News
Kids “Go Green” on a MetroBus
Patti Beck
External Communications Manager
314-982-1524
Children and adults will help promote healthy living and a healthy planet by transforming a MetroBus into a bright and colorful eco-mural this Saturday as part of the “Green Homes and Great Health Festival” at the Missouri Botanical Garden.
What:
Green Homes and Great Health Festival
Where:
Missouri Botanical Garden
4344 Shaw Blvd.
St. Louis, MO 63110
When:
Saturday, Sept. 24, 2011 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
MetroBus Painting Activity is from noon until 2 p.m.
Cost:
Garden admission is $8. St. Louis City and County residents get in free before noon and $4 thereafter. Admission is free for children ages 12 and under and for Garden members.
“The bus painting is always a highlight of our festival. It’s a fun unique way to engage attendees that day and to heighten community awareness of public transportation,” said Hope Breidenbach, bus painting liaison for the EarthWays Center and U.S. Green Building Council-Missouri Gateway Chapter.
The painting of the MetroBus will take place from noon to 2 p.m. on Saturday. All ages are invited to help turn the MetroBus into a rolling work of art. In about two weeks, this vehicle will join the Art Bus Fleet which is part of Metro’s Arts in Transit Program. The mural will stay on the MetroBus for one year and will travel various MetroBus routes throughout the area. The Art Bus Fleet Program partners Metro with non-profit organizations in the community like the Missouri Botanical Gardens to raise awareness for their organizations.
“This is the fourth time Metro Transit and the Missouri Botanical Garden have partnered on a MetroBus painting event,” said David Allen, Director of the Metro Arts in Transit Program. “Children like to draw on walls. Painting a MetroBus gives them the opportunity to have fun creating art on a really big metal canvas without getting into trouble from mom and dad!”
Genevieve Esson created the bus mural design. She is a St. Louis native as well as an award winning artist. Esson says her design conveys energy, movement and connection. “I wanted to convey a message of how beautiful our planet is and how by a few simple changes in how people consume and go about their daily lives, they can reduce their environmental impact,” Esson said. The mural features many bright colors and a flowing design to capture people’s attention including renewable sources, such as solar panels, wind turbines, using CFL light bulbs and spotlighting the Missouri Botanical Garden.
The festival will also feature food, live music, solar car races and other activities for children, free health screenings, green living resources, products made by area crafters, and produce grown by local farmers.
The event is presented by the EarthWays Center of the Missouri Botanical Garden, Siteman Cancer Center, Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine.
For more information on the Green Homes and Great Health Festival, visit www.greenhomesSTL.org. For general Garden information, visit www.mobot.org or call (314) 577-5100.
On the day of the event, members of the media can reach Patti Beck from Metro Transit at 314-486-9091.