Beekman Boys Kick off Spring Garden Day, Earth Festival

Saturday, April 14, Milford Central School

MILFORD, NY (03/28/2012)(readMedia)-- BEEKMAN BOYS KICK OFF SPRING GARDEN DAY, EARTH FESTIVAL: Spring Garden Day, hosted by the Master Gardeners of Cornell Cooperative Extension Schoharie and Otsego Counties on Saturday, April 14 at Milford Central School, will feature The Fabulous Beekman Boys as keynote speakers beginning at 9 a.m. The Beekman Boys – Josh Kilmer-Purcell and Dr. Brent Ridge – will discuss heirloom seeds. Their presentation is free and open to the public and will be followed by a book signing. Spring Garden Day workshop topics include Garden Design, Vegetable Gardening in Containers, Edible Gardening, Flowers, Magical Gardening: Nature at Work for You, and Composting. The fee for workshop participants is $10 and pre-registration is required. For more information, visit http://occainfo.org/documents/SpringGardenDayflyerwBeekmans.pdf. Spring Garden Day is being held in conjunction with Earth Festival 2012, which is co-sponsored by OCCA and wildlearn.com.

ENTRIES SOUGHT FOR ECOART CONTEST: Submissions in this year's EcoArt/Trendy Trash contest, to be displayed at Earth Festival 2012 on Saturday, April 14, will be accepted up to and including the day of the event. As in past years, prizes will be awarded to winners in several categories including "Best of Show," "Judges Choice" and "People's Choice." This trash-to-treasure challenge to create something practical or artistic from items that have outlived their original purpose is open at no charge to students, with a $5.00 fee for adults. "Last year's winners were a basket woven from old T-shirt material, a headband crafted from rolled paper and wire, and "Patches" the dog, made from Styrofoam stuffed with newspaper, then covered in fabric scraps and decorated with bottle caps and toys headed for the landfill," said OCCA Executive Director Darla M. Youngs. "The EcoArt/Trendy Trash has become an Earth Festival favorite, and we welcome submissions from artists and inventors of all ages," Youngs said. Visit the Otsego County Conservation Association home page, www.occainfo.org, for an entry form, e-mail admin@occainfo.org or call (607) 547-4488 to learn more. Earth Festival is an environmentally-focused, interactive event featuring exhibits, activities, vendors and entertainment, all with a fun, earth-friendly twist. Financial contributions are most welcome, and an open invitation to earth-friendly exhibitors, food, and retail vendors is extended. Earth Festival 2012 is sponsored by Otsego County Conservation Association and WildLearn.com.

CONFIDATA SHREDDER RETURNS TO EARTH FESTIVAL: Earth Festival 2012 will be held on Saturday, April 14 at Milford Central School. In keeping with the earth-friendly theme, a number of items will be collected for recycling. Event organizers invite attendees to drop off Styrofoam (white only), bubble wrap, empty inkjet cartridges, cell phones, eyeglasses, videotapes and CDs, and used nylon monofilament fishing line at no charge, and Empire Recycling will be back with the Confidata Shredder from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. For more information about Earth Festival, visit http://www.occainfo.org/EarthFestival.htm, call (607) 547-4488 or e-mail admin@occainfo.org.