Green fest promotes recycling, eco-friendly living

Even at a distance it is clear that this is no typical guitar.

At four and a half feet long, the body and neck are cardboard, the varnish a colorful array of newspaper clippings and its tuners long-exhausted markers.

This summer, students, parents and teachers of the Fox River Art and Music Academy in Oswego are turning what might be considered someone else’s trash into their own treasure.

Members of the academy will display recycled 3-D sculptures as part of the Aurora Green Fest, hosted for the second year by Aurora Green Lights environmental awareness group from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, June 11.

“I think it’s really integral,” said Karen Kulzer, who owns Fox River Art and Music Academy with her husband. “Especially with young students to look at things and see beauty and art in something that might not seem beautiful at first.”

Kulzer and her husband participated in the inaugural year of the Aurora Green Fest and believe that environmental sustainability and art go hand in hand.

“There’s a big movement to make things out of found objects and recycling things into art,” Kulzer said. “It’s kind of neat what people come up with because it’s very creative too.”

The recycled sculpture exhibit will include donated works from local junior high school students as well as photography collaborations.

This year’s event, to be at the Prisco Community Center, 150 W. Illinois Ave., Aurora, will focus on more concentrated recycling efforts for certain materials.

“The more you keep out of the landfills, the less room those landfills take up,” said Mavis Bates, the festival chairwoman. “And the more room there is for open space, more room for nature.”

The Green Fest will host organizations dedicated to safely recycling electronics, Styrofoam, batteries and expired medications.

“Between the things we want to save, which are rare and precious, and the things we want to keep out of the water and the ecosystem, there’s just so many,” Bates said of the reasons to recycle. “We have to save the good and prevent the bad.”

Bates felt there was a strong need in Aurora for an accessible recycling venue as individuals are generally unsure where to bring these discarded items.

“Our mission is to promote sustainable living in Aurora and the Fox Valley,” Bates said. “Especially in terms of education.”

Speakers on topics ranging from wind energy to more environmentally efficient architecture are scheduled throughout the day to help festival goers realize the easy ways they can go green.

“It’s edu-tainment,” Bates said of the event. “That’s kind of a horrible word, but it fits.”

Aurora’s first environmentally-minded festival, attended by roughly 300 people, came together last year after Bates was inspired by surrounding communities.

“I saw these wonderful little green festivals popping up all over the area,” Bates said. “And I thought, Aurora is a wonderful, big city and we should have our own ecofest.”

Along with the extensive recycling initiative put forth by Green Lights, the festival also will include a medley of recycled crafts, guided nature walks and kid-friendly gardening activities to name a few.

At the event’s core though, Bates hopes some of the hype behind “going green” can be replaced with truth.

“Being green is such a cliché right now,” Bates said. “What does it mean? It means your home, your food, your clothing, your shelter. Every aspect of your life can be a green moment in your life, a green effort, a green consciousness.”

Organizers intend that Green Fest is not a one-day event but becomes a lasting and continuous commitment to eco-friendly living for those who attend.

Those dedicated to this ideal are invited to sign the Pledge of Sustainability, put forth by the city of Aurora’s Sustainability Plan, to show their support.

Organizers hope events like Aurora’s Green Festival help individuals realize that they should get serious about the environment and improving the planet now rather than later.

“We’re not just doing this for future generations,” Bates said. “We’re doing this for ourselves as well.”

If you go

What: Aurora Green Festival

When: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, June 11

Where: Prisco Community Center, 150 W. Illinois Ave., Aurora

Cost: Free

Info: auroragreenlights.org