A battery-powered induction stove cooking up truffle popcorn, vegan salami, loads of free samples, kids art projects and a chance to peek inside 40 electric cars and pet a silky chicken were all part of the much expanded Love Our Earth Festival on a sunny and warm Saturday, April 22, in Atherton.

The town hosted a smaller event last year at Holbrook-Palmer Park, its first Earth Day celebration. It teamed up with East Palo Alto, Palo Alto and Menlo Park to put on this year's festival. Just 15 minutes into this year's event and the Menlo-Atherton High School parking lot was nearly full, signaling the event's growth and popularity (1,000 people registered for the day).

Atherton Environmental Programs Committee (EPC) member Amy Farrell went screening of a movie about climate change called "2040" at the Guild Theatre in and met others leading sustainability, like those from Menlo Spark and 350 Silicon Valley. The group met over Zoom and talked about joining forces to create a bigger event. In the fall of 2022, the committee asked the Atherton City Council to create a more inclusive, regional Earth Day event by partnering with nearby cities.

"They (the organizations she met at the event) said 'would you be open to collaborating since we're next door to one another?" Farrell, who has worked in sustainable finance for over a decade, said. "It happened organically, in spirit of collaboration. We said 'let's bring the best from each of our cities and towns to really generate more enthusiasm and attract more attendees so we could educate more people.'"

Farrell was inspired to join the EPC after attending Atherton's Earth Day event last year shortly after moving to town.

The theme this year is about taking action, said event organizer and town of Atherton staffer Rachael Londer.

"Each festival space has something you can do immediately this week and next week to reduce your impact on the climate," she said. For example, there was a section of the festival on water conservation and another on reducing plastics.

Farrell said a lot of people really loved the hands on activities.

"If they were consider changing their stoves and heat pumps; it's one thing to read about and another to see it," she explained.

Food at this year's event included Oaxacan cuisine from Zaida's Kitchen; smoothies, burgers and other lunch items from Casita Vegana; spinach and mushroom-filled pupusas from Nixta Foods; Annie's T Cakes; Eclipse Vegan Ice Cream; vegan bacon from Hooray Foods and more.

There were also e-bikes, cooking demos, live music, bike repair and more.

Goodwill was onsite accepting donations.

Last year, the city of Menlo Park held its Earth Day event at Flood Park. Palo Alto Youth Council hosted its Earth Day Fair in Mitchell Park in 2022.

Find out more about the event here.