Cross your fingers for a sunny Saturday and mark your calendars for April 28.
The Art Blooms Earth Festival is back for its third year at Croft Farm, filled with a slate of events even Mother Nature would be proud of.
New to the festival this year … it’ll kick off with a family fun bike ride, led by Mayor Chuck Cahn.
The Sustainable Cherry Hill Way to Go taskforce helped to get the wheels moving on this one, with the township backing the 6.5-mile bike ride that will start at Croft Farm, wind through Barclay Farm and end back up at Croft Farm.
The ride begins at 9 a.m.
Interested riders can register at 8 a.m. at nearby Challenge Grove Park the morning of.
Keswick Cycle on Route 70 will be doing bike safety checks leading up to the event at the store and providing on-site tune-ups the day of the ride.
After the bike ride, the mayor will also formally launch his Mayor’s Wellness Campaign, a voluntary statewide program for township officials and community members to develop and implement healthy living goals.
“Launching the Mayor’s Wellness Campaign at this year’s Earth Festival combines a great township event for the community with an exciting new initiative to engage our residents and promote a healthy lifestyle,” Cahn said. “Promoting healthy, safety and wellness will help our families, our businesses and our community better and enjoy all our community has to offer.”
The event will also include more than 80 vendors and displays, said Brenda Jorett, communications director for Sustainable Cherry Hill.
On tap for the event will be eco-friendly vendors and crafters, area businesses with tips for residents to save energy and money, and an It’s in Our Power display, which provides visitors with an interactive way to learn how to cut energy costs with new lighting.
Ready to recycle? There will also be dozens of different ways to turn old things into new.
Guests can bring the usual suspects–cans, bottles, paper products and food waste to recycle. But there will also be opportunities to recycle wire hangers, used cooking oil, batteries and e-waste.
Goodwill trucks will be on hand to take clothing and home goods donations. Cherry Hill East students will be collection shoes for the nonprofit Soles 4 Soles and the Voorhees Animal Welfare Association will accept donations of old blankets, sheets and pillows for shelter animals.
There will also be live music and entertainment from local school and community group on a solar-powered stage.
Want the kids to have a good time and learn about sustainability?
The festival promises to have plenty for youngsters to do, including a moon-bounce, earth-friendly activities, an environmental chalk activity in a roped-off portion of the parking lot and a chance to meet adoptable pets from the AWA.
And for those with a green thumb, don’t miss the plant exchange.
Guests can swap perennials, rooted cuttings and established seedlings at the event.
Cahn said he is looking forward to the event and hopes to see even more residents and neighbors come out this year.
“Combining the township’s efforts to protect and preserve our environment and promote wellness, while making the arts affordable and accessible to our residents allows us to present a festival that is open to everyone,” Cahn said. “We thank our arts board and Sustainable Cherry Hill members, as well as corporate sponsors who worked many hard and long hours with the township to produce the festival and the week of Art Blooms events.”
The Art Blooms Earth Festival is just the beginning of a weeklong celebration. The festival will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on April 28 at Croft Farm, 100 Bortons Mill Road.
For more information on Art Blooms week, visit www.CherryHillArts.Blogspot.com or www.SustainableCherryHill.org.
