By Katie Land, news editor
Whole grains and clean energy will take the stage April 18-19 in downtown Rochester for the Oakland University sponsored fourth annual
Earth Day Expo.
Oakland played host to the event for its first three years before the expo moved off campus as interest and participation grew at a rapid rate. “It just got too big,” said Jim Leidel, energy manager for Oakland’s facilities management.
This year, the expo has changed sites from the Oakland Center to the city center at 3rd and Water Streets to allow for a much higher volume of traffic. The expo’s first inception in 2006 drew in roughly 1,000 people. Last year attracted more than 6,000 participants and this April, coordinators anticipate an incredible 50,000 attendees.
John Batdorf, executive director of
Upland Hills Ecological Awareness Center and Expo manager, credits Oakland’s staff, resources and visibility with helping get the expo started until it could stand and operate independently.
“We feel that we “earned our degree” in expo production at OU and are now ready to take it to main street,” Batdorf said. “The expo will be much larger in size and attendance, more connected to the wider community through local, county and state government and media, will involve more businesses with major corporate sponsorships and local chamber connections.”
Batdorf accounts for the expo’s meteoric rise in attendance to a feeling of increasing urgency in global climate change and world affairs by the general public.
“People are becoming aware that “green” is not a fad; it is a fundamental change that we are making to address and strengthen the local economy and community, address climate change, deal with resource depletion and meet people’s needs for now and in the future,” he said. “People recognize that in these hard times we need to make changes that lead us in a better direction.”
The promise behind the Earth Day Expo is “celebrate, learn, shop, connect.” The event will showcase everything needed to live green, from energy and food to transportation and clothing.
The expo’s improvements are not only in size but in enhanced programming, better entertainment and new features, according to Batdorf. Participants can enjoy live music, spirited presentations and lectures, documentary film viewings, organic information displays, activities for the kids, earth-based product shopping, a farmer’s market and the new Connections Cafe.
Founded in the 1970s by a U.S. senator, Earth Day is celebrated worldwide in more than 150 countries and by more than one billion people. Batdorf calls it the most visible effort to promote worldwide sustainability and ensure mankind’s survival.
Major partners and sponsors include the Upland Hills Ecological Awareness Center, Oakland County, Oakland County Parks, the Rochester Downtown Development Authority, City of Rochester Hills, Whole Foods, Chrysler ENVI, Pure Eco Environmental Solutions and Renewal by Anderson.
Admittance is free, but visitors are encouraged to make charitable contributions to the event.
