Cotton clouds against an azure sky hung over hundreds of residents gathered the 8th Annual Newtown Earth Day Festival on Saturday, May 2. Filling Newtown Middle School’s lawn were vendors touting earth-friendly crafts, booths with children’s activities, demonstrations, live music, and more.

Perched on JC Renteria’s sturdy falconry glove was an American kestrel named Bob. Gathered at Mr Renteria’s feet was a small audience listening to how Bob came to live at Sharon Audubon Center.

The kestrel had been a “pet,” Mr Renteria said. Suspecting that he had been stolen from a nest before getting to know his parents or how to live in nature, Bob “didn’t know he was a bird.” He is comfortable around people, and tends to sit and preen and clean his feathers, but does not like being with other birds, the handler explained.

Mr Renteria asked several children listening, what they thought would happen to Bob with a larger bird. Would he be attacked? He also said that Bob might in turn attack a smaller bird, and that he “would not do well in the wild.”

Bob was one of several birds of prey in the Audubon center’s demonstration Saturday. Just a few booths away and hand feeding a four-day-old calf was Diane Paproski of Castle Hill Farm. She also entertained a small crowd as children especially reached out to touch the calf, which Ms Paproski said she saved from an auction that would have sold the baby animal to a veal farm. All cows at her Newtown farm were rescued as calves, she said.

Often during the fall as residents gather at Castle Hill for hayrides and a walk through the pumpkin patch, they can see the cows and other livestock living at the farm. Also at that booth were several rust-colored hens. Among those holding the birds for a short time were twins Logan and Gavin Johnson and a friend Bear Nikitchyuk.

Offering another display of nature’s creatures was a booth for beekeeper Jeff Shwartz. Set on a table-top was a framed glass hive making the busy bees’ work visible. Nicole Bojarczyk, 8, watched the small insects constant, organized motion as they moved across the honeycomb.

Walking through the crowd was Eli Holmes, a student raising money for The Make-A-Wish Foundation. He hoped to contribute funds for children with life-threatening illnesses. While his father Dan Holmes worked a booth for Holmes Fine Gardens with friend Diane Larson, Eli accepted donations for the foundation.

Standing at opposite ends of an unusual machine with strands of rope stretched between its ends were Beatrice Tucker and Christin Dixcy on one end, and Lilly Chenoweth on the other. By twisting a handle, Lilly wound the strands together an Beatrice and Ms Dixcy guided a small device along the strands, braiding them into a jumprope.

Many town organizations and individuals were available at the festival to tout their organization, display their services, or demonstrate how to live greener, all while a rotation of local musicians kept the crowd entertained.

Also among the booths were many local businesses including a botanicals display with residents Barbara Toomey and Mimi Brown. The women had samples of their Moongate Farm botanicals, which, according to their website, uses “use homegrown, wildcrafted, and organic herbs, fruits, and flowers to create our natural products.”

Proceeds from the annual celebration of Earth Day benefit a green scholarship for Newtown High School graduates.