MI Green Team GLF News

Green Living Festival Navigates Main Street Makeover

John Batdorf — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 18:13:56 GMT

MI Green Team (MGT) today announced estimated weekend attendance of 25,000 at the Green Living Festival, about half of the 50,000 festival-goers it had planned for. The estimate was used to calculate and offset the event’s carbon footprint, including 75,000 pounds of C02 generated by an estimated 10,000 cars averaging two passengers and a 7.5 mile round trip.

Concerns over Rochester traffic delays and a busy metro event schedule adversely affected attendance. “We tried very hard but apparently didn't convince more people to come to Rochester for the festival during the Main Street Makeover”, said John Batdorf, event manager. "Rochester area resident attendance remained steady this year but other attendance was noticeably down. Clearly, many people avoided a traffic situation that was reported as a major headache but really wasn't."

There were many bright spots at the festival including great weather, in spite of a Sunday forecast for thunderstorms. An upgraded wellness program was clearly the weekend highlight, with hundreds of people attending presentations by leading local and national healthy-lifestyle doctors. The Connections Cafe, kids activity area and many exhibit areas were well-attended as well. Improvements in the event layout and smartphone map/locator were well-received, Batdorf said. “We were gratified by the comments we heard from those who were able to attend about the event; we will build on those and on some good suggestions for next year."

MI Green Team's promotion of healthy and green living extends beyond the festival, and includes publishing complete exhibitor listings, in 30,000 event guides inserted in local newspapers and on its popular event website, www.miglf.com, which receives as many as 1,000 daily visitors. According to Batdorf, the website will continue to provide a "virtual festival" throughout the year.

MI Green Team would like to express its appreciation to all event participants, especially our major sponsors The Home Depot & Pure Eco Environmental Solutions. "150 exhibitors, 20 non-profit organizations, and several media partners helped the event promote downtown Rochester during the Makeover and green/healthy living all year long. With this support, we’ll continue to work on ways to improve the Green Living Festival and add other community and targeted events. We will be preparing for the return of large crowds at next year's festival," concluded Batdorf.

MI Green Team promotes green living, business & community through Michigan's premier green/wellness network, website and events. Visit www.migreenteam.com for information.

Party for the Planet Music Program Announced

Team Managers — Sat, 16 Jun 2012 04:37:25 GMT

Eat, Drink & Rock!

at the Green Living Festival

With Longneck Strangler, Acoustic Brothers from Different Mothers, and Kyle Vincent, former lead singer of the Bay City Rollers, topping the bill of more than a dozen acts during three full days, the 3rd annual Party for the Planet will be the biggest and best yet.

A relative newcomer on the Michigan music festival scene, the Party for the Planet has already become a tradition for Rochester residents and is sure to be a hit with music fans across the state as all performers have a Michigan connection.

The Green Living Festival and Rochester Mills Beer Co. are proud to present a full weekend schedule of musical entertainment and special events at the Meijer Main Stage

2012 MI Green Hall of Fame Inductees Announced.

Team Managers — Sat, 16 Jun 2012 04:03:04 GMT

MI Green Team is pleased to announce that the following nominees have been elected to the 2012 class of the MI Green Hall of Fame:

Alana Hart, The Home Depot (business)
Jerry & Tracy Neale, Natural Awakenings Magazine (media)
Joel Kahn, MD, WSU School of Medicine (professional)
Peggy Matta, USGBC-DRC (non-profit organization)

The second annual MI Green Hall of Fame Awards Ceremony.will headline the GLF Charity Preview Party Wednesday, June 20th. Please join in to recognize the dedication and achievement of four of Michigan's green and healthy living leaders.

MGT Announces Green Door Prize $5,000 Giveaway

Team Managers — Sat, 16 Jun 2012 03:51:52 GMT

MGT Offers $5,000 in Prizes Donated by Green Living Festival Exhibitors

MGT today announced the Green Door Prizes daily drawing on its Facebook page. Contestants can enter as often as they like to improve their chances of winning and picking from prizes worth over $5,000.

