The empire isn’t the only thing striking back.

Though delayed a week, the Ars Nova hosted an Earth Day Eco Art Fair, rightly named Earth Day Strikes Back, that attracted the attention of numerous students Tuesday.

“The point of the Earth Day Festival is to raise awareness about the environment to everyone’s everyday consciousness, and realize that we have to take care of our planet because our planet is in trouble right now,” said Ars Nova president Courtney Fromberg. “Hopefully we can improve the way we take care of each other and the planet.”

The art fair featured numerous student organizations such as the Committee for the Preservation of Wildlife, NIU’s Vegetation Education Group (VEG) and the NIU Medieval Society, as well as representatives from the Outing Centre.

Musicians Nathan Edwards, Nash Taylor Cash, Wyatt, Ears & Eyes, Astral Guard and Pattern Crawler performed in front of the Art Building.

Fromberg said the festival is about bringing out and uniting students from across the NIU campus.
“The Earth Day Festival is great because we have people weaving out of plastic bags, people making cookies and cupcakes out of all vegan items, which help improve the planet. And we have a canoe out here,” she said.

Fromberg herself demonstrated how to make a strawberry and cucumber salad.

“It’s important for artists to be eco-friendly because art is a way of communicating universally, and everyone can understand art,” Fromberg said. “A lot of artists today, instead of making things to look pretty or to sell, make things that work for them or people and are using their art to promote change.”

Katy Gilbert, another artist who sold custom-made buttons and key earrings, was disappointed because of the weather.

“It is so cold; I’m pretty sure my feet are frost bitten,” she said. “I wish more people had showed up.”

The event also featured face painting, a recycling fashion show and an art battle competition, she said.

“There are not enough things like this on campus to bring people together,” said junior English major Lionel Newman.

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