With Earth Day just around the corner, the Earth Day Coalition hopes you'll join them for their 21st annual EarthFest celebration and Walk or Bike for the Earth.

The event - from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, April 18, at Cleveland Metroparks Zoo - has been confirmed as the longest running Earth Day festival in the nation and Ohio's largest environmental education event, according to a news release.

Though Earth Day is officially Thursday, April 22, EarthFest 2010 coincides with the 40th anniversary of the very first Earth Day in 1970.

Highlights:

• Unveiling of the new, permanent Rain Garden Exhibit in partnership between Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, North East Ohio Regional Sewer District and Earth Day Coalition.
• Grab a free, reusable Walmart shopping bag.
• Family Fun Area with dozens of hands-on, eco-friendly arts, crafts, and activities for the whole family, including afternoon performances by Radio Disney.
• More than 175 exhibitors featuring environmental solutions and non-profit innovations.
• A dozen alternative fuel vehicles and clean transportation technologies.
• Participate in the Eco Safari.
• Join Earth Day Coalition and enter to win a Hybrid Aluminum Mountain Bike.
• Zoo will be effectively wind-powered for EarthFest 2010.
• Top local bands on stage all afternoon, roaming musicians, drum circles, tumblers, and much more.

Admission is the same as zoo admission: $10 for adults, $7 for kids, and free for children under 2. But there many ways to save, including free admission for those who choose to ride the free-fare, RTA Clean-Air bus between Public Square and the zoo, or those who wish to take part in the educational fundraiser Walk or Bike for the Earth.

Registration and sign-in for Walk or Bike for the Earth begins at 7 a.m. at the zoo entrance. From there participants will embark on a five-mile nature hike through the Brookside Reservation that will loop back to the zoo, all the while learning about the zoo’s composting and recycling projects, nature preservation, water testing and more.

Registered participants receive free admission to EarthFest 2010 as well as refreshments and light food.

Registration and launching points for the Bike for the Earth are:

• Shaker Square - 13201 Shaker Square at Dewey's Coffee Cafe
• Lakewood - 15108 Detroit Avenue at The Root Café
• Downtown - 1300 West 9th Street at Phoenix Coffee
• Canal Visitor Center, 7104 Canal Road at the intersection of Canal and Hillside Roads, in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

The emphasis for this year’s Bike for the Earth will be on using bicycles as a commuter option, and bike leaders will provide free safety checks and lessons on commuting via bicycle.

For more information, or to sponsor, exhibit or volunteer at EarthFest 2010, visit EarthDayCoalition.org or call 216-281-6468.

-- Sandra M. Klepach, SKlepach@News-Herald.com