ENCINITAS — EcoFest will host its annual family-friendly environmental fair this summer under a new agreement with the city.
EcoFest 2026 will take place June 28 at Encinitas Community Park and feature about 80 vendors, live music, food, children’s activities and other programming focused on environmental sustainability. The event is free to the public.
The Encinitas City Council unanimously approved a memorandum of understanding between the city and Encinitas Environment Day, the nonprofit that runs the event, at its March 25 meeting.
The agreement includes an itemized list of the estimated $4,082 the city will provide for the annual event. Costs include nearly $1,100 in staff time spent before the event, coordinating and reviewing promotional materials.
Additionally, the MOU includes a staff recommendation to incorporate the City of Encinitas Sustainable Solutions Fair into EcoFest moving forward. That would reduce contracted expenditures from the city to I Love A Clean San Diego by more than $12,000, from $18,720 to $6,600, according to city documents.
The city will also receive three complimentary booths for the Parks, Recreation and Cultural Arts Department and the Sustainability Division of the Development Services Department, valued at approximately $200.
EcoFest is the longest-running environmental fair in North County San Diego, beginning in 2005 when Bob Nanninga — then chairman of the Encinitas Parks & Recreation Commission and a local environmental activist — sought to host an event celebrating a range of environmental causes, originally called Encinitas Environment Day.
After the event was renamed EcoFest, it has continued to offer information on electric cars and bikes, financial incentives for green initiatives, and ways to reduce carbon footprints, among other topics.
I Love A Clean San Diego, a nonprofit that provides environmental education, cleanup and conservation programs, will share its vendor list and take on an expanded role in bringing hands-on sustainability programming to the event, according to a news release.
Deputy Mayor Jim O’Hara thanked the nonprofit and staff for working together to present the City Council with a clear picture of the event.
“I’m really excited to see what I view as a true opportunity to have a solid MOU and a great partnership here,” O’Hara said.
Mayor Bruce Ehlers said he supported an idea O’Hara proposed for an additive marketing strategy for the event.
“The idea is to get more people to both events by doing them simultaneously and make it a better, bigger event,” Ehlers said. “We certainly have the space to do it.”
