Coming up this Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, August  20-22 is the second annual Boston GreenFest 2009  held on the steps of City Hall in lovely Boston, Massachusetts.

Even in its infancy,  the inaugural Boston GreenFest 2008  was very well attended and created a lot of excitement among locals, visitors,  and politicians alike with a fun combination of exhibits, presentations, food, dance, film and environmental awareness.

The organizer is a friend and colleague, Dr. Karen L. Weber, LEED AP, Coordinator of  Boston GreenFest and Executive Director of Foundation for a Green Future, Inc.   She is an extremely energetic person with a lot of flair, enthusiasm and commitment to greening our built environment, and has devoted countless hours to this wonderful festival celebrating many aspects of green thinking and green living.   Karen is also a greenroof designer and her Foundation for a Green Future provides “opportunities to build an environmentally-friendly world from the rooftop down and the ground-up”  focusing on  greenroof technology and greening our urban spaces through education programs, community outreach, green jobs training, research and development, promotion of green businesses, and greenroof subsidies.

Boston GreenFest 2009 will bring together community groups, corporations, small businesses, nonprofits, government agencies and citizens to share new technologies and ideas that can immediately change our daily lives and help bring about a more sustainable future.

Boston GreenFest 2009, the Foundation for a Green Future, Inc., and local volunteers will seek to connect with a broad audience from across all Boston neighborhoods to bring an inspiring message of action and change.   Together  they will work toward sustainability through art, music, fashion, discussions and interactive exhibits.   By engaging participants, young and old,  they will search for new ideas to reduce our impact on our planet.

Festival-goers will learn what it means to eat and grow local organic food, improve nutrition and health care, make better decisions about what we wear and the products we use for our personal care, green our city, build healthy communities, take action politically and personally, create green jobs and engage in a sustainable, green economy.

“Boston GreenFest 2009 is a celebration of our environmental progress and a call to action for communities, citizens and corporations committed to an even brighter future,” says Karen Weber, Coordinator of Boston GreenFest 2009.   “We can no longer wait for someone to tell us what to do to improve our world.   We need to find the solutions ourselves.   The answers are within reach and we applaud the many groups in and around Boston already making positive change worthy of celebration and recognition.”

Jim Hunt, Chief Advisor to the Mayor on Environment and Energy, writes:   “Mayor Menino and the City of Boston are excited to welcome GreenFest back to City Hall Plaza.   This year’s program looks to encourage and support local community development, promote health and wellness strategies, educate the public on energy conservation and alternative transportation, and update the public on sustainability initiatives that are being pursued city, state, and nationwide.   The festival looks to combine educational programming with art projects and interactive components for area residents.    It offers something for everyone interested in sustainability issues.  

“The city is proud to serve as host for this event and we hope residents will take advantage of the myriad workshops, exhibits and demonstrations to learn what steps they can take to “go green.”   Please join the Mayor and me at Boston GreenFest 2009.    It will be a great festival and we look forward to your participation.”

For more info, please contact:

Dr. Karen L. Weber, LEED AP
Coordinator, Boston GreenFest 2009
www.bostongreenfest.org
Executive Director, Foundation for a Green Future, Inc.   (Green our roofs, green our planet!)
4 Archdale Road, Boston, MA   02131
Tel 617-477-4840/Fax 617-522-5447
www.foundationforagreenfuture.org

If you live in the Boston area, don’t miss out on a lot of (wicked) fun and entertainment,  especially some wonderful music with three stages  including over 40 live acts, and the GreenFilmFest: A series of films about going green, including The Greening of Southie, Fresh, Out Of Balance: ExxonMobil’s Impact on Climate Change and “Flow: the Film.”  

The Kick-off Concert is on Thursday, August 20, 2009 from 5:00 pm to 10:00 pm and the Festival runs from August 21- 22 from 10:00 am to 10:00 pm.   I hope you attend, and make sure to go and say hello to Karen and crew!

~ Linda V.