REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE, AND REPAIR! Celebrate environmental awareness and sustainability with Durham Parks and Recreation. Enjoy a day filled with earth-friendly activities, educational resources, a host of vendors, good music, and even better food!
Durham Earth Day Festival
Sunday, April 23, 2023
12 p.m. - 5 p.m.
Durham Central Park, 501 Foster Street
Durham's Earth Day Festival is free and open to the public. Rain or shine!
2023 EARTH DAY FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHT AREAS
BOOK HARVEST
Book Harvest provides an abundance of books and ongoing literacy support to families and their children from birth and serves as a model for communities committed to ensuring that children are lifelong readers and learners. Stop by the Book Harvest Booth for Free books and Materials.
EARTH DAY MARKET
Festivalgoers will enjoy a showcase of environmentally friendly businesses and organizations sharing information and resources with the community. Attendees will browse and shop from our local, hand-made green goods and crafts.
FOOD AND VENDORS
Attendees may bring their own food or purchase food from local on-site vendors. The food vendors this year will be:
Bruster's Real Ice Cream of Durham
Cococrissi Italian Ice
Magnificent Concessions
Mesas El Salvador
Party In A Pita
The Seafood Box NC
Vane Hot Burger
WAY TO GO DURHAM'S SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTATION EXPO
Back at this year’s Earth Day Festival is the Way to Go Durham Sustainable Transportation Expo brought to you by the City’s Department of Transportation and Bike Durham! Come to see GoDurham’s new electric bus, experience a bicycle training workshop for youth, or take a test ride on an electric bike. The expo will feature multiple booths to showcase information on local and regional transportation projects and sustainable transportation options for your commutes around the Bull City and beyond.
VALET BICYCLE PARKING AND CHECK-UPS
Members of Durham’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission and Bike Durham will host a valet bicycle parking service. Located near the corner of Foster and Hunt streets – it’s like a coat check for bicycles. Cyclists are issued tickets in exchange for their bikes, and volunteers store them in a secure enclosure for free. Bike mechanics will also be on-site to check your bike for safety and teach you how to change a flat tire.
ZERO-WASTE PROJECT
Festivalgoers and vendors will go green when they dispose of their waste at the Zero waste stations. Each station will have areas to sort, recycle, reuse, compost, and trade materials. “It’s easy being green” with the Zero-Waste project for a trash-free festival.
H20 2 GO
BYOB - Bring your own bottle for water refills! Don’t forget to bring your refillable water bottle! The Durham H2O 2 Go Hydration Station will offer fresh drinking water to event attendees on-site.
FAMILY FUN ZONE
Kids will have a blast while engaging with the natural world! Featuring hands-on activities from the Music Explorium, Girl Scouts of America, and other local organizations. You can also meet some local mascots and enjoy free Face Painting.
BOOK GIVEAWAY AND REGISTRATION
The Durham County Library will be on-site with its awesome Bookmobile. Participants can take advantage of this mobile service, where they can apply for a library card and even receive a free book. Get your very own library card on-site!
EARTH DAY PARADE
Participants can make their own parade percussion instruments and dress up as their favorite plant or animal. The parade lineup begins at 2:15 p.m. The parade starts at 2:30 p.m. sharp!
FREE DOCUMENT SHREDDING
(Located at 412 Morris St.)
Time: 12:00-3:00 p.m.
The City of Durham will provide haul-away services for document shredding. Bring your paper documents to our drive-through area. We will be set up to collect your materials. These services are free and open to the public. New this year, the documents will be collected and not shredded on-site. They will be taken to a secure shredding location after the event. Individuals are limited to 2 file-size boxes of paper that can fit into a standard-size trunk.
Items OKAY to shred:
Office paper (any color), Manila Folders, Staples, Paper Clips, Rubber Bands, and Receipts.
Items NOT OKAY shredded:
3-ring Binders, X-Rays, Garbage of any kind, Newspapers, Credit cards, CDs, Cardboard, Magazines, Telephone books, Hardcover books, Large Binder Clips, Spiral Notebooks*, and Hanging Folders*.
*Unless metal has been removed