By Sara Gregory
Staff writer

Earth Day celebrants usually invoke the image of nature and Mother Earth.

At Saturday’s annual Rock the Baby family festival, though, the emphasis was on the bounty of mothers’ milk.

“We’re here to celebrate the greatness, the coolness, just all that is wonderful about breast-feeding,” said Pam Freedman, an event organizer.

“There’s nothing more green than breast-feeding,” Freedman said.

The event, planned by the La Leche League of Chapel Hill and held at the Carrboro Town Commons, featured live music and vendors to help families learn more about breast-feeding.

“It’s a good way to raise awareness and money to support the cause,” said Sadie Bauer, a mom who joined the group of mothers when she became pregnant with her first child. “The goal is fun.”

The fundraiser started five years ago.

“We started thinking, ‘What do we like to do?’ And we started with listening to music with our families and went from there,” Freedman said.

The festival featured the music of local singer-songwriter Jimmy Magoo, who paused to let children play with his guitar.

“We’ll play together, OK?” he told the kids who crowded around him.

Those who attended also could bid on kid-friendly items offered in the silent auction. Local businesses donated goods and services, and the proceeds will go to support leader training, informational brochures for new mothers and literature for the organization.

More than 20 vendors also set up shop under the shade of the Town Commons shelter.

Having the vendors in one place is really important, Freedman said, because it lets families try out alternative baby products that might otherwise be offered only on Web sites. Shopping at the festival lets families try out cloth diapers, clothes and other goods.

“This way people can try things on their kids and make sure it works,” Freedman said.

Jenny Regan found out about the festival from a friend involved in the La Leche League and brought her two children to the event Saturday.

“I knew we’d see friends here,” she said. “It’s a lot of fun, and Jimmy Magoo is a really good entertainer.”

The La Leche League International was started by a group of moms in 1956 who were alarmed by declining rates of breast-feeding and wanted to foster relationships among mothers.

They published “The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding” in 1958, and now the group boasts organizations in all 50 states and around the world.

The group tries to dispel myths about breast-feeding and encourage mothers to breast-feed their children for as long as they can.

Part of the draw is getting to interact with other mothers who have similar experiences to share, said Ashley Marshal, one of 11 leaders in Chapel Hill.

“It’s a mother-to-mother peer support group,” Marshal said. “We have pregnant moms, new moms and more seasoned moms that come.”

Marshal joined the group eight years ago with the birth of her first son. Her mother sent her a book about breast-feeding and recommended the group.

Bauer also joined the group as a way to meet other mothers in the area.

“I thought it might be a good way to meet people,” she said. “It’s a good support system … a group effort, really.”

The La Leche League of Chapel Hill has three groups of mothers that meet monthly, including morning and evening groups and groups for mothers with toddlers.

“It kind of accomodates moms who work during the day,” Marshal said.

In addition to the Rock the Baby festival, the Chapel Hill group participates in the World Walk for Breast Feeding to recognize World Breast Feeding Week at the beginning of August.

The monthly classes cover topics that range from the advantages of breast-feeding to other concerns of new mothers, including diapering, weaning and life with a baby.

Freedman said the atmosphere in Chapel Hill and Carrboro is refreshing for mothers who wish to breast-feed.

“There is a lot of support,” she said. “We never hear of people being asked to leave businesses or restaurants (while breast-feeding), which is very different from the rest of the state.”