Earth Day spends first year inside

The people of Hot Springs didn’t let the weather keep them from holding their first Earth Day Celebration, but the event was moved inside to Symes Hot Springs Hotel so people could avoid the rain and snow. The celebration featured about seven vendors and informational booths, five workshops, a potluck, and five live music acts.

At the celebration vendors offered goods and services ranging from massage therapy to second-hand clothing to organic foods. The musical acts were headlined by Oddyssy who took the stage to cap the celebration Saturday evening. The workshops featured an herbal tea garden, composting, raising earthworms, seed saving, and recycling.

Lisa Pearl, who helped to organize the event, said she estimates the celebration attracted about 160 visitors Saturday. She said moving inside was necessary so that the musicians could perform without getting their instruments wet.

She said the weather cost the Earth Day Celebration a handful of vendors and one music act because the musician was unable to travel to Hot Springs. Pearl said she was grateful Leslie Smith of Symes Hotel was willing to provide an alternative venue in which to hold the celebration.

“It’s another example of the community coming together and getting things off the ground and running,” Pearl said. “Without her stepping forward we would have had to cancel.”

Pearl said the event was sponsored in part by the Hot Springs Center for the Arts, which is a part of the Hot Springs Artists Society. Linny Gibson, the director of the Center for the Arts, also helped to organize the event and she had a pottery booth at the celebration along with an arts and crafts table for kids. Gibson works at “On The Wall,” an art gallery in Hot Springs where she said they hold classes and exhibits. Pearl said if anyone “deserved a high shout” for their work in making the Earth Day Celebration happen it is Gibson and the Center for the Arts.

Pearl said the weather was a big factor in decreasing the turnout at the celebration but the alternate location did allow some visitors of Symes Hotel to stop in and visit the celebration while they were there.

Megan Olsen and Dennis Ivanov painted tin cans to convert them into flower pots at the kids arts and crafts table. Olsen was visiting with her mother Carolyn from Missoula and Ivanov was in Hot Springs with his family from Spokane. After the two kids painted their cans they were given dirt and herb seeds so they could take the plants home.

Pearl said the aim of the Earth Day Celebration was to celebrate the same day with people all over the nation while sharing information with people about how they can improve the environment.

“Our Main focus is the education of things we can do right now,” Pearl said. “It’s a chance to join thousands of other communities across the country who are doing the same things.”

At Cynthia Nielsen’s herbal tea garden booth, she allowed people to view, smell and feel the different herbs that go into teas, as well as taste the brewed teas. Nielsen also offered people seeds, pots and dirt so they could take a plant home with them and grow the herb themselves. She said most people don’t even realize there are tea herbs, such as peppermint, that grow right in their own yards.

Lila Fayler shared her experience raising earthworms for composting purposes with the people at the celebration. Fayler is an artist out of Moiese and she said she comes to Hot Springs periodically to work with people in the Hot Springs Artists Society and the Hot Springs Center for the Arts. Fayler said she feels art and taking care of the environment go hand in hand because art is present in everyday life.

“I realized I was an artist working with the worms,” Fayler said. “Creativity in your life is one of the best gifts you can give someone.”

Art was something emphasized at the celebration as some of the vendors were selling pottery and jewelry and the constant form of entertainment was live music. The musicians that were able to perform Saturday consisted of Justin Haley, the Prairie Rattlers, Lee Zimmerman, Melissa Blue, and Oddyssy.

Pearl said about 30 people attended the potluck in the evening which she said was a big hit because Hot Springs is known for having extensive potlucks.

“You can almost have a five-star meal at a potluck here,” Pearl said. “It’s amazing.” Pearl said overall the first-time event went well, despite the snow and rain and she said the vendors all said they did well. She said the Hot Springs Earth Day Celebration has a promising future and next year they will have a “plan B” in place in the event they have another day of bad weather.

“We’re counting it as a success,” Pearl said. “We’ll do this again next year.”