Jan Vanek and Carol Rounds are among the many Elmhurst residents passionate about the environment. They are very pleased that the town became a part of the “Cool Cities Coalition” in 2007. This is a campaign created in 2005 to encourage implementation of energy solutions.

A designated Cool City must work to reduce carbon dioxide emissions 7 percent below their 1990 level by 2012. In Elmhurst, that also translates to a coalition of city groups to be a part of the first Green Fest in town.

“We contacted many agencies about participating and sending representatives to our meetings and have had a great response,” Rounds said.

The result is an event from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 9, along Prospect Avenue in Wilder Park. Vanek said that the lead sponsor of this event is Community Bank, which is giving away canvas tote bags to the first 1,000 attendees to use in place of plastic for groceries and other shopping.

“We are pleased that Community Bank was willing to sponsor this new event when asked,” she said.

Vanek also mentioned that the Elmhurst Bike Club is sponsoring a Family Bike Ride from the Prairie Path to Wilder Park that day and has provided 60 bike racks positioned in the circle driveway by the tennis courts. If you’re interested, contact Bob Hoel from the Elmhurst Bike Club at (630) 279-8510.

While writing about Green Fest, I can’t help but remember that I have never liked waste, never wasted much of anything and can’t figure out what all this hoopla is about except to say that each generation has to be educated in a different way.

My own “green” education resulted in part from spending my teenage years in a new subdivision built in a cornfield near a farm town with no bus or train service. We had one car, and because my dad was a sales rep, he drove around in it all day and rarely felt like driving once home. The result is that my two younger sisters and I became resourceful. We walked and biked places, wore each others’ clothes for a new look and learned how to embellish or reuse what we had.

By the time I was an adult, reusing, repurposing and reinventing was an ingrained habit. “Why buy a new tablecloth,” I reasoned, “when I have this old drapery panel?” Okay, one could say that my interior decorating has given new meaning to shabby chic. In fact, a friend recently commented that my dishwasher was the oldest he’d ever seen. I took it as a compliment.

Both Rounds and Vanek said that there will be many hands-on activities for the entire family designed to be educational and fun. There will also be live entertainment, speakers and green door prizes. Other sponsors of the event are American Gardens Inc., Elmhurst College, Architect Studios, the Elmhurst Rotary Club, Chicago Records Management Inc., Larry Roesch Family Auto Group, Oxfam American, the League of Women Voters of the U.S. and Elmhurst Jaycees. I’ll be there from 1 to 2 p.m., manning the Elmhurst Historical Museum booth, so come and say hello.

Like many people of, shall we say, an earlier era, I am scratching my head over all this “being green” because if I get much greener, I will add to our sluggish economy. As it is, my main reason for dieting is to keep wearing the same clothes. But I digress. I know that for years I have been an anachronism, a title I accepted with resignation as a part of getting older. Now, however, it has become fashionable to avoid waste, and I applaud the efforts of those responsible for Green Fest. Although I’m not sure if I’m ready for worm composting, I am looking forward to learning how to recycle my electronics.

If you want more information on the Cool Cities Coalition or Green Fest, contact Vanek at (630) 832-6091 or Jim Babcock at (630) 530-4692.

If you have any story ideas you would like to see in the column, e-mail elmhurstovereasy@comcast.net.