Fans of counterculture, music and Mother Nature swarmed Jim Thorpe for the annual Earth Day Celebration on Saturday.

“We’re having our Earth Day festival in Jim Thorpe, and it includes a river cleanup, a lot of vendors, crafters, foods, live music and a lot of other programs and workshops,” organizer Shelli Holland said.

Dozens of events focused on conservation, creativity and camaraderie were held throughout the day at Josiah White Park, the Dimmick Memorial Library and the Race Street Park.

“We had a permaculture talk, a gardening workshop, a build-your-own terrarium workshop where kids built terrariums with plants and stones in jars that people collected throughout the year. We had a ‘Waiting for Wings’ butterfly workshop at the library, along with old-time music with hammer dulcimers. There was Earth meditation this morning, and kids’ yoga at Race Street Park, too,” Holland said.

It wouldn’t have been an Earth Day celebration without all the flower children, and their vibes permeated Josiah White Park. Walking around downtown, you could hear some groovy tunes from the likes of Senile Delinquents and other groups while looking at the love beads and tie-dye T-shirts.

Vendor Jamie Flaim ran a little tent stocked with unique shirts, dresses and decorative miniature top hats to round out the hippie ensemble.

“This is my fifth year here. We used to come to this festival when my kids were little, and when I started selling stuff, I thought, ‘I should do it at the festival.’ Overall, I’ve been coming here about 10 years. This is a good festival. I do pretty good here. It’s always a positive attitude,” Flaim said.

Recycling was a popular concept among male crafters, who found a great way to unite their creative skills with an appreciation for conservation.

“We pick up around 200 or 300 trees every year after everyone throws them out when Christmas is over. We take them to our house, cut them up and let them dry for about a year or two, and then we hand cut and hand paint or stain them,” said Shannon Adams of S.A.W. Family Creations, which markets unique wooden decorations.

At a nearby table, hundreds of handmade metallic souvenirs, including elaborate birds with fork wings, turtles with spoon shells and more caught the eye of festivalgoers.

“I recycle metal into decorative pieces. It’s mostly upcycling silverware, metal and other found objects,” Victor Fritch said.

There were plenty of entertaining options for the little ones as well, including a bounce castle, hula hoop contests and craft shops.

Chris Moyer, a member of the Earth Day committee and volunteer at the Kids Corner Recycled Craft Area, said that plenty of children enjoyed coming by to create fish out of water bottles, and then using the bottoms of the bottles to make their own bugs.

“It’s a highlight of the festival. Every year, they keep coming back. The same ones, I see them growing, but they still love coming here and painting, creating art. I’m sure they’re going to take it on in the future and pass it on,” Moyer said.

Christie Dominguez came out to enjoy a warm and pleasant spring day with her daughter and found a new annual celebration for her family.

“I think coming here will be our new tradition. We parked all the way at the top of town, and we were walking around, meeting with a bunch of friends and now doing these activities,” she said.

Brittney Coleman stopped by the festival after working at the Monroe County Earth Day event in Tannersville, and found it to be just as inviting and entertaining.

“I’m impressed with how many people showed up for this event. There’s a whole bunch of stuff to do and look at. It’s awesome, and full of good, like-minded people, so I feel like I’m in good company,” Coleman said.

Holland said that along with all of the music, food and fun, it was clear that everyone was engaged in the heart of the event — loving and protecting the planet.

“The key of the whole festival is to preserve the Earth and keep good vibes going, and just respect what we have here,” she said.