With her arms full of vegan recipes, samples and a toxic-free carpet cleaning product, Sharon Watters of Peoria was glad her family decided to check out Forest Park Nature Center’s Earth Day Festival Saturday.

This was the Nature Center’s 11th annual Earth Day celebration, but it was Watters’ first time attending.

“The kids are having fun, and it’s definitely good to start them out young learning about taking care of the environment,” said Watters of her 2-year-old and 9-year-old granddaughters, Emma Heinz and Jazmin Shaffer. “I’m very careful about what I feed my kids and grandkids and don’t want anything with chemicals or dyes or high fructose corn syrup.”

Watters’ daughter, Amanda Kelly, added, “I’m more new to it, but we read the labels before we buy anything.”

Watters and her family were among hundreds of people who attended the five-hour event in Peoria Heights. The Earth Day festival was the brainchild of Forest Park Nature Center naturalist and Trailhead Nature Store coordinator Christina Kiefer, who continues to organize the celebration each year.

“I basically just started recruiting different environmentally friendly businesses or people who specialize in environmentally friendly products to raise awareness and to attract people to the festival, so it would be both fun and educational,” Kiefer said. “Each year I’ve been able to add to that list, so it’s really grown.”

Among the 40-plus vendors who set up booths in the Nature Center’s parking lot was Ruth Bell, who was demonstrating the Shaklee Co.’s toxic-free cleaning supplies.

“I’m here sharing about the toxins that are in cleaners, and how it affects the earth and our health,” said Bell, noting that typical store-bought cleaners and laundry detergents can cause problems such as asthma, headaches, allergies and behavioral issues.

“We just want people to know there are other options they can use that help our environment, our pets, our homes and our wallets, because you can save money using these products and they do work,” she added.

Lisa Allison of Peoria and her daughter, Starr, stopped at Bell’s booth in their quest to learn about earth-friendly products.

“We’re already a vegan/vegetarian family, so I’m just seeing what’s out here,” said Allison. “It’s nice to know all these people and organizations are for animals and are trying to clean up the environment.”

Another festival-goer, Cynthia Yanska, said she was surprised to see the Nature Store carries Seventh Generation green cleaning supplies, a product she’s been using since shortly before the birth of her children, 5-year-old Andrew and 2-year-old Nicholas.

“I think the Earth Day Festival is important for awareness because I want the environment (to be clean) when my kids have kids,” Yanska said.

Kiefer noted, “We have handicrafts from local artists, including soy candles and recycled purses and accessories. We have Peoria Wilds, which is a group that does restoration of biological diversity at number of different park district facilities. We have the Central Illinois Healthy Community Alliance, the Sierra Club, the Humane Society, Peoria Voices for Animals, Global Village, the Global Warming Solutions Group of Central Illinois and a number of the Peoria Academy of Science groups, among others.”

Rounding out the day was music by four bands–Cluck Ol’ Hen, the LR Band, Barry Cloyd and Turas–and vegetarian and vegan food options from One World Café and Spotted Cow ice cream.

About 50 volunteers helped keep the festival running smoothly, Kiefer said. Admission was free, though donations were accepted to help support the festival and the 540-acre Nature Center, located at 5809 Forest Park Drive in Peoria Heights.

“We want people to know there are a lot of choices out there,” Kiefer said, explaining what she hoped attendees would take away from the festival. “It doesn’t have to be all-consuming. You don’t have to walk to school or bike to school or work every single day, but there are a lot of little things people can do. We want to set people on a course where they’re able to implement small changes little by little that make a difference, so they’re actually doing something to help the environment.”