Sustainability is the focus of JCC’s annual Earth Day Festival which will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on April 22 outside the Hamilton Collegiate Center on the Jamestown Campus.

The event, sponsored by JCC’s Earth Awareness Club and the college program committee of the JCC Faculty Student Association, is free and open to the public.

Earthfest will begin with traditional rhythmic drumming provided by Blue Heron Rhythm Experiment. Live music by local acoustic guitarist Matt Maloof will be featured at 11:30.

Throughout the event, plants, courtesy of Mike’s Nursery, as well as jewelry, candles, nature photography, cruelty-free products, all natural soaps and lotions, other earth-friendly options will be available for purchase. Educational displays by local environmental organizations and live animal ambassadors are other program features.

This year’s Earthfest also spotlights “Sustain 2009,” a webcast from the State University of New York at Albany, from noon to 1 p.m. in the Lenna Teleconference Theatre in Hultquist Library. Alan Belensz of the state Department of Environmental Conservation Office of Climate Change is the keynote speaker.

Members of JCC’s Earth Awareness Club will conduct a tree seedling adoption, thanks to donations made by the Chautauqua County Soil and Water Conservation District. Proceeds from the sale of organically grown, fairly traded products by the Earth Awareness Club will be donated to the Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy and the Chautauqua County Humane Society.

A tree planting celebrating Arbor Day will occur during the afternoon.

JCC’s Earth Awareness Club promotes an increased understanding and appreciation of the natural world and its creatures, wise environmental stewardship, enhanced knowledge of important environmental issues, compassionate living, and local awareness and action. The club hopes that members of the JCC community, as well as members of the community at large, will join together in celebration of the Earth and learn more about how we can be better stewards of the beautiful wonders that nature provides.