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Plenty of chances to get involved with Earth Day

Aspen Times Staff

Here are some of the local happenings for Earth Day, which is Saturday:The city of Aspen is leading a communitywide volunteer effort to clean up the winter trash around town. Volunteers can meet at 8:30 or 10:30 a.m. to help clean up Aspen parks and neighborhoods. All volunteers will receive a free picnic lunch from noon to 1 p.m. at the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies, with live music by Brad Manosevitz and his Invisible Friends; they will also enter a raffle at 12:45 p.m.At 8:30 a.m., volunteers will meet at Glory Hole, Koch Lumber, Triangle, Molly Gibson, Rio Grande and Bugsy Barnard parks, or at the Aspen Recreation Center. The 10:30 meeting place is Wagner Park. Parks Department employees will meet volunteers with garbage bags and a map of the surrounding cleanup area. Volunteers should bring gloves and sunscreen, and wear appropriate clothing; sign up ahead of time by calling 920-5120.An Earth Day 4K and 10K road race starts at 9 a.m. in Paepcke Park. A quiz/contest will be held along the 4K course. Sign-up is at http://www.active.com. Contact Jackie Tyler at jackfran@comcast.net for more information.ACES is hosting an Earth Day fair at its Hallam Lake Preserve on Puppy Smith Road behind the Aspen post office from noon to 3 p.m. The celebration will feature live music, tours of Hallam Lake and informational booths by local environmental nonprofits. Janice Huggins, author of “Wild at Heart,” and Karen Chamberlain, author of “Desert of the Heart,” will do a book signing and reading from 2-3 p.m. Call 925-5756 for more information.Rock Bottom Ranch and Solar Energy International are hosting an afternoon of Earth Day festivities at the ranch in Emma. A community potluck kicks things off at 11:30 a.m. From noon to 3 p.m. a variety of activities will keep all members of the family busy, like spring projects on the ranch, arts activities for kids, farm tours and nature walks. Participants should bring work gloves, boots, clothing for the outdoors, and water. For more information, call 927-6760 or e-mail rockbottom@sopris.net.The city of Aspen’s Canary Initiative is screening the premiere of a documentary on global warming called “Too Hot Not to Handle” at 3 p.m. at The Given Institute. Basalt local and Aspen Global Warming Alliance member Susan Joy Hassol, who wrote the script, will introduce the film and be available for questions after the screening. Aspen is one of 10 cities hand-selected to show the film, an analysis and critical look into the effects of global warming in the U.S. featuring discussions and analysis from leading scientists in the field. For more information, call the Environmental Health Department at 920-5039, or Hassol at 927-3421. State Rep. Kathleen Curry gives a free talk about water at 5:30 p.m. at Paepcke Auditorium. She will speak about recent and future Colorado water legislation and how residents can get involved in water issues. For more information, call the Roaring Fork Conservancy at 927-1290.An Earth Day party will be from 6-10 p.m. at Bumps restaurant at Buttermilk, featuring local speakers and music by local bands.On Sunday, a spiritual celebration in honor of Earth Day will take place in Sopris Park in Carbondale from 5-7 p.m. Anyone is welcome to come together and share concerns for the global community. The celebration will include a potluck, so anyone attending should bring a potluck item, plate, utensils and a cup. For more information, call 704-0474.Finally, Woody Creekers will be cleaning up their neighborhood this weekend and through the following week. Woody Creek residents can pick up orange bags at the Woody Creek Store. For more information, call Patty Fox at 618-8831.