Green Fair Returns: Wooster Event Is on Earth Day

WOOSTER, Ohio -- Wooster’s Scarlet, Gray and Green Fair returns after a one-year hiatus on Tuesday, April 22 -- Earth Day.

The event will feature some 60 vendors, displays and activities based on a theme of green living. It goes from 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. inside and outside Fisher Auditorium at the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, 1680 Madison Ave. Admission is free and open to the public.

The center is the research arm of Ohio State University’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES).

“People can learn about the latest green breakthroughs, products, transportation and recycling options for residential and commercial applications,” said Laura Chapin, research associate in the college’s Department of Horticulture and Crop Science and a member of the fair’s planning committee.

“The focus is on simple ways individuals can incorporate green choices into their own homes and lives.”

Among the topics will be local foods, rain harvesting, green college majors, sustainable agriculture, electric and hybrid vehicles, recycled and biobased products, and renewable energy, including wind, solar and biomass power.

The event last took place in 2012. An estimated 1,700 people attended.

This year’s program also includes:

• A keynote talk on community energy independence by Brandon Miller of the Cleveland company CarbonVision.
• A panel discussion and Q-and-A session on compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicle and machinery conversions and public fueling stations.
• A drive-through recycling station providing free waste disposal and paper shredding.
• K-12 student competitions based on Ohio’s Next Generation Science Standards.

Also on tap are the Akron Zoo’s ZooMobile, a cooking demonstration using local foods, food vendors selling local foods and a “solar-powered mobile eatery” selling gourmet hot dogs.

Students in grades K-2 will compete in the “Scarlet, Gray and Green Reading Challenge”; in grades 3-5, in the “Maps and Apps: Park It!” competition; in grades 6-8, in the “Maps and Apps: Let’s Talk Trash!” competition; and in grades 9-12, in the “Keep the Heat” team competition and the “What Is Your Footprint?” individual competition.

Complete fair details are available at go.osu.edu/2014woostergreenfair or https://www.facebook.com/ScarletGrayGreen.

The event’s coordinating sponsors are CFAES and the Wayne County Sustainable Energy Network, with support from contributing sponsors.

Exhibitor space and sponsorship opportunities are both still available. For more information, contact 330-263-3700 or covert.25@osu.edu.

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