With just two and a half months of planning, over 270 community groups, individuals, and businesses will be involved in an all-day festival on May 9, 2009, a day Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster proclaimed as Green Long Beach Day. The festival begins at 9 AM at the intersection of 1st Street and Linden Avenue, in the heart of the East Village Arts District, and continues until 10 PM.
News of the Green Long Beach! festival spread quickly through a grassroots viral response to be a part of a growing movement of thinking differently about the way we use our community’s resources. Festival organizers are hoping to catalyze an ongoing conversation about shifting from personal responsibility to embracing a sense of community responsibility for creating a green Long Beach.
“By pooling together our resources and talents we are proud to bring our community together as we celebrate our planet and community through Green Long Beach!” said Elliot Gonzales, festival organizer, on the event’s web site at www.greenLB.org.
The Green Long Beach! festival will feature four stages of entertainment involving 64 bands, musicians, performers, artists, workshop speakers, and kids activity groups, 35 East Village businesses hosting an event or offering discounts to festival guests, over 98 booths and vendors, 13 sponsors, 7 event hosts, and about 60 festival volunteers.
Organizers estimate attendance of approximately 3,000 people. Get “Down to Earth” by bringing your own reusable water container and tote bag. Bring your old cell phones for recycling. Take the bus or ride your bike to get a free tune-up. Bring your own t-shirt after 4pm and get a $5 festival screen print.