Sustainability was the word of the weekend at the 6th Annual Athens Area Sustainability Festival at the Athens Fairgrounds.
The idea of the festival is to make people take a closer look at how you live your life and how you can do things that won't have a major impact on future generations
said Jay Warmke, a Muskingum County resident who chairs the steering committee for the festival.
This festival was started by a group of area residents who wanted to educate people of the effect they can have on the future with just a few simple lifestyle changes, Warmke said.
It's all about the size of the footprint you want to leave and that's opposite of what most people think said Warmke's wife, Annie, a member of the steering committee. The idea of sustainability is leaving as small a footprint as you can.
The event focuses on the sustainability education with more than 40 workshops throughout the weekend.
Profits from the festival go first to the cost of the event, and remaining money goes to a charity chosen by the festival committee. Jay Warmke said he didn't know how much money the festival generated in the past.
This year's Sustainability Festival charity is The Birth Circle, a group founded four years ago to provide networking opportunities for pregnant women and new parents.
Since we don't charge a fee for meetings we are excited about receiving a donation from the Sustainability Festival
said Birth Circle co-founder Jenny Hughes.
While the festival committee is unsure how much money will be donated, its members were hoping this year for 1,000 visitors in attendance at $3 per ticket, Jay Warmke said.
In 2005, attendance was about 300 people, he said.
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John Seyerle of Blue Rock, Ohio, demonstrates the making of various traditional crafts used in the early 1800s during the Native American fur trade. Seyerle's exhibit was part of the Sustainability Festival held at the Athens Fairgrounds this weekend to
Workshops focus on future generations
