by Dot Cannon
L.A.’s forecast, this weekend? Warm, innovative, imaginative–and above all, “green”.
From now through Sunday, the nation’s largest, longest-running sustainability event is in town, for its fifth year at the L.A. Convention Center.
Our visit to the Los Angeles Green Festival Expo, on Friday, started with a dragon.
It’s a rocket oven for pizza–created by artist/inventorRay Cirino! Ray is an L.A. area teacher and permaculture specialist, and this is just one of his designs.
Displays included fair-trade products, natural foods and, most of all, information on living more mindfully, in a “green” lifestyle.
Exhibitors offered everything from natural cleansing products…
…to compassionate food choices–and a chance to see life from a chicken’s perspective, through virtual reality!
Jessica Crocker (l.) and Keseh Morgan (r.) were excited about brand-new business Good Juju Apothecary. They offer healthy-living ointment candles, infused with essential oils.
At the Wags and Walks pet-adoption exhibit, Andrea Dennis had several dogs looking for a “forever” home.
Two stages featured programming throughout the afternoon. On the Green Festival Stage, Rhubarb Studios entrepreneur Taylor Adams discussed the results of “Hack for Humanity”. This was an August event in which his company had teamed up with L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti. The first “Hackathon”, Taylor said, was for water, due to the current drought.
“Imagine, for a second, in your home, you had a water production system…capable of pulling water out of thin air,” he said. “You do–your air conditioner!” Taylor explained that he’d come up with a new device called Condensate, which converts the condensation from air conditioners into usable–and potable–water.
Meanwhile, across the convention floor, the Lifestyle Pavilion offered talks on topics including plant-based diets, mindful thought, and drought-tolerant landscaping. Yoga sessions were conducted all day from the Bhakti Yoga Shala Pavilion. 
Entrepreneurs from Expert DOJO answered attendees’ questions on launching a “green business”.
Later on in the afternoon, Expert DOJO Chief Community Officer Brian Mac Mahon (r) and Resonate Consulting entrepreneur Ryan Foland (l) took to the Green Festival Stage for a presentation on stating your business’s mission in three sentences. Their audience had fun, and so did they, as they shared “how to say more with less”.
And we did a double take. Horses, in the Los Angeles Convention Center?
Absolutely! These miniature horses were onsite at nonprofit animal rescue Have A Heart Ranch‘s booth. We couldn’t quite take one home with us. (Sigh!)
However, the booth does have some intriguing gift items for sale, with a percentage of the proceeds going to the animal rescue.
All this–and that’s just Day One of the three-day Green Festival Expo in Los Angeles! Saturday’s schedule includes three business-to-business power sessions, starting at 8:30; a 10:30 presentation on “Sustainability Within the Entertainment Business”; presentations all day on both stages and live music.
See you at Day Two!