SAN FRANCISCO (BCN)--With Earth Day coming up this weekend, BART is celebrating the environmental benefits of using its transit system with a festival at San  Francisco's Justin Herman Plaza Thursday at which it will give away 5,000 free  tickets.

     

BART's second annual Blue Sky Festival, taking place from 11 a.m.  to 2 p.m., will feature informational booths, food samples and live music by  the Venusians, whose band specializes in "global instrumental music,"  according to its website.

     

Festival-goers can also expect carnival games with a eco-twist,  organizers said.

     

BART spokesman Jim Allison said the focus of this year's event is  train efficiency. He highlighted that the system is 100 percent electric, and  pointed out that technology allows BART to reuse energy created by friction  from braking at each station.

     

Allison also said BART trains are some of the lightest trains in  the public transit world for their size.

     

He said the festival is a reminder that BART "is good for Mother  Nature," and is meant to coincide with Earth Day festivities while "the  environment is on everyone's mind."

     

The first 5,000 attendees who visit the booths are eligible for a  free $6 BART ticket and will be entered into a drawing to win a folding bike.

     

The festival is free. Allison said last year's festival had about  5,000 attendees.

 

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