Berkeley Earth Day: A Look Back at the Street Festival

September 12, 2026 · Earth Day · Berkeley Earth Day editors

Before this domain became an independent guide, berkeleyveganearthday.com was the home of a free community festival that brought the Bay Area environmental community together each spring. This page records what we could piece together from the public record. We are not the organisers, and nothing here is an official history.

A festival with a simple promise

The event described itself as a day to celebrate a shared vision for a sustainable future: get inspired, connect with eco-minded people and learn how to reduce your impact on the planet, and have fun doing it. It was produced by a Bay Area nonprofit focused on compassionate, plant-based living, with local sponsors and community partners.

The ingredients stayed fairly consistent from year to year:

• Vendors with eco-friendly products, from natural body care to reusable goods.
• Community organisations sharing their campaigns and activism.
• A vegan food court, which for many visitors was the main attraction.
• Talks and performances on a main stage, mixing speakers on climate, food justice and the outdoors with local bands.
• Hands-on learning, including a sustainability workshop run by UC Berkeley students.
• The Wild & Scenic Film Festival On Tour, a programme of environmental and adventure films (see our guide to Wild & Scenic).

Where it took place

The 2018 edition was held on Sunday, April 22 in Live Oak Park in north Berkeley, a wooded creekside park off Shattuck Avenue, with free admission and a theme of "Personal Change, Planetary Healing". Talks that year covered topics such as wildlife and industrial animal agriculture, climate-friendly food systems and youth leadership in environmental advocacy.

Later editions moved downtown, to the area around the David Brower Center, a LEED Platinum office and event building named after the Sierra Club's first executive director. Its location one block from Downtown Berkeley BART made it a natural fit for a car-free event.

Accessibility and getting there

One detail worth remembering is how much attention the festival gave to access. Its published notes said outdoor areas were dog-friendly and ADA-accessible, that the main stage would have sign language interpreters, and that the whole event was reachable by BART. Visitors were encouraged to walk, bike or take transit; for drivers, Berkeley street parking is free on Sundays. Those principles are a good template for any community event, and we expand on them in accessible green events: a checklist and getting around car-free.

2020: the 50th anniversary that did not happen

For 2020 the organisers announced a street festival to mark the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. When the COVID-19 pandemic arrived that spring, the event was cancelled to keep the community safe. The film festival component was moved to a date in the autumn. As far as we can tell from public sources, the festival did not return in its earlier form, and the domain later lapsed.

Why we kept the name alive

When the domain became available, we decided the best use for it was a guide in the same spirit: practical, local and a bit idealistic. You will find the festival's themes throughout the site, from vegan food in Berkeley to Bay Area environmental groups. We also run a lighter Green Gaming section about casinos, games and betting seen through an environmental lens, which the original festival never covered.