Thousands Expected for the Return of Earth Day at Santa Barbara’s Arlington Theatre
SANTA BARBARA — The community will gather in person for the first time since 2019 to celebrate Earth Day. Community Environmental Council (CEC) is hosting the free one-day event, in and around the Arlington Theatre from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, April 23. An evening concert, a separate ticketed event, will begin at 7:30 p.m.
Earth Day 2022 will highlight the critical role CEC has played across the region for more than 50 years, shining a light on the system changes, policy implementation and individual action needed to meet the urgency of the climate crisis. Key to this is the Annual Climate Leadership Summit, which starts at 3 p.m. The Summit will feature climate actions that organizations and individuals are undertaking throughout the region, with an emphasis on nurturing strategies that leverage intergenerational connections. Eric Cardenas, CEO of LOACOM, will act as the program’s emcee and co-facilitate the Climate Leadership Summit with CEC CEO Sigrid Wright.
The community is encouraged to ride and bike to the event, as well as bring reusable water bottles as water stations will be provided.
2022 Earth Day Schedule of Event
Media planning to attend any portion of Earth Day should connect with Jeanie-Marie Price at the CEC booth outside of the Arlington day of: cell is 971-027-9269; email jmprice@cecmail.org.
Outside the Arlington Theater (10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.)
Interactive Tabling
More than 30 organizations and businesses with interactive table displays; see below for complete list of participants. Spanish speaking table hosts will be identified with a ‘Hablo Español’ button.
Elected Officials Table
Several elected officials will be speaking with constituents at one of the tables outside of the Arlington:
- 1:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.: U.S. Representative Salud Carbajal and Assemblymember Steve Bennett
- 12:00 p.m. – 12:30 p.m.: Goleta Mayor Paula Perotte and Mayor Pro Tem Stuart Kasdin
- 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.: County of Santa Barbara Supervisor Joan Hartmann
- 3:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.: County of Santa Barbara Supervisor Gregg Hart
- 3:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.: State Senator Monique Limon
Green Car Show
The annual Green Car Show will showcase a collection of the latest electric vehicles and technologies, and will feature a Ride & Drive event where members of the public can get behind the wheel of an electric vehicle or e-bike. Participants include: Santa Barbara Nissan, Bunnin Chevrolet, Fisker, Story Bikes, and Santa Barbara County Association of Governments (SBCAG).
Inside the Arlington Theater
10:00 a.m. Welcoming Remarks from Event Emcee Eric Cardenas, CEO of LOACOM
10:15 a.m. Chumash Blessing by Art Cisneros
10:45 a.m. Community Environmental Council’s Reverse, Repair, Protect mission
presented by Community Environmental Council CEO Sigrid Wright and Policy Director Michael Chiacos.
11:45 a.m. Short Films:
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- Environmental Regeneration: Cows Rebuilding Soil at Las Cumbres Ranch (Santa Barbara County Food Action Network)
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- The Patch Santa Maria: Growing Pumpkins and Food System Leaders (Santa Barbara County Food Action Network)
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- The Valley Oak – Monarch of the Valley (Wildling Museum Solvang)
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- Black Like Plastic (Los Padres Foreset Watch and The Sea League)
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- Risin’ of the Seas – music video (James Kahn)
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- 50 Years of National Marine Sanctuaries (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association)
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- Santa Maria Trail (Lian Mae Tualla)
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12:45 p.m. Eat Less Water Challenge presented by Florencia Ramirez, Oxnard-based
environmental activist and chef, and previous Earth Day Environmental Hero.
1:00 p.m. Culture & Climate: Wildling Museum Poetry Contest Winners will read their
poems, Santa Barbara Channelkeeper will announce student art show winners, the Environmental Alliance of Santa Barbara County Museums will discuss their collaborative efforts to present climate-focused exhibits in 2022, and the 2nd Annual Earth Day Mural will be revealed. See more details on poetry and mural winners below.
2:00 p.m. Recycled Fashion Show: Fashion Forward, Runway Rewind
Focused on raising awareness about the negative environmental impacts of fast fashion, this fashion show will showcase second-hand and upcycled styles and encourage consumers to consider the second-hand market as a way to reduce the carbon footprint of clothing. Featuring styles from Buffalo Exchange, The Closet Trading Company, Blumaka, VanJaneLA and more; organized by UCSB student Maria Lampariello.
