File photo courtesy of AFFEW, A Few Friends for the Environment of the World, Ludington.

From staff reports

Invest In Our Planet (And Build a Prosperous and Equitable Future) is this year’s Earth Day theme, and two area nonprofits plan to observe the event with activities held April 22-23.

Advertisement for Patina Home/Garden Boutique and Gallery at 4950 Main Street in Onekama is the shop's fall schedule. October 5 is a Cider and Sweaters event at storefronts downtown, including Patinas, during Onekama's fall festival on Saturday, October 5. At Patina, it is also Alicia Barnaby's Skelly Collection Debut. On October 25, patina will host the poetry of Dan Behring. On November 16 is Morgan Kelsey's vintage clothing called the bewitching bluebird. November 23 is the Portage lake Associations Artisan Market at Onekama Consolidated Schools and an after party at Patina. December 7 and 8 is pet photos with Santa at Patina. December 12 is a holiday open house from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. and Patina closes on December 14 for the season. Click on this ad to be taken to Patina's Facebook page for the latest updates.Filer Credit Union advertisement says member focused, community based. Join now! Save, borrow, invest, business. website is filercu.com. click here to be taken to the website. In the bottom left corner is the logo of a drawing of evergreen trees with a gull overhead and the Manistee breakwater pier in the background. Equal opportunity lender.Advertisement for Marie Marfia Fine art features a pastel painting of a wave with sunlight shining thru it on the right and a curling ridge of white foam on the left from the top of the wave, with still water in front of it. The message beneath the image says Working artists studio and gallery featuring local landscapes, portraits and skeleton art. Ludington Michigan. Hours by appointment by calling 904-566-4473. Go to MariaMarfia dot com or click on this ad to be taken to the website.

Earth Day celebrations kick off in Manistee County with a family-friendly, free event at 6 p.m., April 22, hosted by Spirit of the Woods Conservation Club at its nature preserve on Coates Highway, one mile west of Brethren.  (Look for the sign and access road on the south side of Coates.) A Blessing of the Rods for area anglers will commence at 6:30 p.m.  Music and snacks will be provided. See updates: https://www.facebook.com/pg/SpiritoftheWoodsConservationClub

On April 23, AFFEW (A Few Friends for the Environment of the World) will host its annual Earth Day event, a day-long series of free programs at the United Methodist Church of Ludington, 5810 E. Bryant Road. Doors will be open from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Attendees of Saturday’s event may choose one of two hour-long programs offered at 11 a.m.: “Green Investing” with Tanya Lesinski and Mike Heckman or “Meet the Grand Slam of Michigan Turtles” with biologists Jim and Carol McGrath of Nature Discovery in Williamston. They plan to bring all 10 species of turtles found in Michigan.

Tours of the U Dig It Community Garden will be offered from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.. A guided 40-minute hike with Dave Dister, area birder and biologist, begins at 12:15 p.m. Scheduled programs for 1-2 p.m. are “Building a Bluebird House” and “Vermicomposting for Your Garden.”  Local ukulele group, the String-A-Longs, will perform for one hour, beginning at 2 p.m. Two programs follow at 3 p.m.: “Green Burials” and “Energy Transition and Solar Power for Your Home.”

Ludington pastel artist Marie Marfia will be working on a landscape painting throughout the event, and a silent auction of her completed work will be held.

Informational booths will be available all day. For details about the event or more about AFFEW, visit www.affew.org.

 

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