Earth Day returns to Alameda Park on Saturday, April 29 from 11am to 7pm and Sunday, April 30 from 11am to 6pm, 2023. Presented by the Community Environmental Council (CEC), this year’s Santa Barbara Earth Day Festival is co-produced with long-time festival partner, CarpEvents.
The 2023 festival – which is free to attend – anticipates all of the fun of past years. Now in its 53rd year, Santa Barbara’s community-organized festival is one of the longest-running Earth Day celebrations in the country and is one of the largest Earth Day festivals on the West Coast. Santa Barbara’s reputation as a pioneer in the environmental movement attracts national media, celebrity attention, and local crowds; the 2019 festival drew over 30,000 visitors.
Highlights of this year’s event include:
The longest running Green Car show in the United States that will feature the latest electric and hybrid vehicle technology. Festival-goers can get a first-hand feel for the latest electric vehicles and electric bikes by participating in the free Ride & Drive experience
Over 200 eco-friendly exhibitors
Beer & Wine Garden, featuring local beer, wine, and bites
A Kid’s Zone organized by LearningDen Preschool and Explore Ecology, with arts & crafts, musical performances, storytelling, face painting, and eco-activities, along with a Family Passport that promotes kid-friendly activities throughout the park
Two full days of music on the Main Stage
Plant-forward Food Court featuring locally sourced, regenerative ingredients from ecologically-focused chefs, caterers, and food artisans
Homegrown Roots Zone and Homegrown Roots Stage curated by Cultivate Events to showcase the farmers, ranchers, food producers, and organizations who are working to create a more regenerative food system along the Central Coast
Free Bike Valet, with complimentary bike tune-ups and secure all-day parking provided by MOVE SB County
A commitment to reducing waste: on average, more than 93% of waste produced at Santa Barbara’s Earth Day is recycled or composted.
About Santa Barbara’s Earth Day: Widely acknowledged as the birthplace of Earth Day, Santa Barbara’s involvement began with the devastating 1969 oil spill off its coast. This led a local group of concerned citizens to begin discussing a different way of looking at environmental systems. During that time, Senator Gaylord Nelson visited Santa Barbara to view the oil spill damage. When he returned to Washington, D.C., he introduced a bill designating April 22 as a national day to celebrate the earth. Over the next few years, the environmental movement was born across the country – including the Community Environmental Council (CEC). Led by a group of forward-thinking youth and elders, CEC incorporated in the spring of 1970 and its first act as a new nonprofit was to hold an Earth Day celebration – a one block long teach-in between State St. and Chapala St. along Anapamu. Around the country, 20 million concerned citizens attended similar events. We recognize that “every day is earth day” and that special events like this are a way to bring diverse voices from our community together as a reminder to tread lightly on the planet.
For up-to-the-minute information on CEC's Earth Day 2023:
• Find Earth Day on the web at SBEarthDay.org
• Like “Santa Barbara Earth Day” on Facebook.com/SBEarthDay
• Follow the event on Twitter @SBEarthday and on Instagram @SB_EarthDay
About the Community Environmental Council (CEC): The Community Environmental Council (CEC) advances rapid and equitable solutions to the climate crisis – including ambitious zero carbon goals, drawdown of excess carbon, and protection against the impacts of climate change. CEC was recognized as a 2020 California Nonprofit of the Year and a City of Santa Barbara Climate Hero, and is led by CEO Sigrid Wright who was recently named 2022 Congressional Woman of the Year. CEC has worked since 1970 to incubate and innovate real life environmental solutions that directly affect the California Central Coast. Our programs lead to clean vehicles, solar energy, resilient food systems and reduction of single-use plastic. Learn more about why CEC is one of only five nonprofits in Santa Barbara County to have the highest possible ratings on Charity Navigator and Guidestar at CECSB.org/impact.
Find CEC on the web at CECSB.org and on Facebook.com/CECSB, Instagram.com/CEC_SB, Twitter.com/CECSB, and Linkedin.com/company/cecsb/.
