Earth Day Festival returns to Great Bear
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — An event asking people to 'Unite for Earth' will take place Friday at Great Bear Recreation Park in Sioux Falls.
The hillside is starting to turn green as the last of the snow melts at Great Bear Ski Valley, where Sioux Falls Parks & Recreation is set to host its annual Earth Day Festival.
'It's a great opportunity for everyone in the community to come out and celebrate Earth Day with us,' Recreation Program Coordinator Eric Saathoff said.
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Eric Saathoff is a recreation program coordinator and says the 90-minute event is designed for the entire family.
'We're going to have great open space there along the chalet to have different activities as well as our trucks from within Parks & Recreation out there for kids and families to explore,' Saathoff said.
But it's not all fun and games.
'We also have vendors that will be on site so you can learn about sustainability and different opportunities throughout the community to help continue to support Earth,' Saathoff said.
The Earth Day Festival is also an opportunity for Great Bear Recreation Park to show off everything it has to offer.
'Scavenger hunt for individuals to do so they can wander through all the great trails out at Great Bear,' Saathoff said.
'An event like this is a great opportunity to bring new people out and make them aware of a beautiful, scenic park that is so close to downtown that you can do a quick escape, go hike in the trails in the trees and you really feel like you are transported to a different place,' Great Bear Director of Communications Alexa Jerstad said.
Alexa Jerstad is the director of communications at Great Bear and says come out and appreciate the outdoors.
'Some family activities, we're going to have the bar open, enjoy a glass of wine or beer on the deck and just get outside,' Jerstad said.
'The more the community can get involved in promoting the well being of not only our community but the Earth, we see that as a value to this community,' Saathoff said.
The Earth Day Festival begins at 6:00 Friday evening at Great Bear Recreation Park. The event is free and registration is not required.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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