Well, that was a Day that was! The morning was a flurry of
texts and phone calls as people looked at the TV weather-radar loops and wanted
to know if Wild at Heart was cancelled. The general consensus was that a little
rain shouldn’t dampen our spirits so we set up the booths, and kept our fingers
crossed that it would clear up. And, for the most part, it did.
All of the
environmental organizations arrived from far and near and the wonderful Friese
Studio of Music proceeded to treat us to four hours of fantastic entertainment.
The Love of Pets offered hotdogs, drinks and snacks, and Mayor Morrissey and
members of City Council announced the poster-contest prize winners. (We had 62
amazing student-entries from which to choose.)
Throughout the day, we kept a rough head-count and
approximately 500 people braved the sporadic rain. They spoke with the
organizations, looked at the displays, enjoyed the music, donated wonderfully
to The Love of Pets, admired the lovely Corn Snake that the Crooked River State
Park representative brought with her, and enjoyed the beauty of our City Park.
It offered all of us the invaluable opportunity to learn
about the work that’s being done to preserve the integrity of our environment
and prepare for the future, discuss the issues and efforts, put faces to
familiar names, and simply have fun. The one refrain that I heard over and over
again was “This should be an annual event!” – and so it will be. More
organizations will take part next year as word of St. Marys’ Wild at Heart spreads.
I truly have no way to adequately thank the Board of the
EarthKeepers. They were absolute stars as they helped to set up booths, were
everywhere at once, and kept things on track. To Megan Kaufman and the artists
with the Friese Studio: just…wow. The gift of your time and talents kept us all
delighted and uplifted. To The Love of Pets: I’m so very glad that we could
help to support your worthy animal-welfare organization. To the organizations
that participated: thank you all. To our Mayor and Council: well done. To the
many citizens who joined us today: thank you for your participation, and
willingness to brave the uncertain weather. To Up the Creek Xpeditions and the
National Park Service for your poster-prizes: thank you for your generous
support.
By 5:30 pm the Park was returned to its usual pristine
condition. All in all, it was a wonderful day.
Alex
Chair
St. Marys EarthKeepers
