Fun for All at Centennial Park Celebration

4/20/09
Nashville’s Eighth Annual Earth Day Celebration at Centennial Park this past Saturday, 4/18, did not disappoint. Despite the imminent threat of rain for parts of the afternoon, and even a few drops here and there, the nice weather held out, and so did the crowds.
Exhibitors turned out to represent every area of environment and sustainability. Metro Water gave out information on water use, Tennessee Environmental council gave out free baby trees, local organic farmer’s gave out samples of their food, a Cool People care Guy dressed as a clown on stilts mesmerized the younger visitors while beaming parents looked on, Elephant Sanctuary and Lightning 100’s “Team Green” and recyclers and a wide range of other non-profits and “green” businesses peddled their informational wares, in the hopes of creating a more enlightened, earth-friendly and eco-conscious Nashville, per Mayor Karl Dean’s oft repeated pledge to make us “the greenest city in the south”.
I affirm for you the courage of that conviction, Mayor Dean – esp. in this challenging economic time, which just might present a unique opportunity for truly creative thinking in bringing about needed changes: job creation, reduced waste and increased efficiency, better public transport (love those big hybrid buses), etc.. You’ve already got a broad constituency that largely supports these ideas and many more. Now you just need the time, will, imagination, resources and STAFF to bring them to fruition.
And can I just say, for the record, that the music was excellent (what I saw of it), and that Susan Tedeschi ROCKS! And for Rhythmystic fans (including myself), the hypnotic drumbeat dancing interludes between acts were as much fun as the acts themselves – or even more!
The only lame duck in the shooting gallery was the food: long lines and limited selections that in no way reflected the theme – a definite area for future improvement!