Thank You Chicago!

27 May 2011

Green Festival continued its 10^th Anniversary celebration year at McCormick Place May 14-15. Participants escaped the cold and rainy weather to eat, drink, stretch, shop and celebrate a growing green economy and the opportunity to embrace healthier, eco-conscious and socially-just lifestyles.

Thanks to Green America and Global Exchange, as well as every attendee, volunteer, exhibitor, partner and nonprofit ally whose efforts made Chicago Green Festival a great success! Thank you also to Lieutenant Governor Shiela Simon for opening the festival with an inspiring call to action for every Illinois resident. Here is what the Lt. Governor had to say about the promise of a greener future in the state of Illinois:

"Democracy Now!" host and long-time Green Festival favorite Amy Goodman had the Main Stage  audience overflowing into the hallways to hear her moving presentation in which she declared, “If one is oppressed, we are all oppressed.”

Festival participants joined Hip Hop Caucus founder Reverend Lennox Yearwood for an empowering community call to action. The enthusiasm could be felt and heard across the entire hallway! Rev. Yearwood was gracious enough to host several wonderful interviews at the TreeHugger booth. Check out this reunion with local celebrity and Emmy-winning Chicago journalist Bianca Alexander:

You can check out this interview, and many others featuring Green Festival speakers, exhibitors and personalities on TreeHugger.com or by visiting the Green Festival Youtube page.

The Fabulous Beekman Boys, Dr. Brent Ridge and Josh Kilmer-Purcell, provided laughs galore as they shared their hilarious trials and tribulations on the road to becoming “Gentleman Farmers” and releasing their new line of organic soaps, Beekman 1802. The boys were excited to share further news of impending brand new “seasonal living” products.

The Kids’ Zone was alive with young creative minds all weekend! Green Festival youth enjoyed learning about farming via Chicago’s Farm Truck, dancing and playing with Green Kids, making beautiful flowers with the Green Parent’s Network and much more! A special treat involved learning about animal care and conservation with Nature’s Creatures Animal Show.

Congratulations to $5,000 Ford Community Green Grant winner, the ScienceFIST Foundation! ScienceFIST Foundation founder Marc Hans accepted the reward, which was presented by Ford’s Director of Sustainable Business Strategies, John Viera. Hans then surprised the audience by generously donating a portion of the grant to each nominated project.

Green Festival is incredibly privileged to connect with the Chicago-area community through a number of local nonprofit allies! Thanks to all of these wonderful organizations for their hard work in creating a cleaner, greener, socially just and culturally rich Chicago community. Working as a team with the dedicated efforts of a wonderful host committee and street team, the Green Festival buzz was contagious throughout Chicago and its surrounding communities. Well done to all!

Thanks to all Green Festival exhibitors for showcasing your green and socially responsible businesses. Green Festival is extremely lucky to have such an innovative, diverse, environmentally-responsible and socially-just marketplace. Your continued presence at Green Festival is our greatest priority in maintaining and expanding the green economy. The Green Marketplace was hustling and bustling throughout the weekend as participants enjoyed an amazing variety of local, regional and national green and sustainable businesses. Participants were thrilled to sample vegan and vegetarian snacks, tasty beverages and rich Fair Trade coffee and chocolates. Business was booming in the Green Marketplace with an abundance of eco-fashion, organic body products, kids’ items, non-toxic cleaning products, sustainable home and garden items, green services, education and career opportunities, green transportation and more!

Special thanks goes out to all of the volunteers whose dedication and spirit are the backbone of every Green Festival and upon which, every successful event depends. You are all extraordinary individuals and your commitment is an inspiration to the global community. Due to the diligent efforts of the volunteer Green Festival Green Team, participants were educated about different aspects of waste diversion and landfill contributions were a bare minimum!

Thank you so much to everyone who participated this weekend and shared their wonderful experiences through social media as well as those who followed along and supported Green Festival from across the country. Our motto of “sustainable economy, ecological balance and social justice” maintains positive power across the globe with your passion and dedication.

Summer approaches as Green Festival gears up for another full and fun Festival Fall! Green Festival will visit Seattle May 21-22, New York October 1-2, Los Angeles October 29-30 and San Francisco November 12-13, so mark your calendars now! For exhibit information for fall events, visit the Exhibit Page. Keep up with event news, green tips, amazing stories and more on the Green Festival Visionaries Blog, and through Facebook and Twitter.