Laguna Beach Gets Earth Day Craaaaaazy!

A beach hug, music festival, beach challenge clean-up, educational exhibits and kayak trips will mark the 42nd annual celebration of Earth Day in Laguna Beach this weekend.

“Laguna is going extreme!" said HelpBlueWater.com Founder and President Rick Conkey. "Not just with our events, but with the help of the partnering organizations. We will have events in place to help clean it, learn about it, and hug it!” 

First observed on April 22, 1970, Earth Day was founded by United States Sen. Gaylord Nelson. Earth Day is said to be the beginning of the modern environmental movement. It is celebrated around the world in 175 countries each year on April 22. 

The weekend events in Laguna Beach include the 7th Annual Earth Day Challenge on Saturday in which participants will try to clean the city’s beaches in just three hours, beginning at 9 a.m. Volunteers who participate for at least an hour are eligible for half-off tickets to the $20 admission for the Earth Day Blue Water Music Festival on Sunday.

After the clean up Saturday, people will go to Main Beach to meet for World's Largest Hug, in which participants will actually “hug” the beach. Conkey said it's hoped the hug will send a powerful message of love and a willingness to change.

“We want to raise awareness and hopefully instill a paradigm change of attitude toward the environment in those who participate,” Conkey said.

The music festival will take place Sunday at Laguna Village from 3 to 10 p.m. Artists will include such local and regional musicians as Chelsea Williams, Nick “I” of Common Sense, Justin James, Frame of Mind, Kevin Miso, World Anthem, Salty Suites, Jason Feddy and the PawnShop Kings. The event will help raise funds for Blue Water Green Earth, a nonprofit organization that demonstrates how the arts can spur action to improve our surroundings.

Education fairs featuring such organizations Kelpfest 2012 and Transition Laguna will also take place over the weekend.

Kelpfest, which runs Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Main Beach, will feature live performances, educational exhibits, and kayak trips to the restored kelp forests off Laguna Beach.

Transition Laguna, a collaboration of local environmental groups that includes Laguna Ocean Foundation, Seeds Art + Education, Endangered Planet, and Blue Water, will have speakers on a variety of ecological and sustainability topics related to energy, mobility, water conservation, and recycling.

Transition Laguna's event will be set up Saturday at 9 a.m. outside the Laguna Beach Library and feature the following:

• Eco-Village: Solar oven cooking demos, rain barrel education, urban composting, permaculture activities, “Wall of the Future” kids’ art project.
• Eco-Lounge: Live music, drum circle, children’s gardening presentation, environmental film, and various guest speakers with expertise in environmental topics such as water, energy, land conservation, solar power, mobility, recycling, waste management, organic gardening & cooking, and green building.
• Eco-Expo: Information booths with educational materials available on various environmental topics and issues.
• Laguna Beach Patch will also be there—stop by and say hi, pick up some free swag, and point and laugh at the geeky redhead working the table!

“Laguna Beach has been on the bleeding edge of environmental stewardship dating back to the 1960s when bell bottom activists first started raising eco-awareness,” said Transition Laguna President Chris Prelitz. “Since then, countless Laguna Beach individuals and organizations have fought to protect our natural eco-systems and to educate and enact laws that do better for both people and planet.”

Conkey of HelpBlueWater.com encourages the public to volunteer and cover an area. “One thing I've learned over the years is you can not sit back and expect others to do it! You have to step up and make it happen,” Conkey said.

Also on Saturday, just down the road in Dana Point, Jean-Michel Cousteau, the first son of ocean explorer Jacques Cousteau, will lead the Earth Day celebration and Beach Clean-Up at the Ritz-Carlton. Area residents as well as hotel guests are invited. The Beach Clean-Up takes place from 10 a.m. to noon at Salt Creek Beach.

— Lori Vanny Ke