Earth Day is April 22nd, but on April 21st you'll be able to get a jump start on Earth Day with the 5th Annual Earth Day Fest at Sankofa Gardens in Shreveport.

Sankofa Vision, Inc. presents the 5th Annual Earth Day Fest at Sankofa Gardens on April 21, 2012, from 9:30 AM to 2 PM. This annual festival event is the longest-running local celebration of Earth Day. Sankofa Gardens is an organic community garden and learning campus located at 1651 Tulane, Shreveport, LA 71103. Earth Day Fest is a family-fun FREE and public event.

This year’s event will highlight a special initiative called the 100 Family Gardens Challenge in which Sankofa Vision is seeking at least 100 families to accept the fun and purposeful challenge of growing healthy, fresh vegetables. Families will receive hands-on learning experiences at the Earth Day Fest by helping to plant the community garden. Also, families will learn how to make a portable and low-cost container garden, which they can recreate at their homes. Every registered family in the 100 Family Gardens Challenge will receive a free vegetable plant to take home!

Participation in the 100 Family Garden Challenge is free and supplies are limited. Families are highly encouraged to register by the deadline of April 16, 2012. Registered families will be eligible to receive gifts and compete for special prizes.

Area families, schools, youth groups, churches, and neighborhood associations are encouraged to register for the challenge, by calling (318) 230-2892 and visiting the organization website: www.sankofavision.org.

Leia Lewis, the Founding Director of Sankofa Visions says, “The 100 Family Gardens Challenge aims to increase people’s access to healthy, fresh foods, wherever they may live. Sankofa Vision hopes that more families will be inspired to participate in the community garden in their neighborhood. Growing food is enjoyable and very gratifying. We want moms, dads, children, and grandparents to better understand that growing a garden is an important way we all can take better care of our families and the Earth. In this way, “green’ living is practical and possible for nearly everyone.”

Other 5th Annual Earth Day Fest activities will include the Children’s Village of Global Games, the Fresh Food & Community Marketplace, the Go-Green Business Showcase, and the Health is Wealth Pavilion. Also, the event will feature the Sankofa Community School Stage with performances by talented local musicians, poets, and performers. The complete entertainment schedule will be announced.

Sankofa Vision, Inc. is a charitable, 501(c)(3) arts, cultural and educational organization based in Shreveport, LA. Our name "Sankofa" is derived from a West African proverb that reminds people to "use lessons of the past to build the future." Sankofa Vision welcomes and attracts people of all backgrounds who desire to create a better world! Sankofa Vision's central work is Sankofa Gardens - an organic community garden and learning campus which is a vibrant force of community development. Sankofa Gardens is a "Creative Community and Fresh Food Oasis" in Ingleside neighborhood, the City of Shreveport, Caddo Parish, and beyond.

The 5th Annual Earth Day Fest is made possible through collaboration with the LSU Ag Center, Red River Coalition of Community Gardens, Shreveport Green, Centenary College of Louisiana Service Learning Program, The Linwood Village Merchants, Pamoja

Art Society, Mahogany Ensemble Theatre, Nubian Cultural Outreach Center, Destiny One Ministries, A Better Shreveport, Student Humanitarian International Project (SHIP), Green Logistics and community groups.

Sankofa Vision receives grant funding from Caddo Parish, the City of Shreveport (NIP), Green For All, individual donors, and business partners.

For information about the festival event, vending opportunities, and to register for the 100 Family Gardens Challenge contact:

Mrs. Leia Lewis Henderson, Founding Director

Sankofa Vision, Inc.

Phone: (318) 230-2892

E-mail: leia@sankofavision.org

Website: www.sankofavision.org

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