Long Beach’s activists and artists will be coming together this Saturday for Earth Day on Pine, a free festival Downtown meant to connect community members to organizations fighting for social and environmental justice.

The event will feature over a dozen performances by local musicians and bands as well as speakers like oceanographer Charles Moore, horticulturist Ben Fisher, Erin Foley of Long Beach Time Exchange and equal rights activist Zoe Nicholson among others.

Local Native American activist Tahesha Knapp Christensen, known for her efforts in protecting the Los Cerritos Wetlands, will provide an opening prayer.

Expect kid-friendly activities also like learning how to plant seeds and arts and crafts.

“The whole idea is to connect the community with organizations that are already fighting climate change,” said local high school teacher and activist Cesar Armendariz, who helped organize the event.

It’s also about bringing environmental action and justice to the city’s Westside, organizers said.

With statistics showing that West Long Beach residents live an average of seven fewer years than those living in East Long Beach, organizers hope the festival will teach residents how to lower their carbon footprint and live a healthier lifestyle.

The festival first made its debut last year thanks to Javier and Hilda Ortiz, owners of Kress Market on the corner of Pine Avenue and Fifth Street where the event is scheduled to take place.

Javier Oritz said the life expectancy statistic for Westside residents was scary and led him to want better for their customers who, since owning the business for almost nine years, have become friends.

“We have to raise our awareness, let people know how important this environment is,” Javier Ortiz said.

Among the multiple organizations that will be tabling at the event will be the Long Beach Gray Panthers, a senior education and advocacy group, and Long Beach 350, a climate justice organization.

Karen Reside, who is a part of both groups, hopes to send the community a message of how important it is to be involved in a Climate Action and Adaptation Plan the city is expected to finalize this fall.

The groups hope to influence the city in addressing needs that affect older and younger people, especially when it comes to extreme heat.

Children are susceptible to the consequences of extreme heat at school, especially at Long Beach Unified School District where not all classrooms are equipped with air conditioning units. For seniors, extreme heat could be deadly if power outages prevent access to basic necessities, as the Long Beach Post has reported.

Alice Stevens, also of Long Beach 350, said she hopes the event will allow neighbors to become acquainted with one another because—as in the case with the summer 2015 power outages—they may end up being each other’s lifesavers.

“When the community knows each other they can help each other,” Stevens said.

The event is also about showing community members that they don’t need to buy electric vehicles or solar panels they can’t afford, according to Stevens.

“It’s important for us to let people know how they can make a difference,” Stevens said.

While Armendariz acknowledges that these types of issues can lead to feelings of hopelessness, he finds himself being uplifted by fellow activists and now sees it as extremely personal with the recent birth of his first child.

“The choices we make now will affect the coming generations,” Reside summed it up. “We don’t want to give them a world that’s poisoned and cant live in.”

The free festival will take place from 2 to 8 p.m. on Saturday, April 27 on Pine Avenue, between 4th and 5th streets.