This year, celebrating Earth Day’s 50th anniversary will be a bit surreal for some, as assemblies involving large groups of people are strictly prohibited. Fortunately, in Houston, fans of the planet and a beloved local farm can toast the day with a virtual event.

In keeping with quarantine orders, the fifth annual Recipe for Success Foundation’s Earth Day Festival, taking place at Hope Farms, will be broadcast on Facebook Live on Wednesday, April 22 from 9 am to 2 pm (activities kick off at 8 am). The event, broadcast from the seven-acre farm located just minutes from downtown, honors Earth Day’s “ReUse, ReNew, ReCycle” theme.

Earth Day also marks the unofficial birthday of Hope Farms, which turns four in April.

A full schedule of activities for all ages includes virtual cooking demos, gardening classes, farm walks and Q&A with farmers, visits with farm animals, yoga, and story time.

On a separate feed, fans can watch the Hope Farms live Chick Cam as a new clutch of baby chicks hatch. The Chick Cam will go all day and into the evening, according to Hope Farms.

Yoga fans will delight in Zeenath Selvakumar’s live yoga class from 9 am to 10 am. Viewers can then walk the farm and ask farmer manager, Nick DeBrock, questions; take gardening lessons; meet the farm animals and bees with director of agricultural education, Tyler Froberg, and learn more about Hope Farms’ healthy eating initiative.

Meanwhile, throughout the day, viewers can watch cooking demos that connect with the featured gardening classes. (For example, following “Let’s Plant a Salsa Garden,” Chef Omar Pereney will demonstrate how to make fresh salsa) Chef Erin O’Leary Stewart of DEFINE Foods will showcase ingredients harvested from a Spring Victory Garden in her demonstration, and Kelli Bunch of KB Table will use squash, corn, and green beans in her dish — all grown in a Three Sisters Garden.

The festival will conclude with a reading by Gracie Cavnar of Thank you, Earth: A Love Letter to Our Planet by April Pulley Sayre, after which viewers will be encouraged to tune into the live Chick Cam for the rest of the day.

“We love sharing Hope Farms’ birthday to celebrate Earth Day with the world,” said Recipe For Success Founder and CEO, Cavnar, in a statement. “We look forward to welcoming guests from every time zone to our virtual party when we will explore the connection between cooking, gardening, locally grown food and a healthy planet.

With the recent stay at home orders, people are now cooking at home more and seeking solace in gardening. The Hope Farms team and our collaborators are excited to be able to share our knowledge of growing and preparing deliciously healthy food as part of our salute to the fiftieth anniversary of Earth Day.”