As I write this in my office in the Andrew Carnegie Free Library & Music Hall on the first day of spring, warm sunlight falls on my back through the tall elegant windows.

Daffodils and leaf buds are showing their faces, and families are enjoying the mild weather as they rest on the benches in our lovely hillside Library Park.

After a dreary winter, it’s a wonderful feeling to step outside and feel embraced by the air rather than attacked by it! It may be a bit trite, but the return of life to the world always fills me with energy and hope for the future.

It’s with this spirit that I look forward to the Carnegie Carnegie’s next major event: our third annual Earth Day celebration. On April 22, we invite you to join us for a day of family-friendly, environmentally aware fun, with games, crafts, music, entertainment and more! Our sincerest thanks to Landau Building Co. for its generous sponsorship of this event.

The Library & Music Hall’s observation of Earth Day began (like so many things) with the covid-19 pandemic. In April 2021, indoor gatherings were still off-limits, and a year into the pandemic, we realized that we needed a way to celebrate as a community. After some planning, a new tradition was born!

That first year, we welcomed just over 70 attendees – scheduled in shifts and socially distanced outdoors, naturally – and by the end of the day, there was no question that we wanted to commit to an annual Earth Day celebration.

Last spring, the grand opening of Library Park coincided with our Earth Day celebration. Programming expanded to include more community groups: Attawheed Islamic Center offered crafts and a photo booth; Crafton Community Garden shared seeds and gardening information; and we even featured Carnegie’s own W3KWH Steel City Amateur Radio Club with ham radio demonstrations

We were thrilled to welcome over 300 attendees! Library Park lives up to expectations, by making people more aware of the ACFL&MH as an inviting gathering place and as a passage way between the Library& Music Hall Main Street below.

This time around, we’re happy to announce a mixture of the return of some old friends and a few newcomers. Enjoy delicious treats from community food vendors. Create rubbings of leaves and other objects from nature. Grab a handful of composting worms. Enjoy the performance of the Double Dutch Swing Squad. Play lawn games designed by Carlynton students. Challenge yourself with our brand-new sidewalk hopscotch course (not your grandmother’s hopscotch!), and learn about lawn rewilding from the Pittsburgh Botanic Garden.

Plus, we’ll be launching the library’s newest service: our free seed library. You may have seen seed libraries in other public libraries around the area. It’s an idea that’s gaining popularity by the year.

Library patrons can “check out” packets of flower and vegetable seeds, just like you would check out a book. We include instructions on planting and caring for the crop, as well as information on how to save the seeds that the plant will produce at the end of the growing season. Return these seeds to the library, and another patron can check them out the following year. We’re excited to be offering this, and we hope you’ll stop by to pick up some seeds for your own lawn or garden on Earth Day.

I’ve saved the best for last: Our day of festivities concludes with a lively free outdoor concert, featuring Miss Freddye’s Homecookin’ Band! While keeping it bluesy, award-winning vocalist Miss Freddye explores the genres of gospel, blues, classic rock, and even a hint of country and bluegrass, along with her band. Bring your dancing shoes and get ready to party like it’s your Earth Day!

And because the ACFL&MH is a 35,000-square-foot building, activities can move inside in the unlikely event of April showers.

Walker Evans is the Andrew Carnegie Free Library & Music Hall director.

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