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LOS ANGELES (CNS) - From beach and river cleanups to educational events, gatherings will be held across the Southland Saturday in honor of Earth Day.
Friends of the Los Angeles River will hold an annual cleanup event that traditionally attracts thousands of participants who volunteer to pick up trash, take part in habitat-restoration projects and nature walks.
"This event is one opportunity to not only see and experience the river that's so vital to our city, but to also help care for it and learn about it first-hand while enjoying a day outside in community," FoLAR CEO Candice Dickens-Russell said in a statement.
The event will be held in two shifts, beginning at 8 a.m. and 10:30 a.m., with gatherings scheduled at locations including Lewis MacAdams Riverfront Park, Elysian Valley Gateway Park and the Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Preserve.
The city of Glendale will hold an Earth Day Fair beginning at 11 a.m. at Pacific Park Library, 501 S. Pacific Ave. The event will begin with a land acknowledgement, a storytelling performance, presentation on solar power, a "Cool Critters" show, composting demonstration, along with food, music and entertainment.
Volunteer cleanup events will also be held at Montebello City Park and Chet Holifield Park, also in Montebello. A Hollenbeck Earth Day Celebration and Cleanup will be held at 9 a.m. at 415 S. St. Louis St. in Los Angeles.
The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County in Exposition Park will hold an Earth Day celebration beginning at 11 a.m., featuring music, hands- on activities, storytelling, access to behind-the-scenes museum collections and other demonstrations.
L.A. Works will hold Earth Day events Pasadena High School and nearby Madison Elementary School, where volunteers will restore green spaces, plant drought-tolerant landscaping, build planter boxes and take part in other restorative activities.
An Earth Day festival with music, food and art displays will be held along Third Avenue between Rose and Sunset in Venice beginning at 11 a.m. Earlier in the day, the Venice Surfing Association will host a Venice Beach cleanup event.
On the Santa Monica Pier, the solar-powered Ferris wheel at Pacific Park will "go green" with a variety of green and blue colors, patterns and icons, as well as a spinning globe to mark Earth Day. The display will begin at sunset and continue until midnight.