When it comes to green events, Los Angeles certainly has a long list to fill the yearly calendar. Looking for a piece of artwork that speaks to global warming? You’ll find it. Want to learn about California’s drought-tolerant native plants? No problem. Are you searching for the latest environmentally friendly products? There’s no need to venture past the county line.
It’s all right here in Los Angeles. And, when it comes to deciding what to wear to one of these gatherings, nothing looks more stunning than a little black dress (made from hemp perhaps?) against a backdrop of green.
2009 Green Events
Audubon Center at Debs Park Tour
Free and open to the public Tuesday – Saturday 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Just north of Downtown LA is the Audubon Center at Debs Park, one of the most environmentally savvy structures in the country. The city’s first building to function “off the grid,” it has received a platinum LEED rating — the highest possible — from the U.S. Green Building Council. Most first Saturdays guides offer tours of how this all comes together. You can also enjoy guided bird watching tours and learn firsthand about local feathered friends. www.audubondebspark.org
Sustainable LA
August 20, 2009
In the heart of Downtown enjoy free green programming organized by Downtown Film Festival LA. From "slow food" cooking demonstrations to workshops to booths featuring green arts and crafts as well as products and services you'll leave glowing green with ideas on how to improve your carbon footprint. www.dffla.com/events.php
The LA County Fair
Sept. 5 – Oct. 4, 2009
The LA County Fair’s second year of a “Going Green” component at Pomona Fairplex will include themed interactive exhibits and workshops on rainforests and the habitats in each layer of the forest; how rainforests protect and enrich our environment; interactive exhibits on how to reuse, recycle and renew our resources. www.lacountyfair.com
Eco-Home Tours
Located in the Los Feliz neighborhood near Griffith Park, Eco-Home offers tours of their craftsman-style bungalow and gardens. The home is a living research center focusing on ecological living in an urban environment. Tours are offered bi-monthly throughout the year. www.ecohome.org
Theodore Payne Native Plant Garden Tour
The Theodore Payne Foundation offers an annual garden tour of home gardens throughout the Los Angeles area every year in late March or early April. Payne was a noted horticulturist whose love of Southern California botanicals dates back to his arrival here in 1893. www.theodorepayne.org
Eco-Fair
Turn green at Universal Studios Hollywood as they take you on the most important ride of your life. It’s third annual Eco-Fair. Learn more about the environment right at the theme park on Sunday, April 19 while you speed on the new Simpson’s ride or check out the exhibition of miniatures and other magic from the new stop motion animation favorite Coraline
Children’s Earth Day
A wild day of earth education and celebration at the biggest and best Earth Day for families at STAR Ecostation. Enjoy live performances, celebrity guests, crafts, food, games and much, much more at this tropically themed outdoor festival. Other exciting and educational events throughout the year include World Ocean Day and Enchanted Hallow’s Eve. www.ecostation.org
World Fest
Marching to its own beat is World Fest at Woodley Park in Encino, which celebrates Earth Day in early May instead of late April — and does so with a bang. This solar-powered celebration of the environment includes live entertainment and celebrity speakers, Kids’ World and a beer/wine garden. www.worldfestevents.com
Venice Eco-Fest
The carbon-neutral Venice Eco-Fest, held at the end of June at Venice Beach, is teeming with eco-friendly product booths as well as an eclectic element you’d expect at Venice: live entertainment (on sun-powered stages) and fabulous food. www.earthdayla.org
Annual Home Remodeling & Decorating Show & Eco-Expo
Held at the end of June is the Annual Home Remodeling & Decorating Show & Eco-Expo at the solar-powered LA Convention Center. This event has evolved into a major showcase for green-friendly product-makers eager to introduce their new wares to the public. www.thehomeshow.com
Shakespeare at the Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum
Summer Repertory
The greenest place in LA to see Shakespeare plays is at Topanga Canyon’s Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum, an outdoor sanctuary filled with plants, flowers and trees. This summer’s season features Cymbeline, Julius Caesar, A Midsummer Night's Dream and two others, TBA. www.theatricum.org
The Port of Los Angeles Lobster Festival
Sept. 18 - 20
This year the festival is turning lobsters red with a green cooker fueled by biodiesel. Now in its 11th year, the festival is best known for its World Famous Discount Lobster Meals, still being served at the 2005 price of only $17.00. 2009's entertainment features top stars, as well as activities for kids.
“Moompetam”
Sept. 19
The Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific presents “Moompetam,” an annual celebration of coastal Native Americans. This festival reflects on how local indigenous groups worshipped Mother Earth with song, dance, crafts and storytelling. www.aquariumofpacific.org
Fall Equinox
The Wright Organic Resource Center, overseen by Frank Lloyd’s architect grandson, celebrates the fall equinox with dinner and music. The setting, in the breathtaking Malibu Hills, showcases sustainable home gardening. The center also celebrates the other equinox and the two solstices. www.elwright.net/wrightway
Los Angeles Auto Show
Dec. 2 - 13
There's no better place to announce the 2010 Green Car of the Year® than at the Los Angeles Auto Show hosted at the environmentally friendly LA Convention Center where Green Car Journal will reveal the winner of this prestigious award.
