Wednesday, February 1, 2023

The Eco-Art Event of the Season : Tree Baltimore

 


Returning for it's fourth year, the Cylbourne Arboretum hosts Tree Fest Baltimore, an event that attracts tree lovers from all over the city...


We first attended the forest festival in August 2017, where attendees hung out on the hill, watching a local band fronted by Nina Amaya of the Baltimore Faerie Faire perform on the green. There were all kinds of Eco-Art activities for families using reclaimed wood slices from pruned trees.


Tonight's winter gathering was the first time the event had taken place after a three year hiatus, and we were so excited to be back! 


What a wonderful treevening it was! This year's festival was much larger and formal than the festivals of years past, with a large dining hall and presentation by the leaders of the Baltimore City Forestry Department. We learned about the efforts of the hardworking folks in Parks and Rec to create a tree census of the city. There are currently 122,011 trees in the city!

We were seated with local artists Katherine Fahey, Dan Van Allen, and Matt Muirhead. Although Muirhead is a staple at the Mushroom City Art Festival, another ecological art event in the city, this was his first time attending Tree Baltimore. We eagerly await his custom designed t-shirts for future events here. Also at our table were two classy older women who live in Charles Village. Nice to meet some neighbors. We discussed our local trip to Glen Stone Museum in Montgomery Country.


There was a raffle for handmade items by some of the employees of the Parks and Rec department, as well as swag bags of stickers and shirts! The festival has come a long way from it's grassroots beginnings, when the screen printed patches they were giving away seemed more punk...


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