2:30 p.m. CEC’s Annual Environmental Hero Awards Ceremony Emceed by
U.S Representative Salud Carbajal
Ceremony will honor Kenny Loggins and graduates of the first three cohorts of Community Environmental Council’s UC Climate Stewards Program. In addition, Congressman Carbajal will present CEC’s CEO Sigrid Wright with the 2022 Congressional Woman of the Year Award.
3:00 p.m. Annual Climate Leadership Summit
Summit brings climate-focused groups together to mobilize rapid public action on climate change. This year’s event will focus on connecting youth with engagement opportunities. Nearly 30 local groups will take the stage to share what they are doing and how the community can get involved.
7:30 p.m. Earth Day Evening Concert
This ticketed event will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Earth Day with all songs performed from the banner musical year 1972. Performers include local favorites Jackson Gillies Trio, Alastair Greene, Lois Mahalia and No Simple Highway. KTYD DJ and ESPN X Games announcer Brad Jay is the evening’s emcee. Tickets are $25 for students/$35 for general admission (includes all venue and platform fees) and are available at: https://sbearthday.org/concert
Additional Local Earth Day Events Co-sponsored by CEC
Tuesday, April 19, from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m.
The UCSB Library Presents: The Business of Less – The Role of Companies and Households on a Planet in Peril with Roland Geyer
Learn about a new set of principles that provide a road map, for businesses and households, to a world in which human prosperity and a healthy environment are no longer at odds. https://www.library.ucsb.edu/events-exhibitions/business-less (Free)
Wednesday, April 20, from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m.
Ventech Presents: Is Recycling a Lie? The New Paradigm for a Circular Economy
Learn from business leaders how they have changed their approach from a one-way-trip to the landfill into one that thinks deeply about the life of their products after they’ve been sold to the customer. CEC’s Director of Climate Education and Leadership Kathi King is on the panel. Learn more and purchase tickets here: https://ventech.org/circular-economy/
Friday, April 22, from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Danielle Wood – Space Enabled Earth Justice: Using Space Technology to Improve Life
Join us for a lecture with Danielle Wood, director of the cutting-edge Space Enabled research group at MIT’s Media Lab, who applies designs enabled by space research to projects that advance social good here on Earth –whether that’s combating environmental degradation or preventing the next famine. Breaking down complex, cosmic technologies, she shows us how entrepreneurial spirit and cross-disciplinary collaboration can be used to bring about a more just and innovative future. This event is part of the Justice for All Series. Learn more and register here: https://artsandlectures.ucsb.edu/Details.aspx?PerfNum=4772
Full details are at: SBEarthDay.org.
Wildling Museum Poetry Contest Winners:
Submissions judged by former Santa Barbara Poet Laureates Sojourner Kincaid Rolle and Chryss Yost. More at https://sbearthday.org/poetry
Adult Category
- First place ($200 Prize): Linda Schwartz (Santa Barbara), “Climate Change–Small Steps to Make a Difference”
- Second place ($100 Prize): Jami Joelle Nielsen (Goleta), “The Earth’s Choir”
- Third place (Family Membership to Wildling): Jaque Reed (Santa Barbara), “Hidden Waters”
Youth Category
- First Place ($100 Prize): Gabrielle Terzian (Santa Barbara), “Our Responsibility” (Age 13)
- Second Place ($50 Prize): Audrey Martinez-Garcia (Lompoc), “Impact” (Age 8)
- Third Place (Family Membership to Wildling): Takunda Chikowero (Goleta), “Preserve Nature” (Age 8)
Second Annual Earth Day Mural Winner: Artist Maria Arroyo has been selected to paint this year’s Earth Day Mural. Since 2013, Arroyo has been an artist at Slingshot / Alpha Art Studio, a non-profit progressive arts center in downtown Santa Barbara that supports artists with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Arroyo’s Latinx heritage gives her work a sense of magical realism. More info on Arroyo and the mural reveal at https://www.mcasantabarbara.org/earth-day-mural/
CEC’s Santa Barbara Earth Day 2022 event sponsors include: Advanced Veterinary Specialists, Brighten Solar, Bunnin Chevrolet, Bye Bye Mattress, Central Coast Clean Cities Coalition (C5), City of Santa Barbara, County of Santa Barbara’s One Climate Initiative, Cox Communications, Edhat, Fisker, Flying Embers, Islay Events, KJEE, K-LITE, KTYD, Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator, MarBorg Industries, Matilija Pure Water Systems, Montecito Bank & Trust, Noozhawk, Santa Barbara Independent, Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District, Santa Barbara Clean Energy, Santa Barbara Independent, Santa Barbara Nissan, Story Bikes, Toad & Co., Water With Life and Yardi.
