On one of the nicest days this semester, College Green was filled with guitar players, tie-dyed T-shirts and a solar-powered grill - all to celebrate the environment.
Friday was Penn Environmental Group's fourth Green Fest, a twice-yearly celebration of sustainability and green alternatives for Penn students.
Members of various Penn organizations geared toward the environment gathered in front of Van Pelt on Friday afternoon as an early kick-off for Earth Day, which is tomorrow.
"We're here to celebrate and hang out. But this event gets everyday Penn students to think about these issues," said Wharton sophomore and PEG member Laura Boudreau.
Each festival brings together more than five different groups like Penn Outdoors, Farmocology, Engineers Without Borders and Philly Car Share.
"It's a cause that we can all support," said College senior Lauren Saling, who works with Penn Outdoors.
Interested students were able to walk from booth to booth to find out about various initiatives while enjoying complimentary Metropolitan Bakery bread, hummus, burgers and hot dogs. Veggie burgers were available, too.
Penn Engineers Without Borders showed off their solar-powered cooker, which harnessed the energy of the sun through rudimentary panels that would heat up the pots.
"This was really a good way to the end the year together, with groups that have been working for sustainability," said College junior Kevin Levy.
Green Fest also commemorated the end of Penn's participation in this year's Recyclemania competition. Overall, the University came in 59th of 88 schools participating in the main competition. The school also placed third among the Ivy League Schools overall, and first place among Ivies for waste minimization.
