Earth Day Festival returns to Union Square to raise awareness, encourage people to go green
UNION SQUARE, Manhattan (WABC) -- Festivities are underway at New York City's free Earth Day Festival in Union Square on Thursday.
Celebrations for the 2025 Earth Day Festival kicked off at noon and features fun exhibits, activities, and musical performances for kids and adults alike.
As in years past, about 70 different organizations will be represented, all with the goal of talking about and educating people on ways to help the planet.
The nonprofit Earth Day Initative has put on the festival for more than a decade. The organization works year-round with schools, businesses and governments promoting environmental awareness. Some tips you can learn from the event include how to eat more plant-based foods and how to benefit from solar energy even if you live in apartment and don't have solar panels.
The festival is meant to be interactive, and organizers tell Eyewitness News that the goal is two-fold: the first step is getting people to have conversations about the planet, and the second is having them take action.
"I think people have really seen a lot of the local effects of climate change," said John Oppermann, executive director of Earth Day Initative. "For a long time, climate change felt like this distant thing that you know, we're going to deal with in the future. We hear about rising sea levels, well people are really experiencing extreme weather events now, and people are seeing this."
One of the highlights of the event will be a performance by Hila the Earth. The festival will run until 6 p.m. and is open to the public.
You can learn more about the festival on the Earth Day Initiative website.
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