Join us for good green fun celebrating Earth Day Ventura Charter School is excited to once again present Ventura EcoFest, an Earth Day celebration of our planet for the community of Ventura. This family-friendly free event welcomes the community to enjoy good green fun in the form of live performances, a silent auction, a raffle, local vendors and nonprofits, food trucks, eco arts and crafts and educational games on Sunday, April 28th, from 11:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Ventura Charter School campus, 2060 Cameron Street, Ventura.

In 2023 more than 2500 attendees enjoyed the Earth Day festivities, with more expected for this year’s event. In support of Earth-friendly practices Ventura Charter School’s EcoFest welcomes the community to head to the campus utilizing a variety of transportation options. Bicycle to event and receive bike valet services sponsored by Bike Ventura County. Through Gold Coast Transit District’s Youth Ride Free Program, students and children 18 and under ride free with no identification required. There will be a variety of entertainment for the whole family to enjoy, including a kid zone, an EV car exhibit, live music and dance and plenty more. Guests can bid in a silent auction, benefiting Ventura Charter School’s many diverse and inclusive academic programs. Among the items available for in-person bidding are outdoor gear, tickets for local entertainment, yoga class passes, whale watching passes, local restaurant gift cards and much more.

In addition to the silent auction, the event will feature a raffle. Pre-sale raffle tickets can be purchased from families of Ventura Charter School students or at the event. All tickets are $1. The grand prize is $1,000 in Disney Cash. The raffle will be pulled each hour, with the grand prize drawing at 4:00 p.m. Winners need not be present. Sponsors include Kirby Auto Group of Ventura, UNPaste, Bamieh & De Smeth, Amigos Party Rental, Brooklyn Charm, Bodhi Salt Yoga, Bella Luna Gardens, Edible Ojai and Ventura County, and Mission Bank.

“We are excited to continue this important annual tradition for our community, and our students,” said Lisa Hildebrand, Executive Director of Ventura Charter School, “Our students look forward to this event for the fun but it’s also an important reminder for them and for us that we are stewards for our planet and change starts with our own choices.” Proceeds from this event benefit Ventura Charter School, a tuition-free nonprofit school that serves 450 students from kindergarten to eighth grade. During school hours, Ventura EcoFest encourages students to take a closer look at their personal habits to see how they affect the planet and make changes, such as a student-led campaign to reduce disposable utensils on campus.

Along with the EcoFest celebration, students experience an involved project-based curriculum centered upon empowerment through critical thinking, empathy, research, and action to benefit the spaces they occupy throughout their lives with inclusion and equity. To learn more about Ventura EcoFest or enrollment at Ventura Charter School, please visit, https://earthdayventura.org. Ventura Charter School – Starting as Open Classroom in the 1970’s, Ventura Charter School of Global Arts & Education launched in 2006 as a tuition-free public charter school within the Ventura County Office of Education.

The school currently serves over 400 K-8 th grade students on its campus located within the larger DATA middle school property. Ventura Charter School is an expeditionary learning school in partnership with EL Education. It is guided by 10 founding principles and its mission to, “engage every student in meaningful and supportive learning experiences to grow resilient, educated, and socially intelligent human beings.”