A Day of Sustainability and Fun at the 2025 Daffodil Festival and Earth Day Fair

Although the weather brought gusty winds and gloomy skies…(hence the hair!)... Ridgewood’s spirit shined through at the 2025 Daffodil Festival and Earth Day Fair. Hosted by The Conservancy for Ridgewood Public Lands, Green Ridgewood, and the Village’s Department of Parks and Recreation, this year’s event still drew an impressive crowd of families, neighbors, and nature lovers for a day of fun, learning, and community connection.

With this year’s theme, “H2O Optimize: Protecting Our Water,” the festival focused on water conservation, quality, and flood mitigation, all of which are key environmental issues the Village continues to address through local government and volunteer-led initiatives.

As longtime Ridgewood residents and Realtor Sales Associates at Keller Williams, Till Horkenbach and Kelly O'Brien teamed up to host a booth full of interactive activities that made sustainability approachable and fun for all ages.

Children were invited to pot wildflowers while learning about pollinators and native plants, or participate in the Earth Day Scavenger Hunt where they explored the park and picked up a piece of trash in exchange for a goodie bag. The booth also offered temporary Earth Day tattoos, which were a big hit with the younger crowd.

And of course, the fan-favorite game made a return: “How Many Worms Ate the Pizza?” The cleverly staged pizza box filled with fake worms brought plenty of laughs and curiosity, plus a prize for the best guess.

New this year, Till and Kelly introduced an Earth Day Escape Room, an online game designed to teach kids about environmental responsibility through fun, interactive challenges. It was a great way to keep the learning going at home. (Try it for yourself, HERE). 

“I’m so proud to be a part of this event and to be able to support such a great cause in my community,” said Kelly. “Even with the wind and chilly weather, it’s amazing to see how much Ridgewood cares about sustainability and teaching kids to appreciate the planet.”

Beyond Till and Kelly’s booth, attendees enjoyed goat yoga, a petting zoo, live music, crafts, educational demos and the beloved Daffy Dog Parade, where costumed pups trotted through Van Neste Square with their proud and equally festive humans.

The Daffodil Festival and Earth Day Fair remains a vibrant celebration of spring and a powerful reminder of the role each of us plays in creating a greener, more sustainable future.

Click HERE to see last month's event, Easter in the Park!