CONWAY — Conway EcoFest has mushroomed this year, adding new activities to its popular standbys, the festival’s coordinator said.
Treci Buchanan of Conway is heading up the sixth annual event. It’s scheduled for 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday in Laurel Park, 2310 Robinson Ave.
“I have volunteered — this is going into my fourth year. It’s a family thing; even my 8-year-old volunteers,” Buchanan said. “It’s just a passion.”
The cardboard car derby will kick off the day’s activities, following the singing of the national anthem by the Ida Burns Elementary School Choir.
“We’ll have music in two locations; artists are invited to bring instruments and jam,” she said. “People will bring instruments they made out of recycled materials.”
The Boomers, a Conway band, will return to the event, Buchanan said, and other acts are scheduled, too.
New for this year is an “eco midway,” she said, “with games that are either human-powered or made of recycled products or made from nature.”
“It’s going to be so much fun,” she said.
A University of Central Arkansas student, Blayk Puckett, will juggle and do magic.
“He is phenomenal; it’s going to be great,” Buchanan said.
“This year, we’re going to have a huge photo booth,” she said.
A school’s Environmental and Spatial Technology lab is going to bring “a huge green screen,” she said. “They’re going to be sitting at their laptop creating images.”
The digital photos will be taken and uploaded to the EcoFest website, conwayecofest.com.
Animal lovers will be happy to know that the alpacas will be back, as well as Raptor Rehab, which is always “a huge hit,” she said. New this year is a dog trainer, who will talk about different breeds of dogs and give other tips. After a hiatus from the festival, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission will have its mobile aquarium there.
Fly-fishing demonstrations are an addition to the schedule this year, too, she said.
A butterfly release is scheduled for 1:45 p.m. on the main stage, “and we’ll have a ladybug release this year, too, at the end,” Buchanan said.
She said the festival focuses on all aspects of the environment.
“We really go after preservation, sustainability and innovation,” Buchanan said.
“We’ll have several different sections where we have natural resources.”
Booths scattered through the park will cover subjects such as organics, with local farming, composting and such. Representatives of Conway Locally Grown, an online farmers market, will talk about eating locally and share information.
Food at the festival will be available from Conway restaurants and a food truck, she said.
Conway Sanitation Department representatives will explain which items can be recycled. Buchanan said some people don’t realize there is a glass-recycling program in the city.
Topics of health will be covered, she said, and collections will be taken of eyeglasses and unused or out-of-date prescription drugs.
Experts in their fields will participate in events, including a dermatologist, a dietitian and a pharmacist. Architects from Conway and Little Rock will join in the discussion about ecology and homes.
“We’re also going to have the Green Building Council, which I am really excited about,” Buchanan said.
The Arkansas chapter of the council will give information about the Green Schools Challenge, which teaches schools how to be more efficient.
“E-waste is a big issue, so what do we do with all those things?” Buchanan said. “We really want Conway and Faulkner County [schools] to get involved.”
Debbie Plopper of Conway, founder of EcoFest, said she thinks the festival’s momentum is growing.
“Instead of having to beg people [to participate], people are starting to come to us,” Plopper said. “People are beginning to realize the value in what we do. It’s not political; it’s just there for education and fun.”
Buchanan said the festival has done well in the past pulling in families and older residents.
“We’re really trying to capture — we’re missing that 20 to 30 age group — that demographic this year. They are the changers and innovators,” she said. “We’re tweeting and using Instagram and Facebook.”
Buchanan said she will not be surprised if the festival grows 40 percent this year.
A lot of the social-media effort is thanks to two interns — one Hendrix student and one UCA student, Plopper said.
Buchanan also gave credit to volunteer Kathy Rumbo of Conway, who maintains the event’s website.
“I’ve been involved with EcoFest since year one, which was 2009, and every year it’s gotten better,” Rumbo said. “We’re educating people on how they can make small changes and make big impacts, and it’s very exciting.”
For more information about EcoFest, go to www.conwayecofest.com.
Senior writer Tammy Keith can be reached at (501) 327-0370 or tkeith@arkansasonline.com.