Oxnard, CA - The Oxnard Performing Arts Center Corporation (OPAC) is proud to present its 3rd Annual NATIVE PLANT FEST on Saturday, January 13 from 11AM-4PM. This family-friendly event is free and open to the public and brings together our community to celebrate and showcase local plant-inspired culture, food, traditions, and creativity! This festival is community-led by plant enthusiasts of diverse backgrounds who will share their plants, services, artwork, culinary creations, products, and educational resources.
New for 2024 will be hourly screenings of the documentary “Saging the World” followed by Q&As with filmmaker Rose Ramirez and Chumash elder Julie Tumamait-Stenslie. The film addresses the damaging overcollection and appropriation of sage for smudging, a viral trend whereby people burn sage bundles in the hope of purifying space and clearing bad energy. Indigenous communities have tended a relationship with white sage (Salvia apiana), which only grows in SoCal and northern Baja California, for countless generations. Today, poachers steal metric tons of this plant from the wild to supply international demand. The documentary spotlights the ecological and cultural issues intertwined with white sage, centering on the voices of Native advocates who have long protected and cherished this plant. The first 250 attendees will receive a free white sage plant they can take home and plant in their garden.
Guests will enjoy:
A “Listen to Your Plant” Station where new technology monitors electrical signals of plants and makes their unique patterns auditory, similar to a song.
Interactive art installations: A giant flower garden for kids to pollinate as costumed birds and bees and a Community Mural
Vendors selling art, crafts, plants, garden accessories, food and more!
Hands-on activities and workshops suitable for all ages including Bird Walk, Leaf Printing, iNaturalist Workshop, Milkweed Seed Cleaning and more
Nonprofit exhibitors offering free plants, information and resources
Speaker tent with rotating special guests
Special musical performances
The event is free and open to the public. More information can be found at: theopac.org/native-plant-fest
Thank you to this year’s sponsors: Port of Hueneme, Calleguas Municipal Water District, Santa Monica Mountains Fund, and California Native Plant Society - Channel Islands Chapter.
Native Plant Fest
January 13, 2023 · 11am-4pm · Free admission!
Oxnard Performing Arts Center800 Hobson Way, Oxnard, CA 93030
For more information, visit: theopac.org/native-plant-fest
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