March 30, 2006

Contact: Gordon Ovenshine: 724-738-4854;gordon.ovenshine@sru.edu

KITE FLYING, ORGANIC BEER-MAKING WORKSHOP, HYBRID CARS                 

PART OF SRU’S 16th ANNUAL EARTH FESTIVAL SET FOR APRIL 22

     SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – A hybrid car demonstration, an organic beer-making workshop, kite-making and 10 other activities encompass the 16th annual Earth Festival at the Robert A. Macoskey Center for Sustainable Systems at Slippery Rock University.

      All activities, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, [April 22] are free. The center is on Harmony Road, across from N. Kerr Thompson Football Stadium.

    Earth Festival highlights the Macoskey Center and SRU’s involvement in sustainability and environmental studies. Lunch will be available, as well as the annual “Sustainable Marketplace” which features locally and organically grown items.

      Earth Festival’s adult activities include:

* Biofuel Workshop with Greg Boulos of Steel City Biofuels

* Footprints: An Ecological Art Exhibition

* Organic Beer-Making Workshop presented by the North Country Brewing Co.

* Organic Gardening Workshop with market gardener Kyle Holzhueter

* Hybrid Car Demonstration

* Leave No Trace Workshop with Michael Kay, master educator

* Apple Tree Grafting by Fruitland Acres’ Jack Stupka

* Soapmaking Workshop by Carol Capy of Maggie May Soapworks

* Live Music by: Futuregrass, Idiosympathy, Sounds of Pleasure, an a capella group

Children’s activities include:

* Kite Making and Flying with the Fly Pittsburgh Kite Club

* The Portable Planetarium Experience by International Planetarium Society President Susan Reynolds Button

* Baby Farm Animal Expo by Lynne Gelston of Dream Thyme Farm 

* Passport Earth: Hunt for the Earth Guardian (Educational Scavenger Hunt)

* Storytelling

* Many more educational games with prizes

For more information, call the Macoskey Center at 724-738-4050.

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