EcoFair 2026

I continue with doing what I can in the midst of *all this.*

Today I did a lot of gardening and went to the second annual EcoFair, hosted by Interfaith Power and Light at the House of Hope Presbyterian Church in Saint Paul. It was even better than last year's, and the weather was much nicer, too. It was well-attended.

I talked to some of my regulars (people from the Minnesota Bike Alliance, the Saint Paul Bike Coalition, Sustain Saint Paul, Our Streets) and also got information about these topics:

• District geothermal from Cooperative Energy Futures.
• The work of CURE, which is based in Montevideo, Minnesota. I had never heard of them. They had info on hyperscale data centers, energy rates, and other topics.
• The work of Urban Roots, a youth agriculture organization on Saint Paul's East Side.
• Whether it will be okay to finally work with the leaves in my yard after we clear these five days above 50°F... Even though it is going to be in the 40s again overnight later this week. (From the Pollinator Friendly Alliance.) 
• Whether one funeral home here is working on bringing natural organic reduction to Minnesota, now that it has been made legal (as of last summer). They already do water cremation and green burial here. They currently are flying bodies to Washington State (on commercial flights) to undergo the process. The answer is yes... but it is expensive for various reason. I have to email someone.

I didn't take photos of displays or bikes or anything useful. (There were lots of cool ebikes there.) I just captured a few T-shirts and one sticker that caught my eye:

 

 

And also one garage (maybe a barn, given its age) near the church, which is completely covered in Virginia creeper. Very picturesque, except for the Saint Paul array of trash and recycling receptacles:

If you're in the Twin Cities, be on the look out for next year's EcoFair the Saturday after Mothers Day next year!