The Green Fair Folk Festival Wants People To Think Green

“Reduce, Reuse and Recycle” were the key words at the Green Festival held earlier today. There were nearly 50 vendors lining the parking lot of the Franciscan Sisters of Little Falls. In its eleventh year, the green committee on the sisters’ campus made the festival possible.

“One of the first things that the green committee thought was, ‘let’s expand just beyond concern for the campus here. Let’s see what we can do to bring the message of sustainability to a wider community,’” said festival coordinator Jeff Odendahl.

Hundreds of people can buy different locally made goods from recycled or natural materials in addition to learning new ways to remain sustainable all year long. One of the newest programs put on by the St. Clare Library on the campus is the seed library.

“You check out seeds, you plant them, you grow them and once they produce fruit you save that seed and then bring it back to the library so other people can check it out. It’s free and part of the goal is to maintain biodiversity and just have people give gardening a try.” said Elise Carey, St. Clare Library Coordinator.

If you would rather buy your fresh produce, there were plenty of vegetables for sale at the green festival. There was also a group there from the Purple Carrot, a soon-to-be food co-op that will bring Little Falls fresh, local produce. But still other vendors created some crafts from things like cans, old birthday cards and even toilet paper rolls.

“I like to have them see the local people making things out of reusing and recycling things, like the can guy back there so they know that not everything has to go in the trash,” said Jennifer Henry a local mom.

Whether it is a large-scale project or a small gesture, any progress towards a greener community is valuable.