The Mississippi Earthtones Festival, co-organized by Alton Main Street and the Sierra Club, is a celebration of our rivers through art, music, and conservation. This 9th Annual event falls on September 19th, and promises to attract thousands of people to Broadway, where the street will be closed to traffic between Alton Street (Mineral Springs Mall) and Langdon Street (Pedestrian Bridge) from Noon to 10pm.
“At the MEF, we showcase our region’s nature-based programs, as well as local businesses that are working to help “green” residents’ lives,” said Sara McGibany, Executive Director of Alton Main Street. "It's an exciting evolution for the festival to move into the Downtown business district. After reviewing many options, this location really hit home with the Main Street & Sierra Club values of keeping your buying power local. A number of great new businesses have opened on Broadway over the last couple of years, and everyone is very excited to have a big crowd at their doorstep. We encourage the community to come down for this special occasion and spend a day exploring Broadway."
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There will be several agencies on hand to teach consumers how to incorporate more sustainable practices into their daily lives, along with companies featuring Earth-friendly products and services. A variety of fun and educational activities are planned for families, such as: check out the sun through a solar scope with an astronomer at The Nature Institute booth, plant a native plant with the Community Cultivators, play with all kinds of solar experiments with StraightUp Solar and make a solar s’more at the Sierra Club booth. Prairie Rivers Network will be giving away bug collectors & coloring sheets of native plants and animals.
Many animal experts will be on-hand at MEF for questions and answers! Learn about pollinators with the Audubon Center, and find out all about stream bugs with The National Great Rivers Research and Education Center. Quiz the Illinois Natural History Survey about fish and mussels, then visit with owls and other creatures at the Treehouse Wildlife Center booth.
“Festival-goers will have many chances to have a positive effect on the environment that day,” said Christine Favilla, Three Rivers Project Coordinator for the Sierra Club. “They can get easy tips on things such as winterizing their homes and conserving water, or bring along the following materials to be recycled: plastic plant pots, cell phones and unused home & garden tools.”
Start the day out right by participating in the MEF River Clean Up. From 9:00 a.m. to Noon, boats will ferry volunteers to clean up riverbanks and islands. Pre-registration is required to reserve your place in the boat as well as your free lunch and t-shirt. RSVP by emailing christine.favilla@sierraclub.org. Approximately 20 tons of trash has been removed from the Mississippi River to date during MEF clean-ups.
Dozens of local artisans and upcyclers will offer their nature-inspired, hand-made wares, such as jewelry, clothing, kitchen linens, knit & crochet, henna tattoos, hula hoops, handmade books, etched bottles, tie dye, artisan soap, wooden arbors and furniture.
Other special features include an area designed by Heartlands Conservancy called a temporary “parklet” (a sidewalk extension that provides more space and amenities for people using the street), which will allow them to engage citizens in discussions about the importance of parks and green space in the urban environment. Also, the Alton Museum of History & Art will be presenting a costumed riverboat man from the early 1800's, and displaying river artifacts such as a model steamboat and historical photos of the river.
Wind-powered music will fill the air throughout the day, and the entertainment line-up will feature Happenstance playing Acoustic Folk from 2:00-4:00 p.m., River Bend performing traditional Bluegrass from 4:30-6:30 p.m., and from 7:00-10:00 p.m. Jake's Leg will perform their interpretation of the music of the Grateful Dead, as they have been doing in the St. Louis region for over 35 years. Hoop dancing workshops will be offered by the Hoop Factory at 4:00 and 6:30.
Come hungry because there will be a great selection of local food & beverages on site. The Old Bakery Beer Co. will be serving chili & cornbread, the Fraternal Order of Eagles are cooking up some BBQ and fried fish, plus pick up everyone’s favorite Morales Tacos or try the vendors offering gyros, salads, kettle corn and shaved ice.
Many Broadway businesses have been preparing to roll out the red carpet for the additional guests, and a number of shops will have displays and merchandise on the sidewalk, such as Alton Stained Glass Works, 1904 General Store, and Party on Broadway. A number of property owners will be giving tours of their charming historic buildings. Mineral Springs Haunted Tours is hosting a Autumn Equinox Haunted Extravaganza that will coincide with the festival at Mineral Springs Mall, located at 301 E. Broadway, which is free & open to the public. From 1:00-5:00 p.m. the indoor event features vendors, speakers, book signings, free Tarot card readings, drawings, door prizes and tours of the building.
“We are so fortunate to have such amazing historic architecture as well as the Mississippi River as part of Alton’s culture; the goal of the festival is to welcome community members and visitors for a fun day in Downtown Alton to celebrate the river while learning more about what we can do to protect the environment,” said Sara McGibany.”
There is ample parking for festival attendees in the Farmers’ & Artisans’ Market parking lot, located at 501 Landmarks Blvd.; guests can simply walk across the pedestrian bridge directly to the event. Handicapped parking is available at Williams Office Products, located at 500 E. Broadway. Volunteers are needed; for more information, please visit: www.facebook.com/EarthtonesFestival or www.DowntownAlton.com.
This free community festival would not be possible without the generosity of its sponsors. The MEF committee expresses their sincere appreciation to the following local businesses for supporting the event: The Telegraph, Riverbender.com, WBGZ Radio, AdVantage News, the Environmental Protection Agency, Argosy Casino Alton, Lewis & Clark Community College, Madison County Planning & Development, The Nature Institute, Illinois American Water, the Old Bakery Beer Company, the Fraternal Order of Eagles, StraightUp Solar, Homefield Energy, and Prairie Rivers Network. This 9th annual event is held annually on the 3rd Saturday in September, as part of the State of Illinois’ “It’s Our River Day” initiative to celebrate Illinois watersheds through education, recreation and conservation.
