Recycled Arts Festival celebrates turning used items into something new, useful, beautiful

Someday, maybe, when we stop crumpling everything up and throwing everything away, the natural world will dress up in its fanciest duds to say thanks.

No telling when that might occur. Meanwhile, local folks who don’t want to wait will hold a colorful and imaginative dress rehearsal during Clark County’s 12th annual Recycled Arts Festival.

At 10 a.m. June 25, a diverse parade of things with wings, fins, claws, fangs, blowholes, fur, tentacles and thousands of tiny little feet will march into Esther Short Park to highlight the second morning of this celebration of artistic recycling.

If it’s anything like the one Olympia launched in 1995, Vancouver’s first Procession of the Species will be a feast for the eyes and ears — a pageant of music, dancing and the same sort of crafty ingenuity that makes the whole Recycled Arts Festival such fascinating fun.

Public workshops sponsored by Clark County Public Health over the last few weeks provided the raw (recycled) materials for folks to make animal and nature masks and costumes for the procession; if you missed those, the Children’s Booth at the event will host additional mask- and costume-makers all day long on June 24.

Or, just show up by 9:30 a.m. June 25 with your own homemade nature costume to march in the parade, which is free and open to everyone. Just remember these basic procession costume rules:

• No written/spoken words.

• No live pets (except service animals).

• No motorized vehicles (except wheelchairs).

The procession will also be a costume contest; winners will be announced when it’s over.

Used stuff, new art

The Recycled Arts Festival is a showcase of used stuff that’s been transformed into new artworks. More than 150 clever and visionary artists and artisans will sell the wares they’ve made out of items that otherwise would likely have landed in landfills. From practical household creations like furniture and kitchenware, to personal items like clothing and jewelry, to fine-art imaginings like wall art, garden art and sculpture, the Recycled Arts Fest is always a journey of discovery.

Other than what’s offered at the food booths, everything for sale at the Recycled Arts Festival is made of at least 70 percent recycled materials, organizers say.

The very popular festival gets very busy indeed — with as many as 30,000 people stopping by in recent years — so if you’re looking for a little breathing room, check out the sculpture garden, where local artists show off their biggest, most ambitious recycled creations. If you’re looking for even more escape, try hopping onto Couve Cycle, the pedal-powered party vehicle that cruises up and down local streets for free (until 1 p.m. each day).

Show up with your own re-usable water bottle or mug, and you’ll be entered to win a Waste Connections prize.

Recycled rides

Also new this year is free parking in the Clark County Public Service Center garage at 14th and Franklin streets, about a 10-minute walk from the festival. A shuttle will run regularly between the nearby gazebo at 13th and Franklin and the north side of Esther Short Park, which is handy if you’re carrying a small- to medium-sized purchase.

Larger purchases can be left at a secure loading area in the northeast corner of the park, and picked up later.