Green is for Life
The fifth annual Scarlet, Gray & Green Fair will be held inside and outside Fisher Auditorium at the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center on Tuesday, 11 a.m.-6:30 p.m.
It is free and open to the public and celebrates Earth Day with dozens of educational exhibits, food, demonstrations, speakers and student activities.
"We have in the student project area over 200 entries from nine school districts," said Gwen Covert, head of the fair's planning committee. The students' work encompasses posters, art projects and stewardship essays.
Visitors will be able to watch a student-created video, she said. "That's exciting."
"We have a recycling station going on again this year in front of Fisher Auditorium," Covert said. "It's a drive-through," with volunteers available to help unload.
As part of that effort, the Medway Drug Enforcement Agency will again be on hand to recover unused prescription drugs. Officials collected more than 100 pounds of medication last year, she said.
Covert also is enthusiastic about vehicles that will be on display.
When the Scarlet, Gray and Green Fair was initiated, exhibitors showed hybrid and alternative fuel vehicles they had experimented with building in their garages.
"Now they are mass-produced" within just that short time frame, Covert said, and may be purchased at automobile dealerships.
A new food vendor among the several featured at the fair will be Ma Ma Pearl's Soulfood and BBQ, serving ribs, chicken, potato salad and baked beans made from locally grown ingredients.
Fair vendors are selected because of their efforts "to be as local and sustainable as possible," Covert said.
A lot of interest has been expressed in the keynote speaker, Paolo Gabrielli, research scientist for Ohio State University's Byrd Polar Research Center, for the opening ceremony, 11 a.m., at Fisher Auditorium, Covert said, particularly because there has been so much talk about global warming and melting glaciers.
Gabrielli's topic will be "Ice Cores: Tracing the Human Fingerprint."
"He studies ice cores and (he and fellow researchers) go all over the world," Covert said, explaining ice cores are similar to sedimentary rocks in their layers and can reveal information about environmental and climate changes over thousands of years.
The Akron Zoo will feature an activity appealing to children from 12:30-3:30 p.m.
The more than 60 exhibitors will feature topics including composting, weatherization, solar energy, organic good and clothing, vehicle conversions, sustainable energy devices, energy-efficient construction, and even "green" careers.
Categories covered by the fair encompass agriculture, construction, business and industry, recreation, recycling, research and education, transportation, and producing and cooking food.
Sponsors for the event include OSU's College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, OSU Extension and the Wayne County Sustainable Energy Network.
From the fair's website, visitors can link to a "green" statement by Bobby Moser on his blog.
"In The College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, one of our foremost purposes is to help understand, protect and remediate the environment and ecosystems to ensure long-term sustainability."
That's what the Scarlet, Gray and Green Fair, with Its theme, "Green Is For Life," is all about.
The event will be held rain or shine.
For additional information, contact Covert at 330-263-3700.
Reporter Linda Hall can be reached at 330-264-1125, Ext. 2230, or lhall@the-daily-record.com.