Daily and weekly prizes will be awarded by their donors at the Green Living Festival. Grand Prizes will be selected on Sunday, June 17th and awarded at the Charity Preview Party. Winners to-date are listed below.

The list of prizes and winners will be posted at Green Door Prizes.

National Wellness Leaders Headline the Green Living Festival

John Batdorf — Tue, 15 May 2012 22:30:10 GMT

Oprah Winfrey’s food safety expert, Michael Greger, MD, and other wellness experts headline a weekend of presentations and other healthy and green-living activities at the seventh annual Green Living Festival, taking place June 22-24 in downtown Rochester.

"Wellness programs are a natural fit for the Green Living Festival," explains Dr. Kerrie Saunders, a nationally known health expert and author who organized the wellness programs and is also one of the presenters.

"In keeping with its 'healthy people, healthy planet' message, this year's festival will offer many programs demonstrating that eco-friendly, green choices are also healthy lifestyle choices."

Michael Greger, MD, an internationally recognized author and presenter on nutrition, food safety and public health, served as expert witness in Oprah Winfrey's defense in the infamous "meat defamation" trial. Currently serving as director of public health and animal agriculture at the Humane Society of the United States, Dr. Greger will present the “Nutrition Game Show,” a lively and interactive look at how food can promote health and prevent disease. His presentation takes place Sat., June 23 at 3 p.m.

Nationally known presenter and best-selling author Kerrie Saunders, MS, LLP, PhD, will speak on the topic of greening your diet on Sun., June 24 at 1 p.m. Her interest in the Green Living Festival comes from an understanding of the connection between healthy food choices and a healthy planet:

“Personal and environmental health really come together at food," says Dr. Saunders. "While the decisions we make about which type of vehicle we drive or what type of home to buy are important, with our food choices, we are making environmental impact decisions every single day."

Other featured wellness presenters include Joel Kahn, MD, director of preventive cardiology and wellness programs at Detroit Medical Center Hospitals, who will address preventing and reversing heart disease through diet on Sat., June 23 at 2 p.m.; and Mumtaz George, MD, medical director of the Birmingham Royal Oak Medical Center, who will discuss lifestyle medicine for optimal health on Sat., June 23 at 1 p.m.

In addition to wellness programs, the Green Living Festival will feature a variety of presentations on green living including local food systems, detoxing your life, biodynamics, the Clean Air Act, yoga, super foods, as well as a variety of kids activities. Program schedules and details can be found at miglf.com/glflearn.

Major sponsors of the Green Living Festival are The Home Depot and Pure Eco Environmental Solutions. Dr. Greger's presentation is sponsored by New Horizons Computer Learning Centers.

The three-day Green Living Festival is one of the largest green/wellness events on the planet, bringing together tens of thousands of people to learn about healthy living and earth-friendly products, services and programs. Featuring more than 200 exhibits and dozens of presentations along with a food court, a parade, Party for the Planet and more, the event celebrates the successes of local individuals, businesses, nonprofits and government programs in growing a brighter, greener future.

Admission is free and open to all ages. Details are available at www.MIGLF.com.

GLF Boasts New Summer Date & Other Improvements

John Batdorf — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 20:58:38 GMT

This year's festival is being moved from mid May to the first weekend of summer - June 22nd thru 24th - for better weather prospects. MI Green Team, the event organizers, promise other improvements, including:

greater local exposure from 40,000+ daily traffic detoured along the festival site before and during the event for Main Street construction
a more convenient, open and attractive event layout
expanded exhibit and program hours on Friday evening
coordination with leading non-profit green programs including the "My Green School Art Contest" presented by the US Green Building Council
expanded use of interactive web and smartphone maps for exhibit location and information
addition of national acts including a kids performance by Disney Radio, and musical performance by Kyle Vincent, former lead singer of the Bay City Rollers
an enhanced wellness program, managed by Dr. Kerrie Saunders, best-selling author and diet & disease prevention expert, and headlined by Dr. Michael Greger, best known as Oprah's food safety expert
additional media partnerships

