ARVIN, Calif. (KERO) — The San Joaquin Valley is notorious for having the worst air pollution in the nation, causing a multitude of health issues for residents in the area in cities like Arvin. To help address this issue, Arvin officials will host the city's first Clean Energy Fair this weekend.
On Saturday, June 24, Garden in the Sun Park on Walnut Street in Arvin will be filled with at least 27 different clean energy-based organizations, along with food, entertainment, and a kid center, all in an effort to not only inform the public of their options for becoming more energy efficient but also to ensure they have fun learning.
"Arvin has terrible air pollution and air quality, and we're trying to improve that by providing programs which will support energy efficiency and reduction because there's a direct nexus between energy efficiency and greenhouse gasses," said Grants Manager for the City of Arvin Christine Viterelli.
Viterelli says the clean energy event was originally supposed to happen in 2020 but was postponed due to the pandemic. Although significant time has passed, Viterelli says the city's ideas for solutions haven't changed.
"Becoming more energy efficient by planting more trees, converting from diesel and gasoline-powered vehicles to full electric," said Viterelli.
Determining which organizations would be involved was up to Environmental Justice CivicSpark Fellow for the City of Arvin Samantha Spiegel, who says the planning took about 3 months of finding which organizations were still on file and finding new ones to bring in.
Spiegel says she is most proud of bringing the idea of showcasing zero-emission vehicles.
"Maybe you haven't been around an electric car so you don't know, or electric vehicle, so you don't know what they're like or what they have to offer, so not just having electric vehicles here but also being able to drive them was a really big thing we were looking for," said Spiegel.
Food and entertainment will also be on hand for participants, including a live performance from You and I, a group out of Bakersfield.
Event manager and CivicSpark Fellow for the City of Arvin Michael Velasquez says every vendor will be strictly Arvin-based in order to showcase the city's strong suit.
"Arvin is a very tight-knit community and the amenities and services that are available here, I think, are high quality, so I think, obviously, sourcing from the community was our best route," said Velasquez.
Spiegel urges the public to take advantage of the upcoming event, sharing a message.
"Clean energy doesn't just happen. Not in driving. It doesn't happen just in the way you move around in the world, but it's also what you eat, how you look things up on the internet," said Spiegel. "There's so many different aspects to it."
The Arvin Clean Energy Fair will take place on June 24 from 10:00 am until 3:00 pm at Garden in the Sun Park on Walnut Street north of Bear Mountain Boulevard in Arvin. In addition to the resources and vendors, Community Action Partnership of Kern will be there to give out food baskets to anybody who needs one.
