Six hours of family fun and environmentally focused learning is scheduled to return to the front lawn of Newtown Middle School, 11 Queen Street, on Saturday, April 23, with Newtown Earth Day Festival. First Selectman Dan Rosenthal is expected to formally welcome guests and vendors, and open the event, at 10 am.

Blessett Anderson, a senior at Waterbury Arts Magnet School, will perform the national anthem.

The festival will then continue until 4 pm.

Admission is free and there is plenty of parking on either side of the building.

Organized by a group of concerned citizens, the annual outdoor event is designed to highlight Newtown’s abundant natural resources and help attendees learn how to become a bit greener. From children’s activities, live music, and animal exhibits to refreshments, vendors, a silent auction, and Newtown Lions Club’s Lose the Litter initiative, the event is suitable for all ages.

A Bird of Prey demonstration is scheduled for 1 pm.

Face painting, tie-dying T-shirts and making eco-crafts, making birdseed balls and pottings, creating pinecone bird feeders, building birdhouses, and knitting opportunities will be ongoing.

Attendees will also be invited to learn About Composting and other gardening projects. Members of the town’s Sustainable Energy Commission will have information on saving money on electric bills.

As of April 21 the following vendors had registered for the festival: Associated Refuse, Back Yard Bee Keepers Association, Bent of the River Audubon Center, Birds of Prey, BT Phantasmagoria, Center for Biological Diversity, Cullens Youth Association, Edmond Town Hall, Endurvinna, and EverWonder Children’s Museum.

Also, Freedom Farm Animal Sanctuary, local Girl Scouts, Holmes Fine Gardens, Iroquois Gas, My Place Restaurant, Newtown Conservation Commission, Newtown Ecumenical Workcamp Servants (NEWS), Newtown Forest Association, and Newtown Greenery.

Also, Newtown Lions Club, Newtown Parks and Recreation, Newtown High School Environmental Club, Newtown Public Works Department Pootatuck Watershed Association, Popowich Chiropractic, Protect Our Pollinators, Renewal by Andersen, Send a Smile Cards & Home Décor, and The Garden Club Of Newtown.

Organizers recently announced the live entertainment schedule. The Barn Rats, a Connecticut band with dozens of originals and covers, will perform at 10:30; Split Decision, a four-piece band, will take the festival stage at noon; Sundad, the father-son duo who performs New Age and world fusion fingerstyle guitar acoustic instrumental music, will begin their performance at 1:30; and John Chapman, a Danbury-based singer-songwriter “with a unique American roots guitar style,” will headline at 3 pm.

Lunch options, snacks, and beverages will also be available all day.

In addition to traditional food vendors, the festival this year will embark on a new collaboration with the Newtown High School Culinary Department.

Focusing on food sustainability and the elimination of food waste, this project promises to be both educational and delicious. Data shows that food waste is the single largest component of solid waste sent to incinerators and landfills.

Inspired by that date and initiatives — including CT DEEP’s support of programs across the state to address the issue of food and other waste — a menu of 21st Century foods, packaging, and drinks will all be featured at Newtown Earth Day Festival.

Newtown Earth Day is also a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. Partial proceeds from festivals are donated to Newtown Scholarship Association, earmarked for students majoring in environmentally friendly studies.

For additional information visit newtownearthday.org.