Friends Western School Celebrates Spring with Plant Sale and “EcoFair” Featuring Workshops, Live Music, Crafts and Other Family Fun

Join the Friends Western School (FWS) community for a “fun day of nature play,” with gardening workshops, live music, gourmet and home-made foods, kids’ crafts and activities and a plant sale offering a unique variety of annuals and perennials, California natives, succulents, and heirloom vegetables and herbs.

Free seminars on Southern California gardening and sustainable living practices will be offered throughout the day, including “Benefits and Challenges of Harvesting Water in L.A.” with Hey, Tanks! at 10:30am; “Native Plants and the Big Picture” (for ages 5+) with the Theodore Payne Foundation at 11:00am; and “Cultivating Blueberries in Southern California” with CalScape Growers at 2:00pm.

The day’s kid-friendly soundtrack will be provided by a full roster of live musical performances, including the band Artichoke, delivering catchy, eco-focused tunes at 12:00pm; FWS music teacher Ursula Gueringer, who will be serving up country and bluegrass favorites at 1:00pm; singer-songwriter Grace Fellows at 1:30pm; and the Friends Western School Singers at 2:30pm.

In addition to plants, fresh baked goods will be available for purchase well – all at friendly prices – and Sound Bites will be offering gourmet farm-to-street cart food.

Creative kids’ activities include mini-terrarium and fairy house crafts, games, face painting and more.

As an added enticement to attend, visitors can join a raffle for several prizes, including a family getaway at an eco-friendly beachfront resort in Antigua.

FRIENDSFEST festivities will conclude with an ever-so-enchanting traditional May Pole dance.

The FRIENDSFEST Plant Sale & EcoFair gives FWS students the opportunity to host the community, learn about sustainability, and raise money for their school. For more information, please visit www.friendswesternschool.org.

Friends Western School is a cooperative private elementary school founded on the principles of community, harmony, integrity, equality and simplicity. FWS offers a host of unique advantages, such as small class sizes, with a student/teacher ratio of 14:1 or better; individualized learning that encourages and honors each child; curriculum that supports academic growth as well as social and emotional development; a creative environment with weekly art, theater and yoga classes; and an emphasis on community, where students become stewards of the world around them through entrepreneurial service projects and more.

FWS is currently accepting applications for the 2016/2017 school year. To learn more, go to www.friendswesternschool.org, attend an open house on April 22 at 10:00am, or schedule a private tour by calling (626) 817-2481.