Garden Fest is more than just an event—it’s a colorful, collaborative celebration where art meets activism, where music fills the air, and where the greater Wesleyan community comes together to celebrate spring!
Now in its third year, Garden Fest started as a senior thesis by environmental studies and English major Talia Zitner ’23 who dreamed up a non-traditional Earth Day honoring the many intersecting aspects of environmentalism. Since then, the tradition has been carried on by the Environmental Solidarity Network (ESN) and the student music collective The Shed, with co-sponsorship from the Bailey College of the Environment and others.
I recently sat down with organizer Thalia Witkovsky ’27, to ask her about this year’s event!
Tell us about Garden Fest 2025!
Garden Fest 2025 takes place on Saturday, May 3, from 12 to 4 pm, in the backyard of Russell House (at the corner of Washington and High). This year’s event will feature tables from campus groups, including Co-op, Espwesso, Sunrise Wesleyan, ASHA, and The Wesleyan Refugee Project; student and local vendors selling jewelry, prints, pottery, clothing, and more; and live music, of course, which is at the heart of the event! The full setlist is still being finalized, so stay tuned for updates!
Each year, Garden Fest partners with a local nonprofit and encourages vendors to donate a portion of their profits to support their work. While this year’s nonprofit partner is still being confirmed, last year’s organization—Cultivating Justice through the Katal Center for Equity and Justice—reflected the core values of the event.
What are you most excited about for this year’s Garden Fest?
I love seeing people enjoy themselves. Last year, the band Wurley (they’ll be back this year!) brought a whole group of their friends, so people who normally wouldn’t have interacted with these organizations showed up to support their friends in a band, and they ended up having a picnic and a whole lot of fun! It was really rewarding to see all of our hard work being enjoyed by other people. It was sunny, everybody was having a good time, I just love to see that celebration!
How did you get involved with the event?
I joined the ESN last March after going to a town hall. ESN is a student network that aims to have a platform for people to be more critical of the school and hold the school accountable, as well as a network of students to all come together. There are so many groups on campus, with a lot of overlap. ESN exists to reduce redundancy and help people collaborate. Garden Fest is a part of our collaborating network. I joined because it seemed like a really cool organization, and before Garden Fest point person Annie Volker ’24 graduated last year, I shadowed her to learn about the planning process. I still text her all the time to ask for her advice.
How’s everything been going for you so far?
The project has been very rewarding, so far, because there are concrete accomplishments I can check off, and I’m working with such cool people. It makes me really happy!
Garden Fest wouldn’t be possible without the many people and groups who come together to make it happen: the Bailey COE, Green Fund, the Office of Student Involvement; facilities and physical plant; The Shed and Sound Co-Op; and everyone else! We’ve also been working with Long Lan Farm, because they have plans in the works for May Day, and we didn’t want to overlap our events. It’s been nice to collaborate, and they’ve been really helpful in figuring out the logistics…and will be there with fresh produce from the farm! Shout out to every single group that comes together to work on this: We couldn’t do it without them.
Come celebrate with us on May 3rd. Bring a friend, a blanket, your dancing shoes, or just yourself—and let’s make this Garden Fest the most vibrant one yet. 🌱🎶💛