Sustainable Arrangements for the Green Festival

For the Green Festival this past weekend in San Francisco, I (Gorgeous and Green Events) donated some large arrangements for their speaker stages.  I used all locally grown flowers and branches, glass vases and no floral foam.  I also did the deliveries in our recycled bio-diesel wagon.  I think the pieces were enjoyed by the crowds because when I came back to pick up (and reuse) the vases, people were asking to take the flowers home to reuse as decor in their homes. Here are two large arrangements that were about 6 feet tall.  I loved the lichen growing on the branches.

 

I used amaranth, large roses, spray roses, vintage pink and purple hydrangea, white delphinium, curly willow and tree branches. In Green and Health, G&G

Green and Sustainability at the SF Green Festival

Useful Vendor Connections and Mounds of Trash

This Weekend I participated in the Green Festival in San Francisco.  I donated some local floral designs, bridal bouquets, attended the event and helped with cleanup.  It was fun to meet local vendors and vendors from afar, as well as listen to guest speakers and artists and take part in the massive recycling and composting activities after the event.

green festival arrangementan arrangement I made (Gorgeous and Green Events) for a stage at the festival, I love the combination of red and lavendar

It sort of felt like a county fair with a green spin.  I do love the fair and love shopping for stuff, but I did wish there was a little less focus on the retail side of things.  I also noticed that although there were quite a few vendors and organizations who were very green and sustainable, many were not quite as green and it made the festival feel a little green-washed at times.  I think for future events it would be great to have higher standards of vendors and possibly include more demonstrations and hands on activities, instead of such a main focus on retail sales.  I think it is important to offer green and sustainable items for people to purchase or learn about, but one of the main tenants of sustainability is getting by with less.  Living simply.  And I would definitely like to see the festival incorporate this tenant a little more next time. For the most part, however, the experience was valuable.  I met some other green businesses, learned a lot about recycling and trash and realized how much responsibility we all have in reducing our impact on a daily basis.  Sifting through the festival's bags of trash, recyclables and compost made me realize how all of the little things we touch can add up to create something big.  A big pile of trash that goes to the landfill, if we let it. Thankfully, I'm not willing to send piles of trash to the landfill and either are a lot of other green businesses.  I hope to showcase a few this week in upcoming blogs, but here is a sneak peak at some of the folks I met: righteously raw

Righteously Raw: raw chocolate bars, super tasty!

conscious clothing sign

a bouquet I made for the Hemp fashion show and Conscious Clothing,who also make cute lingerie beside their wedding gown collection

Lydia's Lovin

Lydia's: A local organic and raw food company, who also caters!

table nectar

Table Nectar: an organic and raw catering company

cafe gratitude

Cafe Gratitude: A great organic and raw food restaurant in the Bay Area

water station

A water station at the Green Festival, I loved that they actually showed you where the water we were using was coming from:

water from where I hope to show you more from the festival in future posts. In Green and Health, G&G

 

 

The Green Festival, San Francisco

Green Weddings and Green People in San Francisco

www.greenfestivals.org And no, we're not all eating granola.  I like granola like everyone else, but I definitely don't see myself as "granola" just because I live green or sustainable.  Besides, granola isn't a bad word these days.  It actually is pretty tasty, especially homemade.  Put it into a jar and you've got a great gift or "wedding favor" for your guests. Ok, so what will we be doing at this green festival?  Well lots of talking, sharing and looking at new ideas and guest speakers.  Check out the Schedule.  Online you can download a guide to the festival that gives you all the cool info.  It's huge and includes so many inspiring words, visuals and people.  Here are just a few of the highlights:
  • 450+ exhibitors and organizations in the Green Marketplace
  • 45 minutes presentations and speakers on the sustainable economy, ecological balance and social justice
  • how-to workshops in the Green Buiding Pavilion
  • Hemp fashion shows in the Hemp Pavilion
  • Music acts
  • Food Demonstrations in the Soul Kitchen
  • Green Social Media Demonstrations
  • Organic food and drink
  • Concerts and dance parties after dark:  greenbash.com
I'm actually going to be volunteering for the festival and donating some large sustainable arrangements (I'll post the photos this week).   I'll also be checking out new ideas I can use in my business and in my life (my husband wants to get a small wind turbine for our front yard... in Oakland)  and making connections with other green-minded folks.  One connection I've already made is going to be there, and I look forward to seeing their hemp silk bridal attire at a fashion show Friday and Saturday night.  They're called Conscious Clothing and you can check out there stuff here:  www.getconscious.com Here are some beautiful examples of the things they can do.  What I like, is that they do custom designs.

ruffle hemp silk wedding dressHere is the dress with all the layers, but you can unzip the last three and make it shorter.

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low back hemp silk wedding dressI love the low back and silk ruffles of this dress.

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IMG_3316love it.

So if your in or around the Bay, definitely come check out the SF Green Festival this coming weekend.

In Green and Health,

G&G

 

 

 

 

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