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2017 edition

Cool Green Fest  

success without sun

By Barbara Wetzel

BOONSBORO, MD (May 15, 2017) - When it came right down to it, organizers of the 9th annual Boonsboro Green Fest were only hoping for a rain-less stretch of time from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, May 13. You see, it had rained off and on (mostly on) during the preceding two days.

They got their wish, as nary a drop fell from the 10 o'clock hour, as the opening ceremony was concluding, for the rest of the day Saturday, much to the pleasure of more than 200 vendors and a couple thousand visitors who put on an extra sweater and some waterproof footwear and enjoyed the many features for which the Green Fest is known.

The vendors selling solar systems were none too pleased with the weather, but they still maintained their sunny dispositions, despite only a  flicker of light in mid-afternoon by the shiny ball of energy that is their reason for being.

And of course, an hour after the festival closed, the sun came out while the clean-up crew was getting the park back in order.

All-in-all, though, the Boonsboro Green Fest Committee, the hundred-plus volunteers, the vendors and the 70 sponsors were gratified to see the visitors enjoying the events of the day, including:

•  Live music by two popular area bands, The Plate Scrapers and Plank Stompers, alternating gigs on the stage,  and Tony M. Music, songwriter-singer, entertaining youngsters in the Kids Zone, as well as leading the opening ceremony participants in the singing of "This Land is Your Land", the festival's unofficial theme song; 
• The Recycling Zone, where volunteers and participating collectors received more usable and recyclable items than ever before, including hundreds of TV's for recycling and dozens of bicycles for Bikes for the World;
•  A busy concession pavilion where organizations and businesses offered everything from falafels to burgers, from Greek and German fare to pizza, from ice cream to kraut and sausages;
• The Wine and Beer Garden serving up wines and beers produced by local breweries and wineries for the benefit of the Friends of Shafer Park;
• The three Silent Auctions featuring more than 100 items donated by local businesses and vendors;
• The hubbub of the expansive Gently-Used Clothing and Sports Equipment Swap and Sale, the proceeds of which are donated to Micah's Backpack and the leftover items donated to Children in Need, Inc. of Washington County;
• The Eco-Transportation Zone featuring energy efficient vehicles, including two Teslas which attracted a great deal of attention;
• Resource recovery stations to collect recyclables, compostables and trash, which helped keep litter at a minimum and helped educate attendees on the proper disposal of paper, bottles, cans and food scraps;
•  Plenty of activities all day long in the Kids Zone, including making Mother's Day cards and Pledges to the Earth, creating fun crafts,  planting flower seeds and exploring geo-caching while listening to Tony M. Music perform.

Opening ceremony

Lou Scally presided over the opening ceremony which was held shortly before the official start of the festival. Attendees included the members of the Green Fest Committee, elected officials including Julianna Albowicz, U.S. Sen. Chris Van Holland's representative and Mark Galinsky, Congressman John Delaney's field representative, who presented a resolution; Maryland Delegate Bill Wivell (Dist. 2-B), County Commissioner Jeff Cline, county treasurer Todd Hershey and register of wills Jason Malott; Boonsboro Mayor Howard Long and immediate past mayor, Charles F. "Skip" Kauffman, Jr., assistant mayor Cynthia Kauffman, town council members, Brigitte Schmidt and Janeen Solberg; Boonsboro police chief Chuck Stanford; former Frederick County commissioner, Kai Hagen; major sponsors, Bruce Wilder of Turn the Page Bookstore, Shannon Murphy of BodySense PT, Ellis Burress of Bellwether Printing, and Denise Russell of MOM's Organic Market; Tom Ruhf, coordinator of the first annual Green Fest Photo Contest; and members of the Green Fest Committee: Laura Schnackenberg, Amy Jones, Rosemary James, Janeen Solberg, Barbara Wetzel, Susan Simonson, Kathy Vesely, Dan Murphy, Renee Elias, Kim Payne, Sean Haardt and Tony Drury. Members unable to attend the ceremony were Greg Solberg and Leslie Haardt.

John Krowka (left) displays his winning photo in the inaugural Boonsboro Green Fest Photo Contest, with Tom Ruhf, the coordinator of the contest.

Inaugural Photo Contest winners

The winners of the first annual Green Fest Photo Contest were announced at the opening ceremony by honorary guest master of ceremony, Lou Scally, local broadcaster and weatherman. The winning entries were: first place, John Krowka's close-up photo of a large white owl; second place, Terri Packard's farm scene framed by a flowing tree; and third place, Alexis Miller's towering sunflower.

The contest was coordinated by Tom Ruhf, a Rohrersville resident and an excellent amateur photographer himself. Judges for the contest were Monika Wertman, Mary Pat Kelley and Dale Swope, all professional photographers.

The winning digital photos were printed and then professionally framed by Howard's Art & Frames of Hagerstown, who donated the framing. The framed photos were then presented to the winning photographers after being displayed during the festival.

The Green Fest is produced by the all-volunteer Boonsboro Green Fest Committee and is an official event of the Town of Boonsboro. Also find us on Facebook.