Following a weekend of community service, the efforts of thousands of volunteers culminated Thursday with an Earth Day Celebration festival at Franklin Park Conservatory.
The first Earth Day was designed as a protest, but it has since become a day for embracing environmental initiatives and cleaning up the community.

Approaching the conservatory, music could be heard from two stages as the smell of local vegetarian cuisine filled the air.

The main stage featured a variety of local bands and a list of featured speakers that tentatively included Mayor Michael Coleman and Gov. Ted Strickland.

The paths outside the conservatory were taped off and riddled with booths featuring a variety of environmental activists, educational causes and local businesses.

The community stage included family-oriented entertainment, including musical presentations, improvisational comedy and an “Upcycled Fashion Show” featuring recycled clothing.

“Other than the jazz and ribs festival in the summer, this is my favorite event of the year in Columbus,” said volunteer Greg Jennings, 32. “There really is something for everyone here, even if you aren’t the biggest environmental activist.”

Signs around the paths listed statistics about energy conservation. One read, “If every person in the United States filled their car tires, national gas use would be reduced by 2 percent.”

Green Columbus and Keep Columbus Beautiful partnered to engage 10,000 volunteers in the 40th anniversary of Earth Day through a two-part, three-day event.

The week began with a cleanup project in which the volunteers cleaned up more than a dozen sites around Columbus on April 17 and 18.

Volunteers worked in shifts of two and four hours to plant trees, clean streams, remove invasive species and participate in other projects designed to improve Columbus and surrounding communities. Additional volunteers helped set up, run and clean up the daylong celebration on Earth Day.

Some booths provided pamphlets detailing the cause. Others had petitions and volunteer sign-ups for local causes.

“There has been a growing need and interest around Ohio for renewable energy sources like solar and wind power,” said Jason Salzgeber of Third Sun Solar and Wind Power. “We can teach people about the solar panels and install them in their homes.”

Visitors were also accompanied on the paths by Columbus Folk Dancers on stilts as local band Apocalypso took the main stage.

Additionally, local businesses including Phat Wraps and Columbus Brewing Company sold food and beverages from portable carts at the event.

Franklin Park Conservatory charged half-price admission to its inside exhibit, which included an Earth Day video and photo contest.