Three people check out electric bikes, one bike is read and the other white. Electric bikes will be on view at the 2023 Santa Barbara Earth Day Festival.
Electric bikes will be among the planet friendly modes of transportation on view at the 2023 Santa Barbara Earth Day Festival. Credit: Craig Woodman

Santa Barbara’s Earth Day celebration will return to Alameda Park, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday, April 29, and 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday, April 30, following a three-year hiatus brought on by the pandemic.

Presented by the Community Environmental Council (CEC), the 2023 Santa Barbara Earth Day Festival is co-produced with long-time festival partner CarpEvents.

“The Community Environmental Council is thrilled to return to Alameda Park, co-presenting Santa Barbara’s Earth Day Festival with our longtime partners at CarpEvents,” said Kathi King, CEC’s director of Climate Education & Leadership, and festival co-director.

“By moving the festival to the end of the month, we hoped to encourage the community to support all of the local celebrations happening throughout our region on April 22 and provide a larger opportunity to bring everyone together at Alameda Park on April 29 and 30,” she said.

Now in its 53rd year, the free festival is one of the longest-running Earth Day celebrations in the country and one of the largest Earth Day festivals on the West Coast.

Santa Barbara’s reputation as a pioneer in the environmental movement attracts national media, celebrity attention, and local crowds; the 2019 festival drew some 30,000 visitors. 

Highlights of the 2023 event include:

  • The longest running Green Car show in the U.S., featuring the latest electric and hybrid vehicle technology. Festival-goers can get a feel for the latest electric vehicles and electric bikes by participating in the free Ride & Drive experience.
  • More than 200 eco-friendly exhibitors.
  • Beer & Wine Garden, featuring local food and drinks.
  • Kid’s Zone organized by LearningDen Preschool and Explore Ecology, with arts and crafts, musical performances, storytelling, face painting, and eco-activities, along with a Family Passport that promotes kid-friendly activities throughout the park.
  • Music on the Main Stage.
  • Plant-forward Food Court featuring locally sourced, regenerative ingredients from ecologically-focused chefs, caterers, and food artisans.
  • Homegrown Roots Zone and Homegrown Roots Stage curated by Cultivate Events to showcase the farmers, ranchers, food producers, and organizations who are working to create a more regenerative food system on the Central Coast.
  • Free Bike Valet, with complimentary bike tune-ups and secure all-day parking provided by MOVE SB County.
  • A commitment to reducing waste: on average, more than 93% of waste produced at Santa Barbara’s Earth Day is recycled or composted.

Earth Day 2023  highlights the role the CEC has played across the region for more than 50 years, spotlighting the system changes, policy implementation and individual actions needed to meet the urgency of the climate crisis.

Key to this is the Annual Climate Leadership Summit, which highlights climate actions that organizations and individuals are undertaking throughout the region, with an emphasis on strategies that leverage intergenerational collaborations.

More details on the Annual Summit will be available soon on the Earth Day website. Community members also can stay updated on details of CEC’s Earth Day at www.SBEarthDay.org, and can get involved in numerous ways.