Several local events, including the annual Chumash Day and Powwow, will highlight Earth Day. Topanga Earth Days will benefit the California Wildlife Center.
By Melonie Magruder / Special to The Malibu Times
The 39th incarnation of Earth Day, April 22, will be celebrated throughout the country this weekend, with several local events marking the event that was launched in 1970 by United States Sen. Gaylord Nelson to raise awareness of the growing dangers of overpopulation, climate change and pollution.
Chumash honor Mother Earth
The 11th Annual Chumash Day Powwow and Intertribal gathering will unfold at Bluffs Park both Saturday and Sunday. Some 38 tribes will assemble and pay tribute to the Earth and their ancestors through dance, story telling, and drumming and educational workshops.
Recreation manager for the city, Amy Crittendon, said that the powwow has become so popular over the years that it has grown from a one-day festival to two.
“The grand opening is Saturday at one and it is such a beautiful and impressive site to see the different tribes dressed in their different colors and regalia,” Crittendon said. “There is dancing all day and probably the only approved bonfire you will see in Malibu.”
Native American foods and crafts are on hand for this free event. Parking is available on Malibu Canyon Road, and at the Civic Center and Webb Way intersection, with free shuttle service to the park.
Celebrating return of the grey whale
The 13th Annual Whale Festival, sponsored by the Santa Monica Mountains Natural History Association, will take place Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Leo Carrillo State Park with whale watching stations, children’s activities and a host of marine conservation experts on hand.
The California gray whale is one of the few great environmental success stories. Hunted almost to extinction twice in the last century, its population has rebounded to sustainable levels. April/May is the most likely time of the year to see these behemoths, which are on their yearly migration north, with mother whales hugging the coastline to protect their new calves.
‘Wish Tree’ wishes to be beamed into space as part of Topanga Earth Day Celebrations
Topanga will be hosting its 10th Annual Earth Day Festival Saturday and Sunday with a variety of sustainable living workshops, holistic healing presentations and vendors touting the latest eco-friendly services. A slate of international and local musicians is ready to rock the house both days, with renowned local yoga instructor Rainbeau Mars acting as master of ceremonies.
“Our shuttle service is all provided by biodiesel or electric vehicles,” festival producer Stephanie Lallouz said. “And our workshops cover everything from prayer flag painting for the kids to native garden planting. This is for the whole family.”
Festival activities will include workshops offerings such as “Tiger Woman Feminine Strategy in the Jungle of Business” and an all-organic, vegetarian food court.
“We are participating in an interesting installation project with Yoko Ono,” Lallouz said. “She did a concept piece with NASA where she set up a light tower powered by geothermal energy in Iceland that transmits laser beams into the atmosphere. We are putting up a ‘Wish Tree’ at the community house and people can tie their wishes to the branches. After Earth Day, we plant the [elderberry] tree and mail the wishes to Ono, who will pass the wishes through the light beam.”
Two-thirds of the festival’s proceeds are donated to environmental awareness and preservation programs, with this year’s recipients including the California Wildlife Center in Malibu and the Resource Conservation District of the Santa Monica Mountains.
Rosi Dagit, senior conservation biologist for the Resource Conservation District, will be leading volunteer crews in a cleanup of Topanga Creek, as she has been doing for the past nine festivals.
“Since 1996, every Earth Day clean-up has resulted in the removal of two to eight tons of trash from the creek,” Dagit said. “We’ve pulled out some doozies. A kitchen sink. Some antique windows once. Thanks to past efforts, there’s not as much garbage this year, so we’ll be working on removing weeds and restoring native plants.”
Lallouz said she was gratified to find the amount of talent willing to contribute to the Earth Day festivities. A chance meeting with Grammy Award-winning Luis Conte at a music festival last December resulted in him offering his Afro Cuban Latin jazz band.
“The important thing to remember about Earth Day is that this is a festival to remind ourselves of what each of us can do to help preserve our planet,” Lallouz said. “We’re not trying to change anybody. All we ask is that everyone do whatever you do-but do it the best way possible.”
The Chumash Day Powwow takes place 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday at Bluffs Park. Shuttles are available from Malibu Canyon Road, at Civic Center Way and Webb Way. The event is free. More information can be obtained online at www.ci.malibu.ca.us or by calling 310.317.1364.
The Topanga Earth Day Festival takes place Saturday and Sunday, from 10 a.m. till sunset each day, at the Community House Fair Grounds, 1440 N. Topanga Canyon Blvd. $10 suggested donation. More information can be obtained online at www.topangaearthday.org
More information on Sunday’s whale watching festival, which takes place 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Leo Carrillo State Beach, 35000 W. Pacific Coast Highway, can be obtained online at earthdaywhalefestival.org. Free; $10 parking.