For years, Marin didn't have a county-wide Earth Day celebration. Smaller events took place at schools and parks throughout the county, but in 2010 Fairfax resident Hannah Doress brought the Marin-wide event to College of Marin.

This year, Earth Day Marin returns and will be held at the home of the Marin County Fair: the Civic Center Lagoon Park.

"We were thrilled at the response to the first Earth Day Marin Festival and plan to continue what was most popular as well as expanding," said Doress, who's again producing the event through her event management company, Hannah Doress Events.

This year's festival will be held on April 21, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Civic Center Park and will include performances, like world music act Zulu Spear, speakers on environmental issues, such as Andrew Mellen, author of Unstuff Your Life, and popular kids activities, like the smoothie bike.

As part of the effort to make environmental issues connect to other arenas of our lives, Earth Day Marin will also host a one-of-its-kind congressional candidates forum on the environment.

Supervisor Susan Adams, William Courtney, MD, Assemblyman Jared Huffman, Stacey Lawson, Tiffany Renée and Norman Solomon have confirmed they will participate in the environmental debate, moderated by the League of Women Voters. (All candidates have been invited.)

Many times, events like this cater to adults and very young children. So, Drake Seniors Tealy Gapinksi and Marina Mano, interns at the San Geronimo Valley Community Center, are also organizing a Teen Spot and separate Teen Stage.

"We gather for a fun festival full of music, speakers, workshops, activities for youth and more -- to celebrate what we’ve achieved, to get inspired about what we can do together, and to connect with the leading resources available to residents of Marin," said Doress.

[Full disclosure: I serve on the Advisory Board of Earth Day Marin.]

What do you hope to see at the Earth Day festival? What environmental activities or topics should be included in the event?