Valerie Cassity - Special to the Sun

California State University Bakersfield (CSUB) held their 18th annual Earth Day celebration last Saturday, April 26, at the CSUB amphitheater as part of a day-long, campus-wide open house event called Celebrate CSUB, in which a variety of eclectic activities were planned throughout the campus to showcase the many aspects of the college.

The Earth Day celebration lasted from 9-2 p.m. and the warm sunny weather brought out many families, students, and local residents to peruse the many booths working in a variety of ways to create a more sustainable environment. The Bakersfield Earth Day festivals began in 1990, when the Kern Valley’s own Alison Sheehey, along with Carol Raupp of Bakersfield, thought that there should be an event to celebrate the planet’s diversity. 'It’s a perfect day to celebrate the earth,' said Raupp, who still organizes the festival each year, as she stroked the head of a small kitten she had rescued that morning.

Crowds gathered at Cal State Bakersfield for the school’s Earth Day celebration April 26.

There were over 50 exhibitors at the celebration, including Bakersfield Association for Retarded Citizens (BARC), who provided a mobile paper shredder for personal documents; Bakersfield Bodyworks and Massage Supplies; Bill Wright Toyota, which brought a Prius and hybrid Camry so that people could explore the vehicles; and Blue Sky Partners, a coalition which includes: American Lung Association, Bike Bakersfield, Golden Empire Transit (GET), Kern Council of Governments (KernCOG), Kern Regional Transit, Project Clean Air, & San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District (SJVAPCD). Kern County Pagan Pride had a lively booth where children of all ages could decorate faerie houses, get an energy healing, have their faerie oracle cards read, or learn how to create a faerie garden; donations from the event will go towards the group putting on a Kern County Pagan Pride Celebration in September.

Several CSUB Departments had educational and fundraising booths set up, as well, including the English Department, which had a game where children could identify animals from pictures and then find ways to describe the animal; Facility for Animal Care and Treatment (FACT), the Filipino-American Student Organization and Indigenous Native American Club sold lunches to hungry festival-goers, Kappa Delta Nu and Psi Chi Club, Psychology Honors Society, provided information, as well.

Most popular with the festival goers were the many free samples and services that many exhibitors provided. The Sierra Vista Middle School Solar Energy Club used solar ovens to bake cookies, pretzels, and other tempting fare, which they offered to those strolling by. Lassens Natural Health Store provided canvas tote bags, which people were then encouraged to fill with samples of everything from toothpaste to stevia packets to popcorn. Local business owner Todd Schuman of Wormsworth gave away free earthworm casing samples to those interested in aerating their garden naturally, and Pacific Gas and Electric offered incandescent lightbulbs to everyone who stopped by their table. The Henna Hut gave free henna tattoos throughout the day, and Abundant Harvest Organics offered samples of farm-fresh organic produce to the people walking by; most popular were the tangerines.

Musical performers The Jazz Messiahs livened the morning with their jazz stylings, while the afternoon had Bakersfield band The Philosopher’s Stone playing Motown and funk tunes to get the crowd grooving. Everyone who attended the event left with smiles on their faces and bags full of information and samples to improve the health of themselves and the planet. 'I’m so happy to see these events taking place,' said one festival goer, 'Forty years ago, we didn’t know what damage we were causing the planet. Now, hopefully we are creating a generation of citizens who care.'