Saturday, April 26th, 2008, 10 am - 4 pm, Chelsea will be holding an Earth Day Celebration. Most activities will take place in and around the Chelsea Depot, on Jackson St. just off of Main St. by the railroad tracks. We will have many interactive and informational booths and events for the whole family. We'll have some music throughout the day by local musicians.
The 30 minute documentary: Arno Peters - Radical Map, Remarkable Man will be running on a loop on a small screen in the Depot throughout our Earth Day Celebration.
At 11:00 am, the McKune Memorial Library will host the Matrix Theater Company in "Meadowmorphosis", an interactive performance to capture the imagination of young and old.
At 3:00 pm, the McKune Library will present a live concert for the whole family with the Ann Arbor singing duo Gemini.
The evening before our celebration, Friday April 25, at 6 pm, Michigan Friends Center will be hosting a Kick-off Party. The cost is $15 per person, and the proceeds go to help support the Chelsea Earth Day Celebration. Enjoy a light supper and awards celebration. We will be honoring members of the community who exemplify what Earth Day stands for.
Other Community Earth-Centered Events
- As part of the Earth Day Celebration, on April 26th, the Garden Mill on Main St. will be offering lessons on composting.
- Cranesbill Books will be hosting a Sustainability Film Group, with discussion and refreshments to follow each:
- 3/14 The Story of Stuff (Annie Leonard, 2005)
The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns, with a special focus on the United States. The film exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues and calls for all of us to create a more sustainable and just world.
Kilowatt Ours (Jeff Barrie, 2004)
The film follows filmmaker Jeff Barrie on his 18-month journey across the southeast United States, where more than six tons of coal are burned to generate electricity for the average home annually. Barrie takes viewers from our light switches at home to the sources of our energy, examining social and environmental consequences. - 4/11 Thirst (Alan Snitow and Deborah Kaufman, 2004)
Over a billion people lack access to safe drinking water. Each year, millions of children die of diseases caused by unsafe water. These facts drive a debate in the opening scenes of Thirst at the 2003 Third World Water Forum in Kyoto, Japan. Politicians, international bankers, and corporate executives gather to decide who will control global fresh water supplies. They are challenged by experts and activists who assert that water is a human right, not a commodity to be traded on the open market. - 4/26 Blue Planet
- 5/29 The Dirt on Farmer John (Taggart Siegel, 2005)
A flamboyant, cross-dressing, hippie-loving, third-generation farmer — beaten down by debt, drought and the resentment of his community saves his farm from the crash by being different, in the loveable documentary. If we were better people than we are, we'd all be interested in a documentary about the difficulties of farming life over the past three decades.
- 3/14 The Story of Stuff (Annie Leonard, 2005)
- May 18, The Mission Marketplace will be co-hosting Global Distribution of Wealth Roundtable with the McKune Memorial Library. Faculty from UM and MSU will discuss how wealth is distributed throughout the world.
- Chelsea Senior Center joins the community in learning how we can protect our ecosytem and create healthy communities.
- April 11 at 1 pm "An Inconvenient Truth", the controversial film which won a Nobel Peace Prize for Al Gore, will be shown. A discussion will follow the movie led by Bill Harmer of the McKune Memorial Library.
- On April 22 the community and Senior Center members are invited to enjoy a healthy vegetaian lunch ($5.00 if you are not yet 60, $2.50 for seniors, call 475-9242 for reservations). Following lunch at 1 pm there will be program presented by Gary Kuneman owner of "Eat Local, Eat Natural". Mr. Knueman will talk about the benefits of eating locally grown and produced foods. He specializes in grass fed beef and sells only regionally produced foods at his store in Scio Township. The public is invited to all events. For more information call 475-9242 or email chelseaseniors@aol.com.
- The Chelsea Retirement Communities Earth Activities:
- On April 15 at 2 pm, local environmental activist Ada Kidd will speak on Environmental issues
- There will be ongoing reminders about being earth-friendly, such as articles in the monthly newsletter, "Save the Earth" reminders in the weekly resident updates, and 56 different messages on small paper tents on the dining room tables with "Save the Earth" suggestions meant to stimulate discussion during meals.
- St Mary's Church is planning a Green Mass for Sunday, June 22. According to their bulletin: "On this Sunday we invite our parishioners to walk, bike, or carpool to Mass that day. If you are coming from out of town, possibly your could park in one of the municipal lots uptown and meet with others to walk to St. Mary. Senior citizens will be offered the opportunity to reserve a seat on a shuttle. It will be an outdoor Mass (weather permitting), with acoustic music and using little to no electricity. Please invite your family and friends to join us as we process through Chelsea. In the weeks prior to the Mass, you will be able to pre-order CFL bulbs at a discount as well as stainless steel water bottles."