Caring for the environment is important to Kelsey Grove. Grove, who lives in Elizabethtown, is an elementary art teacher and a steward of the Earth. Now she's taking her passion for nature and spreading it out in the community at Earth 2 E-Town. The community festival will take place on Saturday, April 24, at Elizabethtown Borough Park, 201 S. Mount Joy St.

"I really wanted to do something last year for the 50th year of Earth Day," Grove recalled, noting that the onset of COVID canceled her plans. "My husband and I just moved to Elizabethtown two years ago, and I was thinking we should try to organize something community-wide."

Earth 2 E-Town will feature a community cleanup beginning at 11 a.m.

"I'm asking people to register for this part of the day so we can assign people places to clean up," Grove noted. "You can sign up individually, as a family or with friends." The registration deadline is Saturday, April 10. Participants are asked to follow COVID guidelines, including mask wearing and social distancing.

"When people are done with the cleanup project, we're going to meet back at the park, and we'll sort the garbage they collect and recycle as much as we can," Grove noted.

The festival will kick off at noon with live music from Ukulele Uprising, a Lancaster-based group, as well as children's crafts in Pavilion No. 2.

"We're working with Lancaster Creative Reuse, who is providing recycled materials for crafts," Grove said, adding that children's crafts will be offered from 1 to 4 p.m.

Booths offering informaton related to the environment will also be at the park. "We'll have the Penn State Extension office with a booth with literature on the spotted lanternfly and information about pollinators," Grove said. "We'll also have the Lancaster County Pharmacists Association there to talk about safe medication disposal."

Grove hopes to hold the event annually on the first Saturday after Earth Day, and she wants to see it grow every year.

"I'm starting off sort of small this year, but I'd like to add food trucks, presenters in the amphitheater in the park and more," she explained.

Although registration is required for the community cleanup, anyone can stop by the park for the other activities, Grove stated.

"I want this to be a community event by the community and for the community," she said. "We're all ready to get outside, and this is a great way to do something good for our environment and have fun while doing it."

For more information on the event or to participate, email earth2etown@gmail.com or search for "Earth 2 E-Town" on Facebook.