ALTON – Earth Day in the Riverbend is kind of a big deal since The Nature Institute (TNI) took the reigns.
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The event eventually outgrew TNI itself and moved to Piasa Harbor in Jersey County. This year, due to some staffing changes at TNI, the event was nearly canceled to return in 2020. The management of Old Bakery Beer Company, which once hosted the event due to the threat of severe weather, did not want to see the Riverbend go a single year without one of its main annual environmental celebrations (alongside Alton Main Street's and the Sierra Club's Mississippi Earthtones event), and decided to take the reigns this year.
Old Bakery Beer Company co-owner and manager Lauren Pattan said Old Bakery Beer Company will dedicate the brewery and event space to celebrate Earth Day this Saturday, April 13, from noon – 6 p.m. The event will include environmentally-sustainable artisans, live animal demonstrations from Treehouse Wildlife Center and Serengeti Steve and music from Silver Creek Bluegrass Band.
This event is not the first time Old Bakery Beer Company has worked with TNI. In 2018, the brewery made a series of beers inspired by wild plants foraged from the nature preserve. One of the brews – Hairy Mountain Mint Stout – was actually canned and released to the general public.
“We've always been a part of Earth Day, but this is the first time we've taken the entire event,” Pattan said. “Environmentalism is the foundation of our business. We take environmental sustainability seriously and integrate it into our business decisions.”
The Earth Day celebration at Old Bakery Beer Company is free and open to all ages of the public to enjoy.
