent, can wander over to Ben's Ice Cream Truck and indulge in premium treats by Ben & Jerry's, Klondike, Good Humor, Popsicle and others.

At 11:00AM, the Westport Electric Car Club will visit the festival with dozens of gleaming, energy efficient vehicles, including several Teslas. Clear out your garage, bring those magazines and newspapers piled up in the corner to the City Carting Shredding Truck between 11:00PM and 2:00PM and jump-start your spring cleaning. No charge from shredding!

Children's activities abound with face painting, a recycling creation station, games, and an authentic May Pole song and dance from 2:00PM—3:00PM, courtesy of Apple Blossom School and Family Center.

Special ceremonies beginning at 11:30AM include opening remarks and a check presentation to the Norwalk River Valley Trail, courtesy of the Wilton Energy Challenge, HE-Energy Solutions, New England Smart Energy, and Next Step Living. This year, the festival will be a fully green event, matching its energy use with renewables, thanks to Northeast Clean Power. Later in the day, the Wilton Tree Committee will honor Alice Levin at a Tree Steward Award Presentation in the Wilton Library's Brubeck Courtyard from 3:00PM –4:00PM.

"Watching the festival evolve over the past four years has been thrilling," said Bertkau. "The growing response from exhibitors, business in town and visitors is a real testament to people's desire to live more conscious, sustainable lifestyles. This year's festival promises to be our most exciting yet, chock-full of terrific resources, educational discoveries, entertainment and activities for people of all ages."

Incorporated in 2010, Wilton Go Green is a 501(c)(3) created by a group of citizens eager to engage the community in sustainable initiatives. The organization began as a committee of the Wilton Energy Commission charged with orchestrating the town's first energy fair. Sharing a passion for conservation and sustainability, the committee spun off from the Wilton Energy Commission to establish Wilton Go Green, Inc. The group's goal is to develop a wide range of sustainability initiatives in cooperation with the Town and other area nonprofits.

To learn more about Wilton Go Green, ways to become involved in local sustainability efforts, and how to participate in and get the most enjoyment from the festival, visit wiltongogreen.org .

 

The festival is co-hosted by the Wilton Library and made possible thanks in great part to its sponsors:

Emerald
Deloitte

Gold
Clean Energy Finance and investment Authority (CEFIA): Community Innovations Grant Ring's End

Silver
Apple Blossom School
Bankwell in Wilton
Next Step Living
Nod Hill Soap
Realty Seven
Winters Brothers Waste Systems, CT Stop & Shop

Media
Good Morning Wilton Star 99.9
95.9 The Fox

W
Submitted by Wilton, CT

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