Valerie Cassity
Special to the Sun

There is so much to do this weekend at the Living Green in the Kern River Valley Festival, including 27 FREE family-friendly events that will keep children of all ages entertained while teaching them the importance of living in harmony with their environment.

The Kern River Valley Library in Lake Isabella will be hosting children’s events all weekend, beginning on Friday, Mar. 27, at 3:45, when woodland sprite Valerie Cassity will be reading the 1972 classic “The Lorax” by Dr. Suess, followed by a giveaway raffle of a copy of the book for several children in attendance, thanks to several generous donors. On Saturday, the library will host an afternoon of storytime and crafts for the whole family beginning at 11 a.m., followed by a puppet show at 1 p.m. from Magic Rabbit Productions titled “Talkin’ Trash with Sludge the Dragon.” For more information call the library at 549-2083. Saturday morning at 7:30 a.m. Run-4-a-Way along with Wofford Heights Community Association are holding a free 1k Kids Run as part of The Run for Living Green. The run will be held at Wofford Heights Park, located at Williams St. & E Evans Road. Runners who are interested in participating should contact Darby at 376-1067 or cptdarbo@lightspeed.net.

Stewards of the Sequoia will be holding a tree-planting and trail maintenance Saturday on Rincon Trail in Sequoia National Forest, located on Sherman Pass Road 40 minutes north of Kernville. There is also a free camping option. For more information, contact Lyle Teunissen at 376-1669 or lyletune@hotmail.com.

Also on Saturday, The Nuui Cunni Cultural Center will be holding several Native American demonstrations, including Flint Knapping, Grinding seeds, corn, & acorns, Basket Weaving, Beading, Medicinal & Edible Plants, Native Musical Instruments, Gourds, and more. Nuui Cunni will also be open for touring 9am to 3pm so visitors can visit its Museum, Displays, Library, Native Plant Garden & Gift Shop. Cookies and coffee will be served. The Nuui Cunni Native American Cultural Center is located on Lake Isabella at 2600 HWY 155 in French Gulch between Lake Isabella & Wofford Heights. Call 379-4350 for more info, or email nuuicunni@earthlink.net.

If they haven’t been worn out from all of these exciting activities, families can come Saturday night to the Kern River Valley Astronomy Club’s Dark Sky Party to gaze at the stars along the Kern River on a moonless night. Bring a telescope or binoculars; if you don’t have those, though, Club members will share their outstanding telescopes. To get to the Dark Sky party, drive about 13 miles N of Kernville, watch for orange traffic cones on your right to mark to turn in (dim your car’s lights). For more information, call Rich Burdge at 376-6290 or 376-1291.

With all of these activities, the kids will be getting hungry! On Sunday beginning at 8 a.m., members of Responsible, Ethical Volunteers for Animals (R.E.V.A) will offer the public an All You Can Eat Pancake Breakfast ($5 with coffee) followed by Lunch (Noon to 2pm) hot dog & chips ($3 per plate; soda $1 each) at the Senior Center. All funds raised go to support R.E.V.A.’s Spay & Neuter Mobile Clinic, which will be parked out front of the Senior Center on Sunday, so don’t forget to bring your cats and dogs that need to be spayed and neutered!

After filling the kids with pancakes, bring them to the Kids Environmental Film Festival at the Reel Cinema in Wofford Heights. The kids film festival kicks off at 10 a.m. with the 2005 Dreamworks feature “Over the Hedge,” followed by a 1972 animated version of “The Lorax” at 11:30, followed by a raffle drawing for copies of the books. At 12:20 will be a showing of the 1988 film “The Man Who Planted Trees.” The story tells of a fictional shepherd who plants seeds in the foothills & valleys of France. This is a powerful testament to the power on one person as he plants his seeds & acorns with great care undeterred by two world wars. Drawings for free copies of the related book follow the film. The kids film festival ends with the 1:30 p.m. viewing of the 2004 film “Trees are the Answer,” where Ecologist and Co-Founder of Greenpeace, Dr Patrick Moore describes how Trees Are The Answer to many of our environmental problems including climate change and how man can be the solution.

So come out to the Living Green Festival and have some free family fun while learning how you can make a difference for the planet and yourself!