The Energy Fair is returning to Amherst.
The fair, officially the Renewable Energy and Sustainable Living Fair, will be held at the Amherst Fairgrounds on Friday through Sunday, June 22-24.
In 2000, the fair was held in the Expo Center in Madison because the Midwest Renewable Energy Association (MREA), the fair's sponsor, was host to the American Solar Energy Society Conference for the society's annual meeting in Madison.
The fair showcases the power of renewable energy and features hundreds of educational workshops, exhibits and displays on solar and wind power, hydroelectric systems, alternative construction, transportation and other sustainable living topics. Presenters and speakers are national experts in their fields, most with dozens of years of practical experience with the technologies.
Highlights of the 2001 event include working solar and wind systems that will provide most of the power for the fair; 107 workshops for the general public (free with paid admission); special workshop and activities for children, teachers and educators; on-site model home featuring solar electric and water heating systems, strawbale and cordwood construction, energy-efficient appliances; and bus tours to local houses that use alternative energy.
There will also be food, entertainment and festival type activities.
Two keynote speakers will be featured at the fair.
On Friday, June 22, at 6:15 p.m. Capt. Paul Watson founder of Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and a co-founder of Green Peace, will speak. He is a Canadian conservationist and environmentalist who has become internationally renowned for his aggressive approach to the field of wildlife conservation.
Julia "Butterfly" Hill will speak at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 23. Hill is the founder of the Circle of Life Foundation and is best known for her two-year "tree-sit" in the redwoods of California. The action was intended to stop Pacific Lumber from the environmentally destructive process of clear-cutting old-growth forests.
Hill spoke earlier this year at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.
The Energy Fair is organized by the Midwest Renewable Energy Association (MREA), a nonprofit, grassroots organization dedicated to promoting renewable energy and energy efficiency through education and demonstration. The MREA has been hosting the Energy Fair in Wisconsin since 1990.
The Energy Fair will open each day at 9 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and 5 p.m. on Sunday. General admission for the fair is $8 per day or $20 for the three-day weekend. Proceeds from the event support the MREA's educational efforts.
To learn more about the MREA and the Energy Fair contact the MREA, 7558 Deer Road, Custer, WI 54423, call 592-6595 or visit the Web site at www.the-mrea.org.