By Rita Christopher, Courier Senior
Correspondent:
Errol Horner says
he’s not the kind of guy to lead a parade, but he feels so strongly about the
conservation of energy and the adoption of sustainable lifestyles that he’s
doing just that.
Errol is head of the
committee organizing Chester’s
first annual Eco Arts Fest on Saturday, Sept. 20, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the
Town Green. The program will take place whatever the weather with events under
tents, in the gazebo on the Green, and in the Chester Meeting House.
The Town Green,
Errol says, was his inspiration for a green festival.
“I love the town
green and the meeting house and I thought it was a wonderful venue for the town
to come together for a community festival,” he says. “I thought it would be a
nice way to get an environmental message across, particularly to the younger
generation. We’re all responsible for the environment but they are the ones who
will inherit the situation.”
The Eco Arts Fest
will include food and music from five different groups ranging from alternative
rock to Latin jazz. Two local circus
groups, Circus H20 and Circus for a Fragile Planet, will also perform. There
will be booths featuring energy-saving products and highlighting conservations
strategies. A children’s craft project will encourage youngsters to create art
objects from recycled materials, culminating in an afternoon display of their
work.
The keynote speaker
for the festival is Abby Rockefeller, a longtime advocate of sustainable
wastewater treatment. In addition, there will be screenings of environmental
films, including one narrated by Paul Newman. The festival is sponsored the
Chester Land Trust, the Chester Conservation Commission, NewAlliance Bank of Chester, and Milone &
MacBroom.
Environmental
sensitivity isn’t simply the focus of the upcoming festival, Errol says. It’s
also integral part of his own vision as an architect. He recently completed a
remodeling of his own house in Chester
incorporating design strategies that save energy.
At the moment, in
addition to his wife Caryl, the Horner’s two Maine coon cats Monty and Hudson inhabit the
house.
“Their temperament
is unique; they always know what you are going to do next,” he says.
The Horners have a
grown daughter who lives in California.
Errol admits that
designing and building energy-saving homes can take longer and cost more.
Still, he says that those considerations are offset by the increased value
inherent in an energy efficient house and in its increased livability.
“An energy efficient
house not only saves energy, it also improves lives,” he says.
He says he loves the
architecture of New England and its classic
shapes like the saltbox house.
“Architecture
shouldn’t be about things that are glib and fashionable at the moment,” he says.
“If something looks great, it should look great forever.”
As an undergraduate,
Errol studied art, not architecture, and after college worked as an
architectural draftsman. He says he’s one of the last architects in Connecticut to have
received his credentials by way of an apprenticeship program. He explains that
the state officially recognized his experience allowing him to take the
licensing exam.
Errol says he hopes
that the upcoming Eco Arts Fest inspires an ongoing community dialogue about
conservation and sustainability.
“We want this to be
more than a flash in the pan,” he says.
Errol has lived in Chester for some 15 years
and says it was chance that brought his family to the town. While living in New London, he and Caryl kayaked in the area and decided
they’d like to live along the Connecticut River.
They first went to Deep River, but the realtor’s office was closed, so they
decided to continue on to Chester.
“When we saw
Chester, we knew we had to be here,” he says.
Errol says
celebrating life in Chester is central to the conception of the Eco Arts
Festival. Even the food, he points out, is going to be local, featuring items
like local farm cheese.
“This is about a
vision of community, and what face the future will have in our town,” he says.
“This is about sustaining and strengthening our town and bringing energy and
knowledge to what we do in our community.”
The first annual Chester
Eco Arts Fest is on Saturday, Sept. 20
from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the Town Green in front
of the Chester Meeting House. Admission is free.
Pictured: Errol
Horner is helping build a better future as the head of a committee organizing Chester’s first annual
Eco Arts Fest on Saturday, Sept. 20.
Photo by Rita
Christopher