Oprah's Food Safety Expert to Headline GLF Wellness Programming

John Batdorf — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 16:34:16 GMT

Michael Greger, MD, is a physician, author, and internationally recognized speaker on nutrition, food safety, and public health issues. He is best known as an expert witness in the defense of Oprah Winfrey in the infamous "meat defamation" trial. A founding member of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine, he has lectured at the Conference on World Affairs, and testified before Congress. He is a graduate of Cornell University School of Agriculture and Tufts University School of Medicine. Currently Dr. Greger serves as the Director of Public Health and Animal Agriculture at The Humane Society of the United States. Hundreds of his nutrition videos are freely available at www.NutritionFacts.org.

Dr. Greger has scoured the world's scholarly literature on clinical nutrition and developed this brand-new talk of the latest in cutting-edge research. Focusing on studies published just over the last year in peer-reviewed scientific nutrition journals, Dr. Greger offers practical advice on how best to feed ourselves and our families to prevent, treat, and even reverse chronic disease In an engaging interactive quiz show format.

For more information, visit Presentations

Kyle Vincent to Perform at Green Living Festival

John Batdorf — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 16:10:57 GMT

Singer-songwriter/entertainer, Kyle Vincent, labeled the "crown prince of soft pop," by Goldmine, will headline Friday evening's Party for the Planet line-up at the Green Living Festival.

Vincent is best known for his gig as lead singer of the Bay City Rollers for their 2007-8 U.S. tour which included a month-long engagement at the Riviera in Las Vegas.

Vincent also toured as the opening act for Barry Manilow who has called Vincent, "The best singer-songwriter to come along since the heyday of Tin Pan Alley".

Kyle Vincent's song "Sierra" was adopted by the Sierra Club and John Denver's Windstar Foundation. It was included on the Dear Earth double CD released Earth Day, 2007. Other artists on the CD include Gladys Knight, The Kingston Trio, Olivia Newton-John, John Denver, Melanie, and readings from the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu.

While recording demos as a solo artist in an L.A. studio, Vincent began co-writing a song entitled "Nature Girl", with eden ahbez, writer of the classic "Nature Boy," popularized by Nat King Cole.

Vincent's Trust album was produced by Vincent, Clif Magness (Avril Lavigne, Kelly Clarkson), and Steve Levine (Culture Club, Beach Boys), and featured co-writes with Magness and Steve Kipner, writer of "Physical" and Genie In A Bottle.

For his next album, Vincent signed with Disney's Hollywood Records which released the album, Kyle Vincent, and which spawned the U.S. Billboard/Radio & Records Adult Top 20 single, "Wake Me Up (When The World's Worth Waking Up For)", co-written by vocalist/guitarist Parthenon Huxley.

His songs have appeared on various television shows including MTV's :The Hills, Road Rules, The Real World, Daria, ABC's All My Children, and "Save the Planet: A CBS/Hard Rock Cafe Special".

In 2010, Vincent teamed with his longtime songwriting partner, Parthenon Huxley, and released a single, "Dirty Girl", as the duo Huxley & Vincent. The song quickly went into the Top 10 on Amazon's Glam Rock charts.

Rochester Welcomes Return of Green Living Festival

Team Managers — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 02:48:11 GMT

Event Stays Downtown During Main Street Construction

Rochester will again host one of the nation’s largest green/wellness events. The Green Living Festival will move from spring to the first weekend of summer (June 22-24) but will be staying at its downtown location during road construction that will close Main Street.

City Manager, Jaymes Vettraino, welcomes the event’s return during the “Main Street Makeover”. “A green-living event downtown has become one of the highlights of the spring in Rochester and we are very happy to have it return for a fourth year. It is a great opportunity for residents and visitors to come downtown to enjoy the event and check out the Makeover project.”

