Earth Day Dallas 2012 will kick off its annual festival April 21, 2012, with high-profile speakers and entertainment, award-winning cinema, incredible exhibits, and a chance to participate in a world record. The Nature Conservancy of Texas will be hosting picnics twice an hour, every hour on April 22 between 10 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. in an attempt to break the world record for the largest simultaneous global picnic. Healthy and organic food options will be available for purchase at the festival, however you can bring your own basket.

Earth Day Dallas is a nonprofit organization led by real estate mogul and businessman Trammell S. Crow and other community leaders. Last year, the festival was recognized as the nation’s second-largest Earth Day event with 48,000 attendees, right behind Earth Day New York. Earth Day Dallas was also named the best new public event in 2011 by the International Association of Exhibitors and Events.

“The inaugural Earth Day Dallas festival truly started a movement in North Texas,” Crow said. “Over the past year, we’ve had immense support from the community and observed individuals embracing a new level of environmental awareness. This year, we’re poised to make an even bigger impact as an ongoing catalyst for change and knowledge sharing.”

To accommodate its growing presence, the festival moved from downtown Dallas to Fair Park, providing more than 600,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor space. The festival will feature an extensive variety of education, entertainment and engagement for the whole family, including:

• Speakers include former first lady Mrs. Laura W. Bush; Commissioner Todd Staples with the Texas Department of Agriculture; Andrea Thomas, vice president of sustainability for Walmart; and Michio Kaku, professor of theoretical physics, best-selling author and TV science host
• Live music performances by Amos Lee, Ponderosa, Diego Garcia and The Honey Brothers
• Film screenings include renowned documentary Cafeteria Man and a farm-to-school discussion panel with chef Anthony Geraci
• Picnic for the Planet, the Nature Conservancy’s attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the largest simultaneous global picnic
• The Eco Expo with hundreds of corporations, small businesses, nonprofits, government groups, hospitals and universities
• And much more!

For a complete list of programming and to learn more about the 2012 festival, visit EarthDayDallas.org.

Who: The Nature Conservancy of Texas
What: A simultaneous global picnic
When: Earth Day, April 22, 2012 from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Where: Fair Park
3809 E. Grand Ave.
Dallas, TX 75210  (Map It)
Why: To help break a world record & celebrate Earth Dallas 2012

About Earth Day Dallas
Earth Day Dallas 2012 begins April 21, 2012, with a two-day festival at Fair Park. Events will focus on entertaining, inspiring and educating North Texans with various ways to think, work and live green by showcasing emerging green technology, providing eco-friendly family activities, presenting enlightening lectures from environmental leaders, hosting a variety of musical acts and much more.

For more information visit http://www.nature.org/earthdaydallas or http://www.earthdaydallas.org/.