Nashville’s Earth Day celebrates environment

Perhaps the person most fitting at the Nashville Earth Day Festival was the “Earth Man” himself.

Dressed in a globe outfit that left room for his arms and legs, the man — otherwise known as Lanny Smith — occasionally became the center of attention as he walked around the booths at Centennial Park on Saturday afternoon.

That wasn’t a problem for the Madison resident though. The outfit gives him a chance to talk about the issues he cares about the most — the environment and how music and the arts can raise awareness for it.

“We’re just trying to make every day Earth Day,” he said.

Thousands of people came to the 13th annual festival at Centennial Park, which was held ahead of Tuesday’s actual worldwide Earth Day. This year, the festival had a full slate of performers, a beer garden, a new farmers’ market, and several workshops focused on climate responsibility and home energy efficiency, said festival chair Sharon Smith.

“Every Earth Day, we try to find ways to educate people about the environment and connect them with others,” she said.

Additional environmental issues came up spontaneously as the event continued.

A handful of demonstrators opposed to the Keystone XL pipeline wound their way through the park carrying an inflatable pipeline and signs calling for the project to halted without federal approval. The U.S. State Department announced on Friday that they would delay their decision about the pipeline, which could transport tar sands from Canada to Texas.

“We feel the Keystone can’t be built because it puts too much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere,” said Pam Jones, one of the demonstrators.

Reach Brian Wilson at 615-726-5970 or on Twitter @brianwilson17.