Putting the Spin on Earth : Observance: More than 2,000 people attended an Earth Day event at O’Neill Regional Park, where music, picnics and environmental education were the order of the day.

After roaming through exhibits about recycling and water conservation, Tom Connolly rested on a bale of hay with his 7-month-old son in his lap and listened to the bluegrass band performing beneath a yellow canopy.

“Now that I have a son, Earth Day has more significance to me,” said Connolly, 37, of Rancho Santa Marguerita. “I’m more concerned about the environment.”

Connolly and his son, Corey, were among the more than 2,000 people who attended the county’s Department of Harbors, Beaches and Parks Earth Day celebration Saturday at O’Neill Regional Park.

It was a warm, peaceful afternoon. The steady strumming of live bands and folk singers blended with the laughter and screams of young children. Many families brought picnics, ready to spend the day.

In the shady grove filled with native oak and sycamore trees, about 25 exhibitors--conservation groups, environmentalists, civic organizations, local schools and the county library--presented information on a variety of topics concerning the environment.

“We began this to help raise public awareness and consciousness, and to encourage people to protect the Earth and to practice recycling,” said park ranger Stan Bengtson of Ronald W. Caspers Wilderness Park. “But we also just want people to enjoy the Earth.”

Bengtson, who had worked on the county parks department’s two previous Earth Day celebrations, was pleased by the turnout. “It’s growing in popularity. We have more exhibitors and more people coming out this year,” he said.

Originally planned to be held in Caspers Wilderness Park in San Juan Hot Springs, Bengtson said the celebration site was changed in February after children were banned from the park because of the threat of mountain lions.

And the children would certainly have missed out, because they had a field day Saturday.

There were games, free balloons, buckets of soapy liquid to blow bubbles, hayrides and art projects, such as making a bird feeder out of milk cartons.

The Trabuco Canyon area 4-H Club participated in its first Earth Day celebration, bringing a sheep, a goat, a horse and several rabbits for children to pet. And the park provided a variety of native snakes for the children to hold and touch.

“The snakes were my favorite,” said 9-year-old Corie Jones of Fullerton, who later tried her hand at lassoing a steer’s skull mounted on a bale of hay.

“When I grew up, my favorite toy was a creek where I got wet daily,” said Corie’s father, Jamie Jones, an aerospace program manager. “I want my (two) girls to grow up exposed to nature, not something that’s easy to do here.”

Tom Gonzales, a park maintenance worker, manned a display of native plants, such as the woolly blue curls with their fuzzy blue flowers. He dug his hands into dirt-filled pails, offering visitors a sprouting acorn to take home to plant.

John Berne, 41, a landscape supervisor at Leisure World in Laguna Hills, volunteered to present an exhibit on compost.

“We could reduce the amount of trash by 20% if everyone did back-yard composting,” he said. “At Leisure World, we save hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in dumping fees.”

At the Sierra Club’s exhibit, volunteer Diana Berry, 45, handed out information on garbage disposal problems, recycling, car-pooling and population control. The 100-year-old conservation club founded by naturalist John Muir is participating in five Earth Day celebrations in the county this weekend.

“People are definitely more concerned about the environment,’ Berry said, citing the county’s 10,000 members. “But as for the number of people doing things, it’s hard to tell.”

Earth Day celebrations continue today The county Department of Harbors, Beaches and Parks and the state Department of Fish and Game are hosting an event from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in Upper Newport Bay. There will be nature walks, canoe and kayak trips, environmental exhibits, music, games and refreshments. The celebration will be on Shellmaker Island, which is off of Back Bay Drive, just north of Newport Dunes.

The city of Anaheim is hosting “Let’s Make a Difference” Environmental Faire for adults and children from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Peralta Canyon Park, 115 N. Pinney Drive, Anaheim. Admission is free. There will be information booths, a hot-air balloon, a children’s art area, music, a 6-foot “Earth ball,” and refreshments. Pine seedlings will be given away and environmental products will be offered for sale.