FRAMINGHAM – Following a two-year absence due to the pandemic, the Framingham Earth Day Festival brought life to the Centre Common on Saturday with music, kettle corn, and recycling.

Over 50 vendors set up shop along the edges of Village Green from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. where visitors walked under a sunny sky to celebrate Earth Day which is observed on April 22. 

This was the 10th edition of the festival, according to Donna Kramer Merritt, president and founder.

“This is really an opportunity for the community to come together and see all the different things it can do about climate change,” said Merritt. “When you come here, you can see that you can not only recycle and compost, but you can take care of the outdoors or you can choose to purchase things that are upcycled, or you can buy solar panels, or you can get a heat pump for your house, or you can take action politically." 

Jamie Fitts was at the festival with her three children, Violet, Shepard, and T.J. 

She said bringing her children to the event was  important.

“They're the future and we set a good example by doing things like this,” said Fitts. “There are so many people here displaying what they do and things that we can all do to make things better like composting, or art made from trash." 

Eleven-year-old Violet was excited to talk about doing her part in helping the environment. 

"It’s important for kids to be here so they know how to reuse bags and do different things to save the Earth,” said Violet. “We should not use as much plastic because it goes into landfills and it's very bad for all animals. 

“We should always try and make the world a better place," she said. 

The vendors at the festival offered services focused on recycling plastic, processing compost, planting trees and other awareness-raising efforts.  

Christine Wyman, founder of the non-profit organization Social Catalysts Charitable Foundation, sold bags weaved with videotape by persons with cognitive disabilities and mental health issues.  

Wyman said her Stow-based organization cooperates with Incompass Human Services in Lawrence to provide employment to people with disabilities while also reducing the problem of videotape cassette tapes that collect in landfills.  

“In 1994 alone, over half a billion videotapes were sold,” said Wyman. “In 2010 I was trying to recycle videotapes but also knew that unemployment is a big issue for people with disabilities so I said, ‘Why don't we try to do something with the recycling and the employment and see what we can do?' " 

Wyman sold keychains, handbags, purses, which were priced from $15 to $40. She sells in stores in Lunenburg and Concord as well as at markets and fairs.  

All the money goes to people with disabilities who work for minimum wage at a location in Stow.

“Your recorded tapes or your Bambi is now in a bag,” said Wyman. 

The festival featured a designated area at the center of the park where visitors could drop off recyclables such as cell phones, CDs, batteries, inkjet and toner cartridges, fluorescent light bulbs, mercury products and single use plastic bags.  

Gloucester-based company Black Earth Compost had a booth which advertised its efforts to collect food scraps which they then process at their locations in Framingham, Manchester-by-the-Sea and Groton.  

Students from the Framingham High School Environmental Club also had a stand at the festival to showcase their efforts, particularly the planting of 270 trees at homes around town.   

“To make the bigger change you need to focus on the small changes you can make in your own community, whether it's planting trees or changing your diet,” said Club vice president Ella Downey. “We spread awareness throughout the community, raise money to plant trees, and also work with younger students at elementary schools to teach them how to help the environment.” 

Superintendent Robert Tremblay was also at the festival on Saturday to talk about the Framingham High School Environmental Club’s achievements. 

“The whole fair itself, having everybody together for the first time was just nice to see people outdoors and see the whole faces, is just exciting,” said Tremblay. “The festival is also a good chance for us to bring together the School Committee, the School Department, and the high school environmental club, to sort of like come together as a group." 

From the beginning, the festival grounds were crowded with people who walked from vendor to vendor to purchase products or pet the alpacas that were brought in by a local family-owned farm called Angel Hair Alpacas. 

Local resident Alex Sullivan attended with his 3-year-old Hazel, walking to the art exhibits, looking at the alpacas, and enjoying the day. 

“It's a beautiful day and I wanted to support local vendors,” said Sullivan. “I love that people get to contribute to the community this way." 

Toni Caushi is a multimedia journalist for the Daily News. He can be reached at tcaushi@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @tcaushi.