University Boulevard is going green for Earth Day.
Today from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., the “”Carbon Down Arizona”” block party will be taking over the street.
“”Think 4th Ave. Street Fair gone green,”” said Lesley Ash, Associated Students of the University of Arizona Sustainability director. ASUA Sustainability, the Educational Leadership 281 class and the Public Interest Research Group have worked together for the last two months getting ready for the block party.
There will be 80 booths set up along the street representing campus clubs, departments, companies and non-profits all supporting the green movement. About 35 of the booths will be offering job, internship or volunteer opportunities for students, Ash said.
The block party originally started as an environmental career fair, but evolved into the block party idea, she said.
“”There are involvement opportunities for students,”” Ash said. “”That is personally what I’m most excited about. Establishing connections helps college students.””
Ash said she wants the block party to be fun, informative and helpful.
Some of the other booths will be vendors selling green products. Niki Hadany, of PIRG, said there will be vendors with homemade jewelry, recycled clothing. Other booths will have information on ways to live a greener lifestyle.
Vendors from the regular Friday farmer’s market will be setting up shop at the block party this week, Ash said.
There will also be a “”clean car show,”” Ash said. Thirty alternative or fuel-efficient vehicles will be on display from individual owners as well as several dealers with information.
“”The majority of the cars are electric vehicles,”” said Brendan Nuriddin, ASUA Sustainability associate director.
There will also be live entertainment from local and student bands and performers during the block party as well as free yoga classes at the UA Visitor’s Center. The stage where the musicians will perform is completely powered by solar power, Ash said.
“”It’s going to be a really great event,”” Hadany said. “”Hopefully it will be a lot of fun.””
University Boulevard will be completely shut down to traffic from 3 a.m. to 7 p.m. today, Ash said. It is the first time in about five years that the street has been shut down and it is the first Earth Day block party that the UA has held. Nuriddin said they are hoping to make it a yearly event.
Ash said they chose University Boulevard as the location because they wanted to make it a Tucson community event as well, even though it is completely student run.
“”University (Boulevard) bridges the gap between the community and the UA,”” she said.
All the fliers for the event were printed on 100 percent post-consumer, recycled material, and business cards advertising the event were printed on paper that had flower seeds in it, said Nuriddin.
The cards could be planted and would grow wild flowers. The idea was to get people interested enough in the card to keep and read it, Nuriddin said.
“”People were honestly enthralled with them,”” he said.