Event date: Jun 11, 2011 4:00 PM → Jun 11, 2011 9:00 PM
Event location: Zoomtopia, 810 SE Belmont Street
Listing sponsored by Create Plenty
Adults may know how much plastic waste makes its way downstream polluting ecosystems and the food chain, but do kids? In Portland they do. On June 11, eleven Portland area schools are exhibiting that awareness in an artful way by presenting over 200 plastic quilt squares, as part of the International Plastic Quilt Project, a collaborative effort presented by the non-profit organization Create Plenty that turns trash into works of art. The festivities take place from 4-9 p.m. at Zoomtopia (810 SE Belmont Street) and include art squares on display and first hand accounts from community participants, parents, and students who contributed squares to the project. A presentation, including the premiere of a student rap video "Plastic wRap" and entertainment from Tommy Twimble, will happen hourly beginning at 4:30. The event is FREE and includes light refreshments and raffle prizes.
“This project showed us how much plastic our family actually uses,” said Christy Miller-Kuziensky, a parent-volunteer at Sunstone Montessori and part of the Center for Earth Leaderships Eco-schools Network. “It serves as a great reminder to get creative with solutions, including swapping recipes for packaged items with other parents, to reduce the plastic in the landfill.” Christy’s school submitted 48 squares to the project.
Also on exhibition is “Plastic wRap” a video created by Create Plenty director Cheryl Lohrmann and sixth-graders at King Elementary School and a collection of ponchos ironed out of plastic bags from a classroom at The Emerson School.
Thanks to these groups for their participation:
- Ainsworth Elementary
- The Emerson School
- Joseph Elementary
- King Elementary
- Markham Elementary
- The Opal School (Portland Children’s Museum)
- Pacific Crest Community School
- Portland State University’s Art Education and Reuse Capstone Class
- Southwest Charter School
- Sunstone Montessori School
- St. Andrew Nativity School
This is the ninth in a series of twice-yearly single-use plastic awareness events since 2007. The International Plastic Quilt Project is led by Cheryl Lohrmann and is sponsored by a small grant from the Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods with special thanks to ORLO and Zoomtopia. For more information, visit www.createplenty.org.
