The Dalai Lama was not the only activist with his sights set on Seattle last weekend. For two days, hundreds of vendors and exhibitors descended upon the Washington Trade and Convention Center downtown as part of the First Annual Green Festival. More than 150 speakers, combined with 300 exhibits and 25 local eco-organizations, gave Seattleites the chance to explore environmentally-conscious alternatives for their daily lives.Politics merged with market at the event, as visitors had equal opportunities to shop and voice questions or concerns or support to King County representatives regarding various “green” projects for Western Washington. Large posterboards were set up posing questions such as “What do you love most about your neighborhood?” encouraging participants to appreciate their communities. Responses to a question about how to build communities varied from “Build trees, not Bush” to “eliminate [SR] 520 and plant native species.”The most popular section of the Convention Center last weekend was certainly the massive marketplace designed to educate visitors about the plethora of local green businesses often being overshadowed by larger chain stores. Heartsong Herbal Brewing Company in particular sees their purpose as subversive to the mainstream.”We’re really a guerrilla-style organization,” said employee Elizabeth Bretko. “We took over an abandoned Pizza Hut and started grinding our own teas. We’ve only recently started generating an audience.”Heartsong grinds its teas by bicycle to eliminate pollution from machinery.Tea and chocolates were well represented at the festival, with almost all vendors giving free samples of their products. Other stands included Nepalese stationary, eco-home furnishings, clothing, vegan and vegetarian food and cookbooks, bookstores and green media outlets.”This lifestyle is always easier than people think it will be,” said Tom Armstrong of RawVegan Source, a raw-foods activist and educator located in Redmond. “The tools to live an eco-friendly life are out there, we’re just bringing them to the limelight.”Keynote speakers over the weekend included Seattle mayor Greg Nickels, “60 Minutes” anchor Amroy Lovins, author Frances Moore Lappe (“Diet for a Small Planet”) and women’s activist group CodePink founder Medea Benjamin.Each visitor to the festival received a booklet including a list of contact information for all exhibitors and vendors present over the weekend as well as a list of e-mail addresses and phone numbers for taking further policy action in separate communities.Exhibitors at the festival were required to follow strict regulations regarding the waste produced by their booths. A sign upon entering the Convention Center claimed that all clothing and food sold must be certified organic. Vendors were only allowed to use plates and utensils that were 100 percent compostable. Even the carpet and signage within the Center were made from recycled materials and could be recycled again after use.Throughout the day and into Saturday and Sunday evenings, hundreds of volunteers sorted through the waste generated at the festival and designated each item landfill, recycle or compost.”Over the course of an entire weekend, we’ve generated less than one dumpster full of trash going to a landfill,” said Room Captain Sherry Spurlin. “This event is unprecedented in its success as an environmentally-conscious festival that lives by its own principles.”Green Festivals are planned over the next year in Chicago, Washington, D.C. and San Francisco. Learn more at greenfestivals.org.
