Join us for Anacortes Earth Day!
Parades, activity booths, music, and a fashion show star in this free event that honors the local environment, “from the forest to the sea.”
This year, Anacortes Earth Day transforms into a vibrant weekend celebration on April 25th and 26th. For two memorable days, the heart of downtown will pulse with energy, featuring the dazzling Luminary Light Parade, hands-on environmental activity booths, a delightful Sustainable Fashion Show, and the inspirational Procession of the Species.
The weekend kicks off with the Luminary Light Parade on Friday, April 25th. Participants will begin gathering outside the Majestic Inn ballroom at 7:30pm. As night falls around 8:00pm, the captivating “Star Brigade” will lead the way for brilliantly colored, brightly lit sea creatures, birds, celestial bodies, and flowers to delight onlookers lining Commercial Avenue. Guemes Island artist Loalynda Bird of PaperBirds Studio is the creative mind behind the stunning, handmade paper lanterns.
The following day, Saturday the 26th, non-profits focused on environmental stewardship will host activity booths along the 400 and 500 blocks of Commercial Avenue starting at 4:00pm. Spearheaded by the Friends of the Anacortes Community Forest Lands, these groups will offer a mix of education and fun, with hands-on activities like leaf identification, demonstrations, and seed giveaways.
During the afternoon of the 26th, the second annual Sustainable Fashion Show will captivate viewers and generate smiles as it showcases one-of-a-kind outfits created from vintage and thrift store clothing. Curated by Chilly Rain Retro and partners, the message is clear: reusing clothing offers a stylish alternative for more than 30 billion pounds of textiles that end up in U.S. landfills each year. The Sustainable Fashion Show will roll out the red carpet at Commercial and 4th at about 4:30. Afterward, the Procession of the Species will fill the streets to honor the flora and fauna of the Salish Sea and surroundings.
The true spirit of Earth Day comes to life as the Procession of the Species snakes its way up and down Commercial at about 5:00. Both adults and children proudly wear handmade costumes honoring the flora and fauna of the Pacific Northwest. The inaugural procession took place in Olympia in 1995; now thousands come out to marvel at the range of costumes, some whimsical, some highlighting species in danger. This will be the third Procession of the Species in Anacortes.
As Earth Day wraps up, participants are invited to the back patio of the Creative Hub and Coffeehouse for music and dancing at the after-party. The Anacortes High School Jazz Band will play as people gather between 5:30 and 6:00, then Dog Tail Swing will perform.
We at Friends of the ACFL are excited to be a part of the committee planning this collaborative event.