Local climate advocacy group DeCarbon DeKalb is hosting its first annual Earth Fest, a free, family-friendly event intended to bring the community together to celebrate local sustainability. 

Occurring during Earth Week, the event will take place Thursday at the Egyptian Theatre, 135 N. Second St.

Partnering with NIU groups including Edible Campus, NIU STEAM and Campus Sustainability, Earth Fest has had a lot of support in making the event a reality.

“The enthusiasm for this has just been gigantic. What we learned quickly is that there are so many groups fighting for change in our county, and they need to be amplified,” said Kendra Holton, co-founder of DeCarbon DeKalb.

With a 4:30 p.m. start time, attendees have the opportunity to take a look at different electric vehicles, explore tables for local environment initiatives and contribute to a community art project.

There will also be music, a plant-based food truck, giveaways and a kid zone.

At 6:30 p.m., Earth Fest will screen “Common Ground,” a documentary that gives a detailed, hopeful look at how farmers are using regenerative farming to help balance the climate and fix the soil in the United States before it’s too late.

Directed by Josh and Rebecca Tickell, the documentary won the Human/Nature Award at the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival and features actors and environmental activists like Donald Glover, Jason Momoa and Woody Harrelson.

Following the screening, a moderated panel will lead a discussion offering insights on how the DeKalb community can work together to build a more sustainable future for the county and the planet.

The panelists include Anita Zurbrugg, a local regenerative agriculture expert; Bryan Flower, director of Edible Campus; Marcy and Chris Prchal, biointensive farmers; and Rosalie Trump, a regenerative livestock farmer.

The event’s organizer, DeCarbon DeKalb, was co-founded by Holton and Andy Wanek and is a nonprofit organization dedicated to speaking out about climate change and promoting environmental sustainability in DeKalb County.

“My co-founder, Andy Wanek, and I started the group with the intent of having a conversation in DeKalb County about what’s happening, what’s not happening, what resources do we have, who’s already in the fight and just generally getting a lay of the land,” Holton said.