Rochester

MI Earth Day Fest leaves big, green footprint

By Erin McClary
C & G Staff Writer

ROCHESTER — Despite the rain April 23-25, organizers and vendors had event-goers covered, with roughly 50,000 square feet of tent space during the weekend-long MI Earth Day Fest in downtown Rochester.

Steve Rogge, partner of TriGreen Development L3C and organizer of the festival, said the event was planned to target more than 100,000 people. But because the event was free and people could come and go all weekend, he said it’d be nearly impossibly to guess how many people actually came through the city for the festival this year.

TriGreen is a “low-profit,” limited-liability company dedicated to bringing sustainable development initiatives to local businesses and government using major community events as launch pads for green programs. Together with the Rochester Downtown Development Authority and dozens of local sponsors, organizers have successfully pulled off another Earth Day celebration.

“This is Michigan’s largest Earth Day celebration,” Rogge said. “We have over 220 exhibitors here that cover a wide range of green, Earth-friendly products and services.”

This was the festival’s third year in downtown Rochester. It was previously called the MI Earth Day Expo and was held at Oakland University.

In every corner of the festival, which took place at East Third and Water, event-goers could find new tips on how to live a greener life. From green makeup, energy-efficient cars and renewable energy, to tips on gardening and composting, rain barrels, toxin-free paint and local farm produce — there wasn’t much an eco-junky couldn’t find at the event.

Visitors took great interest in the Michigan Green Safe Products booth, where representatives explained the concept of using corn, sugarcane and other plant starches as an alternative to Styrofoam, paper and plastic ware.

Steve Harworth, president of Green Safe Products, is trying to convince local businesses and even residents to switch to products like those offered through his company. “We carry the largest line of food disposables that are made from renewable resources,” he said. “One of the biggest polluters we have is Styrofoam going into landfills.”

The plates, cups, food containers, straws, utensils and even water bottles in the Green Safe line all naturally compost within 60-90 days. “You can throw it right into your compost bin.”

On the other side of the festival, visitors were mesmerized by The Worms Do It booth, which was selling indoor composting bins and red wiggler worm kits to speed up the composting process.

Owner Lauri Williams of Northville said she can barely keep up with the worms in her family-of-five’s bin. “These worms are crazy. They go to town on everything.”

The bins don’t generate odor, and turn “anything that grows” into compost, which can eventually be spread on landscaping, flowerbeds and gardens as a natural fertilizer.

One vendor was selling patio furniture made of milk cartons, another had a pizza oven made out of earth and straw, and farmers from all around the state came to sell produce and plants. While parents could enjoy a free massage in the wellness area, kids could climb a rock wall, ride bikes that generate energy, play in a labyrinth of hay bales or take a ride on a pony.

“This is a real opportunity for people to come here and celebrate that it’s Earth Day,” Rogge said. “Earth Day is celebrated in 150 countries by over a billion people. … This is the largest secular event in the world. And it’s kind of exciting to join in such a large movement.”

Stacey Keast, event coordinator for the Downtown Development Authority, said the city had a number of merchants also participating in the festivities, either decorating their windows for the “Paint the Town Green” contest or offering Earth Day promotions to encourage visitors to patronize their businesses.

“We’re always pleased to have events that support our local community and take place downtown, especially with the current initiatives of the Green City Committee,” she said. “This ties in nicely with our objectives.”

Rogge said that if it weren’t for the event sponsors, the MI Earth Day Fest wouldn’t exist.

Scott Cabauatan of Republic Services, one of the event’s major sponsors, said his company is pleased to be a part of such an event. Republic Services has been involved since the event’s inception in Rochester.

“This is changing people’s lives,” Cabauatan said. “It is such a great event.”

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You can reach C & G Staff Writer Erin McClary at emcclary@candgnews.com or at (586)279-1118.