May 5, 2016

10th Annual “Who’s Your Mama?” Earth Day Festival hits downtown Kent, OH

Earth day was celebrated in a huge way in downtown Kent on Saturday, April 23. The 10th annual “Who’s Your Mama?” Earth Day festival took place on Main Street between Water Street and Depeyster. The event celebrated its 10 year anniversary with the usual pomp and circumstance.

A recycling bin in downtown Kent shows some of the city’s efforts to help the environment.

The festival brings together local artists, activists, and proprieters of eco-friendly goods. This year saw some political groups offering to register voters and advicating for cleaner energy practices. Some local artists also displayed their works made from recycled goods. The list went on to include a Ford F-350 on display that is powered completely by used vegetable oil, “gletan”(vegan and gluten-free)treats, and musical performances.

A Ford F-350 on display at the 10th Annual “Who’s Your Mama?” festival in downtown Kent that runs entirely on used vegetable oil.

Jeff Ingram, organizer of the festival and founder of Standing Rocks Cultural Arts which funds the event, has been doing this since the beginning in 2007.

“It’s a great time and everyone gets to come out and smile,” said Ingram. “You don’t see anyone frowning here.”

The event is intended to encourage environmentally healthy actions and awareness of the way in which we live does not have to adversely affect the planet.

“The planet, so far as we know, is unique in the fact that it is the only place in the entire universe like it, and we should be doing everything our power to keep it around,” Ingram said when asked why he thought Earth Day was important.

Joe Culley (Tabla) and Hans Utter (Sitar) play some music for attendees of the Earth Day festival in downtown Kent, OH on Saturday, April 23.

“It’s where we live and the only place we have so why hurt it anymore than we already have,” echoed Matt Mains. Mains and his girlfriend Emily Yoder ran the booth for Earth Energy Sustainable Treats, a company created on Kickstarter by Yoder that sells gluten-free and vegan products ranging from oatmeal bars to black bean brownies.

A view of Franklin Mills Riveredge Park in downtown Kent where the Cuyahoga River cuts through the city of Kent.

“We love it here,” said Yoder, “The other vendors are all super friendly and nice.”

“Oh yes, my man, Earth is a beautiful place and we should all love her,” said Dontty Lakina, a Ghanan-American who sells jewelry made by both himself and jewelry-makers from his home country of Ghana.

The event is the culmination of a three day celebration which included a Vegan Iron Chef competition, and an environmental film festival. The final celebration includes a parade in which everyone was invited to participate. Parade particpants wore nature inspired costumes and masks and walked up and down Main Street.

A booth run by activists against new injection wells being placed in Portage County on display in downtown Kent April 23.

Earth Day was first celebrated in 1970 by over 2,000 colleges, universities, and almost 10,000 primary and secondary schools across the United States. According to the Earth Day Network, there were over 1 billion participants across the globe this year in 174 different countries.