Prince George's County will throw open the gates of David C. Driskell Community Park on Saturday, October 10, for the 12th annual Green Festival, a free event running from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. that organizers say is built for the whole family, pets included. The gathering promises environmental exhibits, food, entertainment, electric vehicles, and county government representatives on hand to talk sustainability, all packed into the 32-acre Hyattsville park at 3911 Hamilton Street.
The event, organized by the Prince George's County Department of the Environment in collaboration with the City of Hyattsville, was announced in a Tuesday tip shared by the Prince George's County Government e-Community on Facebook. County officials describe it as a chance for residents to discover simple ways to make a difference at home, in the community, and in the environment, with all ages welcome and no admission fee. More details are available at mypgc.us/greensummit, according to the same announcement.
The festival's location carries its own history. Driskell Community Park was renamed by the Hyattsville City Council in 2021 to remove racist deed language from 1927 that had originally restricted the park to white residents only, a covenant put in place under Mayor William Pinkney Magruder, according to DCist. The park's new namesake, David C. Driskell, was a renowned African American artist, curator, and University of Maryland professor who lived in Hyattsville for decades and curated landmark exhibitions of African American art nationwide before his death from COVID-19 complications in 2020 at age 88, according to Culture Type.
From Green Summit to Green Festival
The event wasn't always called the Green Festival. It launched as the Green Summit and marked its 10th anniversary under that name in October 2024 before organizers rebranded it as the Green Festival for the 2025 and 2026 editions, per the Prince George's County Government. The Department of the Environment has continued to coordinate the event throughout its evolution, positioning it as the county's signature public showcase for environmental programs and climate goals.
Those goals are considerable. The county adopted a Climate Action Plan targeting a 50% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from 2005 levels by 2030, a plan crafted by a 16-member commission that also set a regional target of transitioning 15% of registered vehicles to electric models by 2030, according to The Washington Informer. That policy backdrop helps explain why electric vehicles are part of this year's festival lineup alongside the food trucks and entertainment.
Pawchella Offers Free Adoptions and Microchipping
New this year is Pawchella, a dedicated animal pavilion run by the Prince George's County Animal Services Division that will offer free on-site pet adoptions, free pet licensing, and free microchipping, per county officials. County animal shelters have operated near capacity in recent years, making the pavilion's adoption push a practical component of the festival rather than just a novelty attraction. Organizers are also running a community donation drive at the event, asking attendees to bring gently used clothing for Goodwill along with clean linens, towels, and paper products to benefit shelter animals.
Getting to the festival is designed to be low-emission by default. Organizers are providing free shuttle service connecting the West Hyattsville Metro Station and satellite parking at the City Municipal Building on Gallatin Street, according to the county. That transit option lines up with the county's broader push to cut vehicle emissions ahead of its 2030 targets.
A Host City With Its Own Green Credentials
Co-host Hyattsville brings its own environmental resume to the partnership. The city holds a Sustainable Maryland Bronze certification and has maintained an official Tree City USA designation from the Arbor Day Foundation for more than 30 years, and it operates an active local Green Team along with an urban canopy inventory database, according to the City of Hyattsville. Countywide, more than 14,000 community trees were planted between 2020 and early 2024 to expand urban canopy coverage, reduce heat islands, and manage stormwater runoff, per the Prince George's County Government.
The festival also arrives against the backdrop of one of the county's biggest recent waste-diversion milestones. In January 2024, Prince George's County completed a full rollout of its residential curbside composting program, known as PGC Composts, to roughly 180,000 single-family households, with participating homes receiving 32-gallon carts for organic waste, according to BioCycle. That expansion built on earlier pilot programs that had already established the county as a regional leader in waste diversion.
Whether attendees come for the pet adoptions, the EV displays, or simply a family day out, the Green Festival's organizers are framing it as an entry point into that larger sustainability push. Residents interested in attending can find the full schedule and details at mypgc.us/greensummit, the same site referenced in the county's original announcement.
