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Bags sailed into metal buckets, children planted seeds and a mariachi band filled Cherry Hill Road with music as Arlington marked Earth Day with a community festival in Langston on Sunday, April 26.
At the “Let It Flow” display, 4-year-old Grant Hines celebrated after tossing a green bag into a bucket. The Arlington Art Truck project, developed with the County Pollution Control Plant, used the game to teach visitors how to dispose of waste properly.
Environmental education stretched across the block alongside vendors selling clothing, baskets, jewelry, cards, pottery and soap made with natural materials. Other booths highlighted recycling, food-waste reduction, nature-inspired art and bicycling.
Joe Diliberto and his 8-year-old daughter, Sophie, added yarn to a wire structure covered with colorful scraps. Diliberto said the activity demonstrated that almost anything can become art.
Vendors included Karina Gaul, who displayed handmade fabric buttons, vinyl pouches and decorated bags. Apothecary Spices offered bacon salt, while Paloma Vintage promoted reclaimed fashion under the slogan “Reclaim the Past, Wear the Future.”
A mariachi performance drew a crowd to the center of the block. Visitors ate pizza at green-topped tables or clapped from wooden chairs as Mariachi Estrellas played. One toddler delighted relatives in the front row by running toward the stage and bouncing along with the music.
At the other end of the festival, Francisco Ban sold $5 popsicles from the King of Pops stand. He said cookies and cream was the day’s bestseller, though raspberry-lime remained his personal favorite.
The Truck Library on the Move invited children to spin a prize wheel or plant seeds. Maddy Frick, a 7-year-old Taylor Elementary student, carefully filled a biodegradable pot with soil, added two nasturtium seeds and misted them before showing her work to her father.
Liz Hutcheson, the Arlington owner of Fast Snails, displayed cards she designs and draws by hand. Her most popular items were fox cards inspired by the fox in “The Little Prince.”
Clare from Wild Birds Unlimited on Harrison Street distributed small bird feeders containing Nyjer thistle and sunflower chips, a mixture expected to attract finches, nuthatches and other small birds.
Melinda Miller of Oak Lane Soap offered products made with natural ingredients and essential oils. Honeysuckle was the most popular scent, which she attributed to the arrival of spring and blooming flowers. Miller, a former Arlington resident who now makes soap in her Vermont kitchen, returns twice a year for local events.
The Italian Store provided samples of a new pasta salad combining shells, kale and sausage. County Board member Julius Spain stopped for a taste after discussing Arlington County’s newly announced budget. He said officials faced especially difficult decisions but preserved funding for the Department of Human Services, which serves vulnerable residents and was his top priority.
Wildlife also took center stage. A Long Branch Nature Center ranger wore a snake around his neck while showing a young visitor a bullfrog tadpole that had recently begun developing its back legs.
Arlington’s Department of Environmental Services hosted a Vision Zero display seeking resident feedback on the draft transportation safety action plan through May 4.
The Long & Foster Arlington office also promoted a free shredding and junk-removal event scheduled for Saturday, May 2, at 4600 Cherry Hill Road. Attendees were asked to bring canned-food donations for AFAC.
Earth Day was established 56 years ago. This year’s theme is “Our Power, Our Planet.”