We took our kids down to Navy Pier for the Green Festival last year, complete with a Metra train ride and then a bus ride (which I think was the most exciting part to my 3 and 5-year old kids). They made their own bath scrubbers out of a bar of soap and some wool, got to play in the dirt and taste some fun organic foods.
As a result of our visit last year, we’ve been using toxin-free, “green” cleaners we purchased at the festival to be gentler on our environment and ourselves, eating more organic and what I like to call “real” food, and this year we’ve even started growing our own vegetables so that we can have fresh, healthy food this summer.
If you’re interested in being more “green” but aren’t sure what that means, take a few hours this weekend to stroll around Navy Pier to soak up some practical ideas for living out your good intentions:
“Celebrating what’s working in our communities, the Chicago Green Festival®, a joint project of Global Exchange and Green America, showcases more than 350 diverse local and national green businesses. More than 150 renowned speakers appear for insightful panel discussions and presentations.
You’ll also enjoy great how-to workshops, a Fair Trade pavilion, a Green Home pavilion, an Organic Food and Gardening pavilion, a Community Action and Green Careers pavilion, a Sweet Spot Café, a Green Kid’s activities and delicious organic beer, wine and cuisine.”
Free Admission
From T-Mobile: “In exchange for recycling a mobile phone at the festival, you’ll get free festival admission and can enter for a chance to win tickets to Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Guitar Festival on July 26. The first 250 people recycling a phone will also receive a free organic festival T-shirt.”
Free admission also available for:
- Volunteers - learn how to volunteer!
- Bike riders with valet ticket – courtesy of Clif Bar’s 2 Mile Challenge
- Students with ID
- Youth ages 18 and under
- City of Chicago Employees
- Green America & Global Exchange members
$5 Discount on admission
- Seniors 62 and over
- Public transit riders with transfer or pass
- Union members with valid ID
Programming Highlights
Some of the programs I would most like to see include:
- Saturday at 11am in the Community Actions Pavilion: Victoria Kreha & Melissa Ryzy present “Shopping Your Values“
- Saturday at 3pm in the Fair Trade Pavilion: Cindy Pardo, The Fair Trader presents “Fair Trade Retail: Doing Well by Doing Good“
- Saturday at 4pm in the Green Homes Pavilion: Stephanie Davies presents “Worms Ate My Garbage… And Keep Eating! Urban Worm Girls Guide to Indoor Composting Methods“
- Sunday at noon in Rm 317: “Green Parenting 101” with Cecelia M. Ungari
- Sunday at 1pm on the Main Stage: “Finding Your Career in the Green Economy” with Dr. Kevin Danaher
- Sunday at 3pm in Rm 318: “My Journey to Sustainability” with Ambassador Carol Moseley Braun
- Sunday at 4pm in Rm 318: “Dining Green Everyday” with Michael Oshman
Download the full brochure and get all the details here. And if you aren’t fortunate enough to live in Chicago, you can catch the Green Festival in Seattle in June, Washington DC in October and San Francisco in November.
Tags: Chicago, environment, festival, green, Green Festival, living
