Hamilton Switching Off for Earth Hour

(PR.co.nz) Hamilton residents and businesses are urged to switch off for an hour this Saturday [27 March] as the city takes part in the global Earth Hour initiative.

Aimed at raising public awareness of environmental issues, Earth Hour will see hundreds of millions of people around the world turn off their lights and non-essential appliances for an hour from 8.30pm on Saturday.

In Hamilton the initiative will be celebrated with an Earth Market in Garden Place during the day, which will feature fresh produce, locally made crafts and activities including a pledging clothes line. There will also be live entertainment on the Garden Place stage from a selection of local musicians including Zion Hill, Ghosts of Electricity, Every Second Tuesday, BMG Trio, MNB featuring NZ Idol winner Ben Lummis, and Lyrica by Candlelight.

Later that evening, diners on Hood Street and a section of Victoria Street will get to experience Earth Hour when street lighting is turned off at 8.30pm and they are entertained by Cook Island drummers, fire dancers and magicians. For safety reasons under-verandah lighting will remain on during this time.

Some restaurants will also be celebrating Earth Hour by serving dinner by candlelight and introducing special dishes for the evening.

Hamilton City Councillor and chairperson of the Community and Environment Committee, Daphne Bell encourages all residents to be part of Earth Hour.

“By turning off your lights for one hour this Saturday you can be part of this international initiative and signal to the rest of the world that you are willing to take action for the good of the environment,” she said.

“While Hamilton is relatively small on the world scale, if we all do our bit we really can make a big difference.”

Residents who opt to stay home for the evening are encouraged to take part by turning off their lights and other non-essential appliances for one hour at 8.30pm, while businesses are urged to switch off their lighting for this period if possible.

Last year was the first time Hamilton had been involved in Earth Hour, with residents getting right behind the cause – a 10.3% reduction in power usage was recorded in the city during this period. This year Hamilton was the first New Zealand city to sign up for Earth Hour 2010.

Visit www.hamilton.co.nz/EarthHour for more information, including a full schedule of Earth Hour events in the city.

Media Release 23 March 2010 from Hamilton City Council.