For Immediate Release: April 4, 2014 

City of Alexandria to Host 21st Annual Alexandria Earth Day on Saturday, April 26 - Are YOU an Eco-Citizen?

The City of Alexandria will host the 21st Annual Alexandria Earth Day and Arbor Day celebration at Ben Brenman Park, 4800 Brenman Park Dr., on Saturday, April 26, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. This year’s theme is "Are YOU an Eco-Citizen?” highlighted by the Fourth Annual Upcycling Showcase.  The showcase features students from the Alexandria City Public Schools showing their upcycling creations based on the theme by modeling fashions created by them from upcycled materials, as well as their music, dance, literature and visual arts. 

Earth Day features City agencies and organizations dedicated to protecting public health and the environment. Explore a DASH bus and how it can carry a bicycle.  Exhibitors will provide environmental educational activities for the whole family which invoke the spirit of Earth Day.

Additional activities include the Annual Earth Day Tree Sale; live animal exhibits; the Sixth Annual Ellen Pickering Award presentation and the Arbor Day tree planting.  Also featured will be live music by the Alexandria-based teen rock band Fuse Box, which was nominated for a Wammie for Best New Artist and was named “Fan Favorite”.

Alexandria Earth Day is based on the need to promote education and lead us all to a green and sustainable future, in keeping with the goals of the Eco-City Alexandria Initiative.  In addition, the Alexandria Earth Day Committee has committed to making this event a zero-waste and carbon neutral. For additional information on Alexandria Earth Day and the Spring Tree Sale, visit www.alexandriava.gov/Earthday.

The City’s Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities and Department of Transportation and Environmental Services, and the Environmental Policy Commission, are sponsoring the Earth Day Celebration.

The public is encouraged to take public transit, walk or bike to the event. Ben Brenman Park is served by DASH and Metrobus transit lines. For DASH route and schedule information, call 703.370.DASH or visit www.dashbus.com. For Metrobus schedule information, call 202.637.7000 or visit www.wmata.com.

Bicyclists may visit www.alexandriava.gov/localmotion for the City's Bikeways Map, which features the City's best on-street and off-road bikeways, as well as locations of grouped bicycle parking. Additional parking is available at the Samuel W. Tucker Elementary School, located at 435 Ferdinand Day Dr. 

This year DASH will be offering free rides for the Earth Day event on the DASH AT8 bus between the hours of 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on April 26 only.  Visit www.alexandriava.gov/Earthday for a printable pass to ride DASH AT8 to the event and for additional information on alternative modes of transportation. 

In case of inclement weather, the event will be relocated to the Samuel W. Tucker Elementary School, located at 435 Ferdinand Day Dr. For additional information on Earth Day Activities, visit www.alexandriava.gov/Earthday or call the Special Events Hotline at 703.746.5592 or the Special Events Office at 703.746.5418.

The City of Alexandria is committed to compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. To request a reasonable accommodation or to request materials in an alternative format, call Maureen Sturgill at 703.746.5418 (VA Relay 711) or e-mail maureen.sturgill@alexandriava.gov.