Our second annual Earth Day Festival is bringing together the local interfaith community along with partners of civic, school, and community organizations with a common purpose: channel our collective energies to more responsibly steward our sacred planet.
This Town of Danville community event is a collaborative celebration of Baháʼí, Buddhist, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, Sufi, Hindu, Taoist, and Christian friends, with acknowledgement to our Indigenous relations.
The entire family will enjoy fun and learning opportunities throughout the afternoon of ritual, art, music, speakers, booths, activities, and ceremony. We will spotlight our eco-success stories, draw hope from one another, and inspire ongoing local commitment to action!
Thank you to all our co-sponsors and their members! It is with your financial commitment and support that EarthFest is happening.
(If you are a faith co-sponsor and need information about your commitment, please see our resources for faith co-sponsors.)
The exhibit is curated by Bill Carmel and Deborah Wechsler.
As I-SRV plans this year’s EarthFest, we seek to hold the intention of gratitude and caring relationship with the Earth, all peoples, and all expressions of life.
Relationships start with respect—caring and taking care of a relationship. Caring stirs our responsibility for restoring the earth and the essential key: Reciprocity with the earth. The current emphasis of ‘sustainability’ remains focused on, “How much can we take?” Reciprocity asks, ‘How much can we give to the earth?” The earth is Source, not mere resource. It is through respectful and enduring relationship that healing and a restored land become possible. We get to choose how we relate to the earth. Our most challenging and inspiring work lies in restoring a relationship of respect, responsibility, reciprocity—reverencing Life and Love.
We encourage you to learn more about Robin Wall Kimmerer, listen to her teachings, and read Braiding Sweetgrass. We have been in conversations with her with the hope she would be able to give an address at EarthFest this year. It isn’t feasible for her to participate in this year’s event, but we can still benefit from the wisdom she shares through reading and videos.
Braiding Sweetgrass is available from the local, independent bookstore Rakestraw Books. You can call (925) 837- 7337 or order online to reserve your copy. Rakestraw Books is located in the Trader Joe’s Shopping Center in Downtown Danville on Railroad Ave.
¹Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teaching of Plants (Minneapolis, MN: Milkweed Editions, 2013).
We greatly appreciate the dedication and leadership of Deborah Wechsler, Chair of EarthFest. Also thank you to all the members of the EarthFest Task Force for their contributions in planning this significant and inclusive community event.
Photos from our 2023 event by Rev. Raymond Waespi