CEC’s Earth Day production partners include: California Fuel Cell Partnership, Carp Events, Central Coast Clean Cities Coalition (C5), Downtown Organization, Environmental Alliance of Santa Barbara County Museums, LOACOM, Lucidity, Oniracom, Pharos Creative, Santa Barbara City College Environmental Studies, The Arlington Theatre, Santa Barbara County Association of Governments, UCSB Environmental Studies and Write Kinda Girl.
Interactive tables in front of the theater: Advanced Veterinary Specialists, Bye Bye Mattress, Central Coast Clean Cities Coalition, Central Coast Climate Justice Network, City of Santa Barbara, City of Goleta, Community Environmental Council, Cox Communications, County of Santa Barbara One Climate, Eat Less Water, Elected Officials, Environmental Alliance of Santa Barbara County Museums, Environmental Defense Center, Explore Ecology, Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator, MarBorg Industries, Matilija Pure Water Systems, Planned Parenthood Central Coast, Santa Barbara Channelkeeper, Santa Barbara Clean Energy, Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District, Santa Barbara County Food Action Network, Santa Barbara Permaculture Network, SB Bike + COAST, Sierra Club, Society of Fearless Grandmothers, Toad & Co, and Water With Life.
Green Car Show participants behind the theater: Brighten Solar, Bunnin Chevrolet, California Fuel Cell Partnership, Central Coast Green Building Council, Community Environmental Council, Fisker, SBMTD Micro Transit Program, Santa Barbara County Association of Governments, Santa Barbara Nisssan, Story Bikes, and Surfrider Santa Barbara.
About CEC’s Santa Barbara Earth Day:
Widely acknowledged as the birthplace of Earth Day, Santa Barbara’s involvement began with the devastating 1969 oil spill off its coast. This led a local group of concerned citizens to begin discussing a different way of looking at environmental systems. During that time, Senator Gaylord Nelson visited Santa Barbara to view the oil spill damage. When he returned to Washington, D.C., he introduced a bill designating April 22 as a national day to celebrate the earth. Over the next few years, the environmental movement was born across the country – including CEC. Led by a group of forward-thinking youth and elders, CEC incorporated in the spring of 1970 and its first act as a new nonprofit was to hold an Earth Day celebration – a one block long teach-in between State St. and Chapala St. along Anapamu. Around the country, 20 million concerned citizens attended similar events. We recognize that “every day is earth day” and that special events like this are a way to bring diverse voices from our community together as a reminder to tread lightly on the planet.
For up-to-the-minute information on CEC’s Earth Day 2022:
• Find Earth Day on the web at SBEarthDay.org
About the Community Environmental Council (CEC): Recognized as a 2020 California Nonprofit of the Year and 2020 City of Santa Barbara Climate Hero, CEC has worked since 1970 to incubate and innovate real life environmental solutions that directly affect the California Central Coast. Our current work advances rapid and equitable solutions to the climate crisis – including ambitious zero carbon goals, drawdown of excess carbon, and protection against the impacts of climate change. Our programs lead to clean vehicles, solar energy, resilient food systems and reduction of single-use plastic. Learn more about why CEC is one of only five nonprofits in Santa Barbara County to have the highest possible ratings on Charity Navigator and Guidestar at CECSB.org/impact. Find CEC on the web at CECSB.org and on Facebook.com/CECSB, Instagram.com/CEC_SB, Twitter.com/CECSB, and LinkedIn.com/CECSB.