Clean Power Lake County volunteers talked with hundreds of Waukegan residents of all ages on September 7 during the fifth annual Monarch Festival in downtown Waukegan.

Designed to raise awareness about the environment and healthy living, the family-friendly festival was an appropriate venue for the Clean Power campaign’s positive messages — moving beyond coal, and bringing clean energy to the community.

Several festival-goers posed for photo petitions addressed to David Crane, CEO of NRG Energy, the owner of the coal-burning power plant on Waukegan’s lakefront. Petitions — in English and Spanish — urged Crane to move beyond fossil fuels and to ensure a healthy lakefront.