Burrillville set to host annual Green Festival
BURRILLVILLE — Beekeeping and composting will be the focus of two workshops being offered at the 11th Annual Green Festival, a family festival that is all about having fun while learning about ways to live a more environmentally conscious lifestyle.
The free 60-minute workshops are the highlight of the annual festival, which kicks off this year on Saturday, Sept. 9 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Stillwater Mill Center, 100 Tinkham Lane, Harrisville. The rain date is Sept. 23.
Reusable bags packed with energy saving information, recycling tips and much more will be given to the first 500 attendees.
Sponsored by the Pascoag Utility District and the Burrillville Parks and Recreation Department, the festival is a day for children to enjoy fun activities, games and bucket truck rides, while adults can learn about conserving energy and creating a more sustainable lifestyle. The festival will feature more than 40 green vendors, including the Burrillville Farmers Market, which will be offering local fruits and vegetables.
Various organizations will be offering free crafts and Gotta Q Smokehouse BBQ will be on site offering lunch and snacks for purchase. Musician Dave Laprise of Accordian Cool will be performing music from big band, old standards, fifties, country, rock n' roll, and light jazz.
"We're excited to be co-sponsoring the 11th Annual Green Festival with the
Town of Burrillville's Parks and Recreation Department,” said Pascoag Utility District General Manager Michael Kirkwood. “It's a great community supported event that provides folks in the northern Rhode Island area access to energy conservation, recycling and sustainable living information. We're looking forward to another big turnout this year."
The two workshops will be held in the Jesse Smith Library’s community room. Secrets of Composting with URI master gardeners will be held at 11:30 a.m. and Beekeeping with Betty Mencucci will be held at 12:30 p.m. Mencucci, owner of Betty’s Bee Farm in Burrillville, has 20 colonies of bees. She also teaches beginner beekeeping classes each spring for the Rhode Island Beekeepers Association.
A raffle will be held with donated items from various local businesses and green vendors. All proceeds from the raffle will be donated to the Burrillville Weekend Snack Pack Program, a non-profit joint effort between the Burrillville Parks and Recreation, Burrillville Lions Club, Jesse M. Smith Memorial Library, and Berean Baptist Church, that provides food for needy Burrillville youth.
For more information on the festival, contact the Pascoag Utility District at (401) 568-6222 x 223 or the Burrillville Parks and Recreation Department at (401) 568-9470.