Earth Day Celebrated at Boxerwood April 27th

Strut your recycled stuff down the Trashion Fashion Show runway at Boxerwood on Sunday, April 27

Join trashion models and recyclartists at Boxerwood this Sunday afternoon (April 27) from 1:00 to 4:00 for the nature center’s first-ever Trashion Fashion Show.

“It’s going to be the zaniest Earth Day celebration in Rockbridge since the Trash Mob parade of 2011,” promises Faith Vosburgh, the event coordinator. (Boxerwood was behind that lollapalooza as well.) “Participating in the Trashion show is another fun way to be eco-creative and do a little something to help save the planet.”

Kicking off the event will be a runway show at 1:30 featuring “upcycled” clothing designer Lark Waxwings, a Charlottesville artist who uses only found objects and discarded materials to create wearable art. “Lark is making her own ‘trashion statement’ about the importance of recycling,” says Faith Vosburgh. “She takes what other people throw away and transforms it into something beautiful and useful.”

Immediately following the runway show will be three 90-minute trash art workshops. Attendees can make DIY (Design-It-Yourself) Trashion Fashions with Lark Waxwings; build a Recycled Instrument with local musician and Trash Band leader, Roy Fauber; or try their hands at Twig Sculpting with Earth-artist and engineer, Jay Sullivan.

The event will close with a Community Trashion Fashion Show at 3:30, this one featuring Halestone dancers high-stepping down the catwalk in trash-tufted tutus, local artists strutting their artsy attire, and workshop participants modeling trashion fashions or playing recycled instruments with the Trash Band.

Prizes will be awarded for the best Trashion Fashions. “Professional” Trashion Designers (adult artists) who model upcycled clothing created in their studios can compete for a $100 cash prize for Best in Trashion Show or Most Artistic Re-Use of Materials.  All other participants can compete for Trash Trophies (no two alike!) in a variety of categories, including Up-and-Coming Trashion Designer (ages 12 and under), Trashion Trendsetter (ages 13-17), High-End Trashion Designer (ages 18 and older). Contest rules and prizes are posted on the Boxerwood webpage (www.boxerwood.org/events).

Trashion Fashions may be created either at home or at Boxerwood on the day of the event, but must be made of at least 75% recycled or reused materials. Contestants will be asked to describe how their garments were constructed, and to choose an environmental factoid about the materials they used that an announcer can read as they model their outfits.

Admission to the Trashion Fashion show is free, but everyone is asked to BYOT – Bring Your Own Trash. Boxerwood is collecting all kinds of clean rubbish and recyclables – everything from soda can tabs and broken toys to old shoes, incomplete decks of cards, and plant prunings. A long list of materials can be found on the Boxerwood webpage.

Local artists, artisans and musicians who would like to model their own upcycled attire, help construct the Trashion runway, perform in a Trash Band, or give young Trashion designers a hand during the workshops should contact Faith Vosburgh (faith@boxerwood.org) for more information.  They may also be interested to know that Sherri Smith, director of the Artisans Center of Virginia (ACV), will be available at the event to provide information about ACV, a state-designated nonprofit dedicated to enhancing the economic opportunities of small business artisans and the communities in which they reside. 

 Rules for the Trashion Fashion Show:

 ·        Garments should be made of at least 75% recycled or reused material.

·        Recycled materials can be attached to another piece of clothing.

·        Footwear, hats, belts, and other trashion accessories may be part of an outfit.

·        Trashion Fashion designers may ask others to model their clothing.

·        Models must be able to walk down the runway without their outfit coming apart.

·        Family-friendly Trashion fashions, please!