Green Festival in the Emerald City

Here's a link on the Green Fest in Seattle on Seattle Represent. I've embedded the article too. Check it out if there is one in your area! It is a lot of fun : )

http://www.seattlerepresent.com/culture/green-festival-in-the-emerald-city/

Green Festival in the Emerald City
March 31, 2009 by Laura Oster, Site-Contributor

If you’re looking for something to do that’s inspiring, fun and eco-friendly, then Seattle Green Festival could be right up your alley. The Green Festivals are a joint venture by Global Exchange and Green America that are all about sustainability and a great way to learn about green businesses, farms, and products in your area.

The green fest consists of a large exhibition area, a kid’s zone, a musical stage, organic beer and wine tasting, and several stages with presentations by various well respected speakers in the green community on such topics as Building the Green Economy and Seven Rules for Shopping for a Better World. I chose to spend my time there wandering and looking at the booths and talking to people. I learned that you can grow your own mushrooms at home with a starter kit and that there is a cool company that sells equipment so that you can make your own soda to reduce plastic use. I also discovered some cool products that are now on my wish list like a handbag made of old Bollywood movie film and paper made from elephant dung – that’s right paper made from elephant poop!

There were also several eco autos on display including the new, locally designed EMC3Commuter car which will be available for purchase all over the country in May. CEO David Joner started working on the idea as a family project with his 11 year old son and several years after the initial brainstorm, this cute, 3 wheeled car that gets 60 miles to the gallon is being manufactured in China. I chatted with Joner for a little while and was impressed with the car, a two-seater with ample cargo space, nice design, and a $14,000 price tag – not bad for a new, very fuel efficient car.

I was pleasantly surprised by my experience at the festival overall. I would have expected a lot more stereotypical hippies but found that most of the participants just looked like every day Seattleites. People were friendly, and even though I went solo I had a great time. It was also a reasonable price; I took the bus downtown which meant I got a discount and paid just $10 to get in plus I left with a full stomach, a ton of free samples, some free eco-oriented magazines, and lots of ideas. Oh and if you want to get in free, just sign up in advance to be a volunteer for a few hours.

Here’s a tip if you do go – don’t eat too much beforehand. Lots of free samples are found for everything from organic yogurt, chips and salsa, donuts, chocolate, cereal, smoothies, coffee, tea, soda and more. I tried numerous snacks but couldn’t resist purchasing some yummy vegan yam fries from a booth operated by Café Flora which were really excellent and I am not even a vegan! So between the samples and the reasonably priced food for purchase options, there were lots of tasty things to try.

Though this year’s fest is over, plan on going next year, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. Or if you’re going to be travelling, the Denver, Washington D.C., San Francisco, and Chicago fest haven’t happened yet. Check out their website for more details: http://www.greenfestivals.org/