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Get your hippie on for the 40th Earth Day: Free Day takes over Hill’s People’s Parking Lot

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, the vacant lot on E. Pine St. between Belmont Ave. and Summit Ave. will be full of barterers, musicians, artists and the curious. Hosted by People’s Parking Lot, Saturday’s community event will go from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.

“We’ll be loosely organizing, but the main goal here is to make it an event we create together, just by showing up and sharing,” said Sarah Kuck, People’s Parking Lot member and organizer for the group’s Earth Day Free Day celebrations. “If you’re a musician, bring your instrument. If you’re an artist, consider the lot your outdoor studio for the day, if you’re a baker or chef, bring us a taste of your latest creation, if you’re a dancer, think of the lot as your studio, if you love to talk and speak your mind, come find someone to chat with.”

People’s Parking Lot is a local group dedicated to utilizing vacant and unused city space in Seattle. Founded by Keith Harris, the group is planning a bunch of one-off events around the city, including community garage sales. They get permits and logistics cleared for public community events in what could be dismal or abandoned areas of the city. They are now affiliated with Shunpike, a group that helps support fledging art groups, so you can donate to the group through them.

The empty lot on E. Pine St. used to be an epicenter of nightlife on Capitol Hill, the block of the infamous Cha Cha lounge and Manray, among others.

“Once a vibrant, crazy, eclectic strip of culturally important businesses, the E. Pine lot now sits empty. This lot in particular inspired Keith to put a call out on the Internet for people to do something about this and other eye sores and empty spaces,” said Kuck. “This is our community, but others own the rights to the property that we live so close to. This can be frustrating. It made us ask ourselves, ‘How can we revitalize/make use of spaces we don’t own?’”

Bring things to barter, trade or celebrate, but don’t go expecting to turn a profit. Money exchange at the Earth Day Free Day event is not allowed. Since the event is on a private lot, there will be no involvement from the city on this project.

“Mostly, I just want people to come and enjoy themselves. Earth Day Free Day is about getting to know your neighbors, sharing what you have and celebrating that you get to live here,” said Kuck. “Just come have fun and celebrate being here!”

Check out their Facebook party invite and Earth Day Free Day blog post to get involved and for more information.

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Little Red Ryan Hood
Little Red Ryan Hood
13 years ago

Am I missing something here or is this an Earthday celebration where people hang out in a parking lot? Wouldn’t it be much more Earthdayish to collect litter from parks or remove invasives from green spaces or plant something. Earth Day Free Day sounds like the worst Earth Day celebration ever.

Sarahk
Sarahk
13 years ago

Every day should be about cleaning up the Earth. We can clean up the Earth every day of the year. Earth Day should be about celebrating that you get to live here. Making connections with your neighbors has long-lasting effects. These connections can help us be more resourceful in the future.

Thinking about our impact on the planet in terms of trash/waste is limiting. I’m not saying it’s not useful, I’m just saying there are lots of ways to change how we live. One of them is getting to know your neighbors.

Also, in a city, it’s important to use the space we have and encourage density and practical design. Without this, sprawl will continue to eat up wildlands and farmland. I think throwing events in the empty lot can help draw attention to this issue.

It’s just a different way of thinking about things.

Sarah