About the Day

This free community festival is held throughout Montalvo’s grounds to honor nature. Enjoy food trucks, environmentally themed hands-on workshops, demonstrations, performances, music, nature, and more. Engage with a range of events for every generation that will raise awareness of nature, celebrate the planet, and advocate for environmental justice. Learn from the community, engaged artists, our own Garden Curator, and more.

Bring your family and spend a wonderful day in the park at Montalvo as we celebrate environmental diversity in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Participating artists, artisans, food trucks, musicians, and environmentalists will all contribute their unique perspectives to this gathering, seeking to build common experiences through inclusive arts and Earth Day programming.

Entry & Parking Info

Please RSVP for FREE entry. All Parking at West Valley College, Lots 4 & 5 with free shuttle service to the event. Shuttles run between West Valley and Montalvo from 10:30am–4pm. The last shuttle from West Valley to Montalvo departs at 2pm; the last shuttle from Montalvo back to West Valley departs at 4pm.

You may be dropped off at Montalvo through a rideshare service such as Uber or Lyft; however, no rideshare pickup service will be allowed onsite. If you are dropped off, please take the shuttle back to West Valley College when you are ready to leave, and call your ride from there.

Event Map
Performances

Villa Veranda:

  • 11–11:45am: Sewam American Indian Dance Performance. Specializing in Native American Indian dances of United States Plains Indians.
  • 11:45am–12pm: DJ Cavem. Dr. Ietef “DJ Cavem” Vita studied indigenous agriculture and agronomy at the Makerere University in Uganda, coined “Eco Hip-Hop,’ and is a DJ, brand content creator, influencer, vegan chef, educator, organic gardener, and an environmental/food justice activist.
  • 12pm: Event Welcome with Executive Director Angela McConnell
  • 12:15–12:30pm: Lilac K-POP Dance Performance
  • 12:30–1pm: DJ Cavem
  • 2–3pm: DJ Cavem

Great Lawn:

  • 1pm–2pm: Calpulli Tonalehqueh. Calpulli Tonalehqueh, which means “community of warriors who accompany the sun” in the Nahuatl language, will perform traditional Aztec Dances.
Scheduled Activities
  • 12pm & 2pm: Montalvo Garden Tour with Garden Curator Ann Northrup (30min) (Great Lawn).
  • 1pm: Expand Your Garden Demo with Garden Curator Ann Northrup (Great Lawn). Learn about plant divisions and cactus cuttings!
  • 1pm: K-POP UP Dance Lesson with Lyn Azucena (Oval Garden). Join Summer Camp dancer/instructor Lyn Azucena and learn the hottest trending dance moves from around the globe! Register for camp here!
  • 2pm: Story time with Marcus Curatorial Fellow Clara Kamunde (Oval Garden).
Drop-in Art & Nature Activity Zones

Charmaine’s Garden Terrace

  • Talking Cloths: Textiles activity with artist Asual Aswad. Fabric printing utilizing ancient West African Adinkra symbols/stamps, participants create an original work of art and print their own fabric with layered techniques. From concepts of color, design, symmetry, pattern, and balance with water based, non-toxic acrylic paint.
  • Paint & Take Workshop: Paint your little terracotta pot and take it home to start your garden!
  • Earth Day Button Making

Italianate Garden

  • Chalk the Walk
  • The God’s Eye: Yarn activity. Make a colorful design made of yarn wrapped over a cross-shaped stick, known as The God’s Eye. These were woven spiritual symbols made for protection in ancient Mexico and are still a popular as a decorative craft.
  • Wire Sculpture Drop-in Workshops with James Green. Join Summer Camp artist/instructor James Green to create original wire sculptures and small photo/note holders that are inspired by nature, such as: especially the fish, bird, tree, star, heart. Register for camp here!

Great Lawn

  • Face Painting & Hummingbird Temporary Tattoos
  • Dear Body of Water: This is a poetic water-harvesting project by Lucas Artists Fellow Gretchen Ernster Henderson. Using both digital and mail-art participation to collectively address bodies of water as fellow beings on this Earth and to cultivate care for watersheds.
  • Make & Take Oragami Workshop with Anh Le, Miss Of California. Learn how to make origami animals and plants to take home with you.
  • Corn Hole, Hula Hoops, and Lawn Games

Villa Library

  • Kinetech Arts participatory activity.
Food & Beverages
  • Two Cash Bars offering beer, wine, and soda, located on the veranda of the Villa and at the base of the Great Lawn.
ArtSplash! A Montalvo Open House