Auburn Hip Hop Congress to host Earth Day Festival

Every year in April, inhabitants of our small, blue orb take part in celebrating the fact we can call it home by spotlighting many causes from environmental factors to climate change, to honoring the land and the people of indigenous groups whose traditions and practices longstanding in the community helped to preserve and save it for future generations. Marking this is Auburn's annual Some Kind of Earth Day Festival taking place Saturday, April 25, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the School Park Preserve, 55 College Way in Auburn. The event is free to attend. Held every year near Earth Day, Auburn Hip Hop Congress' festival highlights the diversity and reliance of the planet with a wide array of booths and events – as they have been doing since 2011. According to AHHC's social media post, the event will offer "fun, music, nature, culture, creativity and skillsharing ... lots of amazing local groups and organizations." As has been the case in previous years, there have been interactive booths, live artists and vendors — fun ways to learn and get involved. There will also be a full lineup of music after the morning ceremonies, including hip hop and other genres, along with local and youth performances. "I'm looking forward to another year of celebration honoring the place we all call home, Mother Earth," said Lilliana Seoud, an artist whose talents will be on display at the festival. "An event where cultural appreciation is honored from its very roots, the place of all our origins. I'm excited for another year of bringing together our communities in an organic manner full of powerful speakers, incredible booths and lovely people." The festival will have native drumming and flutes by Mignon Geli and Mountain Lion Padilla. Plus, there will be a drum circle with Magdalena Steele and Ocelotecame Aztec Dancers in the morning, as well as a talk and blessing with Stan Padilla and other elders and young leaders from the area. "This year, the theme is, 'Voice of the drum,' and we will be drumming throughout the day," said Natalie Zapata, one of the organizers. "Attendees are encouraged to bring their own drums to join in." Chris Brown of the Sacramento Climate Coalition will speak at noon; Pop & Go Puppets will provide a witty environmental show for the kids. Even though last year's rain-or-shine event shrunk and persevered in pouring rain, coordinators hope for a sunny sky this Saturday, they say. Participating is a chance to take part in a yearly gathering that celebrates the wondrous event of being able to inhabit such a beautiful world in our vast universe – a sentiment shared by those involved. The fact Artemis II just completed its mission – the first moonshot in almost 50 years – feels especially significant in that it celebrates life on this planet and highlights our incredible responsibility as stewards for Earth's ongoing health. As a Native American saying goes, "We don't inhabit this Earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children."