EnviroFest is back again this Saturday (Sept. 15), celebrating its eleventh year with more activities and interactive displays than previous years.
The annual event is packed with vendors of eco-friendly goods, activities for children, workshops, a fashion show and other entertainers. More importantly, EnviroFest offers plenty of take-home ideas for staying green.
Mayor Nancy Wilhelm-Morden hopes the weekend will not only be fun for families but she also wants people to walk away with tools and ideas for recycling and living a more sustainable lifestyle.
“Our goal is to provide examples of everyday changes and products that make a difference. We are highlighting three workshops this year that will teach residents to make their own environmentally-friendly soap, a recycling workshop and a composting techniques workshop. Making changes is not difficult and every single action does make a difference.”
New this year, Day Lot 4 will be converted into a remote Re-Use-It and Re-Build-It Centre. Residents are encouraged to cart all of their used household goods to the parking lot where staff members will be on-hand to recycle them.
“Our participation in EnviroFest is another opportunity to educate the community about what the Re-Use-It and Re-Build-It Centre does,” said Lorna Van Straaten, Executive Director of Whistler Community Services Society. “We’re taking items that are reusable, keeping them out of the landfill and using the money we receive from the re-sale to fund community programming. Our business model really is sustainability in action. We have over 27 programs and services that we donate to, including the food bank, seniors programming and emergency services.”
Donated items to the remote Re-Use-It and Re-Build-It Centre must be in working condition, electronics (not working and working), furniture, clothing, dishes, linens, children’s items, bottle and cans, dishes, sporting goods and building supplies.
EnviroFest 2012 includes the first ever Re-Use-It Celebrity Fashion Show. Local Whistler celebrities, including members of coucil, will model the latest recycled fashions from the Re-Use-It Centre and strut down the runway to DJ beats. The fashion show will repeat at the top of every hour, starting at 11 a.m. on Saturday.
To keep the fashion show powered, “watt-riders” will be cycling to generate power, keeping the lights and DJ music running. When participants are pedalling, their back wheels will be resting on a spinning mini generator, whose energy will be converted into electricity. A kids’ bike will also be on-hand for young pedallers to demo.
Whistler's own Short Skirt Theatre will also perform a series of short skits designed to entertain and educate adults and children alike about environmentally friendly choices offered in the community.
EnviroFest 2012 will take place on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Whistler Olympic Plaza. Go to www.whistler.ca/envirofest2012 for further information and registration information for workshops.
