I hopped over to the Eco-Fair late Sunday afternoon—maybe a little late to get the whole vibe, as some vendors had already packed up and left. But it was still a pleasant scene at the Pavilion. Larry Keel and Natural Bridge were providing the tunes; folks were lounging on the grass; legions of strollers were milling here and there. I wished I had cash because there were some really awesome-smelling food stands, too.
As for the vendors, they included A) companies that provide some sort of earth-friendly service and B) groups that are protecting that selfsame earth and trying to get people more in touch with its splendors. You had your UpStream Construction, your Habitat Store, your Retail Relay. The PEC was there as was the Rivanna Conservation Society.
I got a very energetic sales pitch from a fellow with Virginia Ecological Detailing, a company that can apparently wash your entire car with 10 ounces of water. I also heard quite a bit from the guy at the Rock the Earth table, and I must admit I still don’t fully understand what they do—something about music events and fighting various bad environmental practices, like mountaintop removal mining. Rock on.
Anyway, I also met these cute people who make all-natural soap:
And I talked with Devin Floyd, who’s with the Blue Ridge Discovery Center and leads groups of kids and adults on excursions right here in the city, looking for wildflowers and animals and other evidence that nature is, in fact, all around us. That included terrariums on his table. One of these held a peeper frog! I’ve always loved hearing these guys sing in the springtime, but have never seen one before. I didn’t even try to take a picture because the frog was tiny and black and sitting on a black stone, so here’s a picture of Devin with drawings made by kids throughout the day of Eco-Fair:
On the way out, I stopped in the C-VILLE offices and turned off a light. All in all, a good day.
Anyone else hit the fair? What’d you see/hear/learn/eat?
