22nd Annual Arbor Day Celebration to be held on April 26th
Wednesday, April 24th, 2024
April 24, 2024- ROCHESTER, MN— Rochester Public Utilities, with partners Maier Tree & Lawn, Rochester Park & Recreation, and Sargent’s Gardens, will hold its 22nd Annual Arbor Day Celebration on Friday, April 26, 2024. Come join in the celebration at RCTC’s Field House located at 851 30th Ave SE in Rochester (due to weather), with live music, free trees, and free lunch! Smokey Bear, chainsaw carver, games, and many more family activities will be taking place.
The fun and free community event will feature a variety of activities, music, and displays that will include: A tree giveaway (while supplies last), a free lunch of hot dogs, corn on the cob, chips, cookies, and soda will be provided (while supplies last). Tree experts will also be on hand to answer questions on tree planting and care, along with many other vendor activities and information.
Children will be able to enjoy the apple toss game, tree cookie stacking, tree ring toss, tree medallion necklaces, and much more!
At noon, an awards ceremony will honor Rochester elementary school students who were selected as finalists of the 2024 Arbor Day poster contest, as well as this year’s overall winner, Shaarav Nawale, a 4th grader at Washington Elementary. Shaarav will receive a $100 Target gift card, his winning poster will be featured in RPU’s 2025 calendar, and a tree will be planted in his honor at Washington Elementary School. This year’s poster contest theme was “Trees Are Terrific…For Animals Too!”
RPU line crews will also be partnering with Rochester Parks & Recreation on a tree planting for The Right Tree in the Right Place program on Wednesday, May 1 in NW Rochester near John Adams Middle School. This is an annual event to plant the proper type of boulevard trees in different neighborhoods in Rochester.
Co-Sponsors of this year’s event include: ArborWise, Culligan of Greater Minnesota, Hy-Vee, Jim Whiting Nursery & Garden Center, Kemps, Minnesota Energy Resources, Pepsi, Sekapp Orchard, and Seneca Foods.
In the event of rain, the celebration will be moved to Rochester Community & Technical College’s Field House. This announcement will be made on the RPU Facebook (Rochester Public Utilities) and Twitter (@rpualerts) accounts.
About Rochester Public Utilities
As the municipal utility of Rochester, Minn., for more than 110 years, RPU provides high-quality and reliable electricity to over 58,000 customers. Water customers number more than 41,000. RPU continually investigates innovative technologies to help customers realize the best value from the services they receive. Current initiatives include photovoltaic offerings, wind energy, energy and water efficient equipment, and electric vehicle charging.
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