Earth Day focus of several events around the valley
Blue skies and green days: That's the forecast as Southern Nevada celebrates Tuesday's Earth Day, starting Saturday and continuing through April 26, with events ranging from community festivals to book signings.
Summerlin's fifth annual Earthfaire will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at Summerlin Centre Community Park, 1800 S. Town Center Drive.
The free event will feature more than 50 environmental exhibitors, from the Sierra Club and Nature Conservancy to the National Wild Horse Association, which will feature live horses at its display.
Singer Anna Nalick headlines an entertainment lineup that includes Joe Krathwol, alias the Birdman of Las Vegas, plus a demonstration by Las Vegas police K-9 dogs. And for those who want to get into the action, environmentally oriented children's activities, pet adoptions and hands-on planting demonstrations round out the program. For more information, go to www.summerlin.com.
Henderson's Galleria at Sunset mall, 1300 W. Sunset Road, also hosts a free Earth Day Celebration, scheduled from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday in the lower level of the JC Penney Court.
A sculpture made by Nevada State College students from 836 plastic water bottles will raise recycling awareness. Tote bags will be given to those donating 10 or more empty water bottles at the Galleria's guest services center. Energy-saving fluorescent light bulbs also will be distributed, while representatives from Republic Services and Goodwill of Southern Nevada will be on hand to answer questions.
The Earth Day Celebration will continue at the Galleria from 1 to 4 p.m. April 26, with the Springs Preserve, the Las Vegas Valley Water District and the Conservation District of Southern Nevada among the participating organizations. For more information, call 434-0202.
Soka Gakkai International Las Vegas, meanwhile, will host a free Earth Charter Day Festival and Celebration at 1201 S. Jones Blvd., Suite 106, from 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Saturday.
Programs range from the art exhibit "Seeds of Change: The Earth Charter and Human Potential" to the documentary "A Quiet Revolution," along with the slide show seen in the Oscar-winning documentary "An Inconvenient Truth."
In addition, dozens of children will demonstrate the ABCs of recycling and water conservation. For more information, call 592-2454.
On Tuesday, Las Vegas-based author C.S. Goldsmith will launch the publication of his new book, "Uninhabitable: A Case for Caution," with a book signing on a "green carpet" at the Tropicana, 3801 Las Vegas Blvd. South, in a grassy area just west of valet parking.
The signing will begin at 10 a.m. and continue "until we run out of books," Goldsmith says. (Which should be sometime in the afternoon, he says.)
A local insurance executive, Goldsmith hopes to "draw some awareness to the risks of global warming," predicting that "we have five to 10 years maximum to find a way to tame global warming." For more information, e-mail Goldsmith at scgold711@aol.com.
And on Wednesday, the environmental studies department at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas will welcome more than 700 elementary-age students from the Clark County School District to an Earth Day Celebration. The event is scheduled from 9 a.m. to noon on the academic mall on campus, 4505 S. Maryland Parkway.
The celebration, which is free and open to the public, will feature guest appearances by Smokey the Bear and the Southern Nevada Water Authority's Deputy Drip, along with environmental education exhibits from such organizations as the Environmental Protection Agency, Nevada Power and the Las Vegas Electric Vehicle Association.
An awards ceremony recognizing individual contributions to environmental efforts will begin at 11 a.m. Contact Marianne Carpenter at 889-6687 for additional details.
