Going Green: The Center of Harmony Plans Earth Day Celebration

Earth Day is Sunday and plans to celebrate the event with a series of eco-friendly activities.

“We have all kinds of things going on that day,” said Dana Lowers, who cofounded the center in the heart of historic Harmony with partner Josh Meeder.

Featuring a community center, space for wellness seminars and retail shops—including the Wunderbar Coffee House, jewelry by Pearlette and Darn Yarn Needles and Thread—The Center of Harmony, located on Mercer Street, opened in a one-time opera house in January.

Starting at 10 a.m. Sunday, the center will host local vendors at a free event that includes eco-conscious activities for children. There also will be a "Reduce, Reuse and Recycle" yard sale.

“It’s basically a community yard sale,” Lowers said. “There are no special requirements there.”

The community vibe will continue with a cookout the center. Lowers said there would be hamburgers and hotdogs at the event as well as bean burgers and meatless baked beans for the vegetarian crowd.

Later on in the afternoon Vinny and Chris Toth of the band Civil Immunity will perform an acoustic set and there will be a bonfire.

There also will be several speakers at the celebration, including Gwen Lutz, who will converse with the crowd about gardening, and Melinda Hughes-Wert of Nature Abounds, a nonprofit that encourages volunteerism and environmental stewardship. Harmony resident Adrienne Grafton, the jeweler behind the creations at Pearlette, will hold a workshop called “Uncorked” at noon teaching attendees how to craft decorations using wine corks.

The event also will feature electronic recycling. Residents are encouraged to bring their old televisions, computers, monitors, stereos and other household electronics to the center. The items then will be recycled through eLoop LLC, a Pittsburgh-based sustainability group that specializes in hard-to-recycle items.

Lowers said the center also would give away 100 blue spruce trees “liners” courtesy of grocer McGinnis Sisters and hand out wildflower seed packets.

With The Center of Harmony's focus on mind, body and community inside one renovated—and environmentally friendly—building, Lowers said it was important to celebrate Earth Day.

“We are very focused and conscious of being eco-friendly,” she said. “We just decided Earth Day would be a good holiday for us to celebrate. We want to bring more awareness to the community so they can live greener.”