The proposed construction detour borders the festival site, a 60,000 square foot vacant lot at Water and Third Streets, and will bring thousands of vehicles past the festival. “We expect to gain a great deal of local awareness of the event”, said John Batdorf, General Manager of MI Green Team. “Four years ago we moved the event from Oakland University to ‘Main Street’ and ended up a block away. This year ‘Main Street’ is coming to us.”

The three-day festival will again feature 200+ exhibits, 50+ presentations, activities for all ages, and many special events. Admission is free and open to the public. Information is available on-line at www.MIGLF.com.

"It is an honor to welcome back to Downtown Rochester, the Green Living Festival. It is more important than ever to work together to help solve today's complicated environmental and economic problems through education, innovation and long term sustainability strategies. This festival combines all three and it is a wonderful community event,” added Marilyn Trent, Rochester DDA Board Member and Chair of its Green City Committee.

With the promise of warmer weather, more local and media exposure, and improvements in layout and programming, MI Green Team is planning for a return of the large crowds that attended the event prior to last year’s weather-affected attendance.

2012 Green Living Festival Announced

John Batdorf — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 15:43:10 GMT

2012 Green Living Festival Announced

Summer Dates Promise Warmer Weather

For the 7th year running, one of the nation’s largest green/wellness events will be held in Rochester, MI. For the first time, the event will held during the summer - June 22-24.

Once again the event will be held at Third & Water Streets and will feature over 200 displays and exhibits located at 10 venues, over 50 free presentations from green & healthy living experts, great food, drinks and music at the Party for the Planet, and fun activities for all ages. Several special events will be presented including the MI Green Hall of Fame awards ceremony.

Several significant improvements are planned for the festival:

better scheduling to improve prospects for warmer weather and attendance
expanded marketing including more advertising and major media partners
improved entertainment and educational programming
several enhancements to the layout including closer proximity between venues, and better exhibit arrangement to improve foot-traffic flow

With these improvements and exposure to over 40,000 daily vehicle traffic detoured from Main Street construction traffic, event organizers are planning for a much larger crowd of over 50,000 attendees this year.

For further information about and to register for the event ,visit www.miglf.com.

2012 Green Living Festival Approved

Team Managers — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 16:38:45 GMT

The Rochester City Council unanimously approved MI Green Team's application for the 2012 Green Living Festival, to be held on June 22-24, 2012. Rochester city managers supported MGT's decision to hold the event at the same site as the past three years - Third & Water Streets - in spite of the closure of Main Street due to construction during the event.The festival should actually benefit from improved exposure, since Water Street is planned to be the major northbound detour through downtown Rochester.

Green Living Festival Survives Mother Nature's Wrath

Team Managers — Thu, 19 May 2011 15:44:04 GMT

Green Living Festival Survives Mother Nature's Wrath

For the second year in a row, weather adversely affected attendance at the green festival held in Rochester. “Apparently Mother Nature didn't get the memo that we’re trying to work with her”, said John Batdorf, event manager. Arrangements for inclement weather, including a smaller event footprint, more tent coverage, and even changing the event dates, was no match for heavy rain, 30 mph wind gusts, and unseasonable cold on Sunday, the final day of the annual event, this year called the Green Living Festival.

MI Green Team (MGT) today announced estimated weekend attendance of 20,000, a fraction of its goal of 100,000, which is a number routinely exceeded by major Rochester events. The estimate was used to calculate and offset the event’s carbon footprint, including 100,000 pounds of C02 generated by an estimated 10,000 cars averaging two passengers and a ten mile round trip to the event.

There were a few bright spots in the bleak weather conditions, including excellent Saturday traffic in the Wellness Way & Kids Corner, and the second annual Party for the Planet which blossomed into a Michigan-performer concert series and was well-attended during the warm weather on Friday evening. The Green Living Film Series, held in the firehouse theater, and two large mobile display trailers, from Décor(k) and Garnier Fructis, were popular with those wanting to learn and keep warm over the cool weekend.

Bad weather was a logistical challenge for the organizers, but as Batdorf explains, it was a bigger problem for exhibitors, “Many of our exhibitors are small, growing companies that rely on a good return on their exhibit fee”, said Batdorf. “In spite of this, I heard only one complaint and lots of encouragement to carry on. With a group of sponsors and exhibitors like this, we are even more motivated to carry on our mission to extend green/wellness promotion beyond a single event.” MGT accomplished this promotion by publishing complete exhibitor listings, in 25,000 event guides inserted in local newspapers and on its popular website - www.miglf.com - which received as many as 1,000 daily visitors. According to Batdorf, the website and an event smart phone app, available at www.expotec.me, will continue to provide a ‘virtual festival’.

All festival participants, including sponsors, exhibitors, NPOs, and presenters are members of MI Green Team and receive promotional consideration throughout the year, including listing in the product/service and community resource directories.“With support of our sponsors and exhibitors, we’ll continue to work on ways to promote green and healthy living and our flagship green/wellness event, the Green Living Festival. If nothing else, we have to believe that the law of averages is on our side for next year”, concluded Batdorf.

Green Living Festival Offers Many Favorite & New Attractions

Team Managers — Fri, 06 May 2011 15:45:19 GMT

We are pleased to announced the festival’s final program, schedule and layout. The announcements included several favorites from past Rochester Earth Day events and many significant additions and improvements.

As in past years, the festival will offer a full line-up of live presentations, group activities and film screenings throughout the weekend, at four venues - the Green Stage, Kids Corner, Wellness Activities and firehouse film theater. Highlighting the program this year is the Green Living Film Series, hosted by award-winning documentary filmmaker and Michigan resident, Chris Bedford, who will offer the Michigan premier of his latest film, "Getting Real about Food and the Future", on Friday at 8pm.

The festival’s special events include a VIP Preview and Awards Ceremony on Thursday (May 12) from 7pm to 9pm. This year the preview will benefit the US Green Building Council’s green schools programs, and will be highlighted by the inaugural MI Green Living Hall of Fame Awards induction ceremony. A parade will be held on Sunday morning at 10am. This year it will be longer and will conclude with a pep rally and parade awards at the festival’s main stage.

The 2nd annual Party for the Planet is being transformed into an annual concert series by festival partner, Rochester Mills Beer Co. The concert will be presented throughout festival hours and until 11pm Friday and Saturday evenings. Broken Bravado, the Ragbirds, Motor City Josh and the Big 3 will top the bill of more than a dozen Michigan-connected bands. The party area will also feature multiple sustainable food and beverage vendors offering healthy, natural/organic and delicious meals, snacks, non-alcoholic beverages, organic wine as well as Rochester Mills Beer Co. handcrafted beer.

"Green living is all about being local, and you can’t get more local than the Mills brewing beer and making waste-grease biodiesel for the festival, just a few steps from their door.", said Janice Rex-Weaver, Member Services Manager of MI Green Team, the event organizers.

As in past years, the Green Living Festival will offer green and healthy living product/service exhibits and activities, for all ages, at more than 10 covered and outdoor venues. In addition, many networking and educational opportunities will be offered at round tables in the Connections Café, expertly staffed by local non-profit organizations.

Besides scheduling the event for warmer weather, several improvements are being made by the festival organizers, including: a smaller footprint for better vehicle and foot traffic; improved on-line event and exhibitor information leveraging smart phone and web technology for interactive maps, exhibitor information and schedules; and a greener event with power generated on-site using renewable resources including solar and biodiesel.

"If you liked the Earth Day events in Rochester, you’re going to love the Green Living Festival!", stated Rex-Weaver.

Special event registration is available at CELEBRATE!

MI Green Living Hall of Fame Inaugural Class of Inductees Announced

Team Managers — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 22:23:45 GMT

MI Green Team today announced the inaugural class of inductees into its MI Green Living Hall of Fame. The award pays tribute to the lifetime achievements of Michigan’s green heroes in several categories including community and government service, business, education and media. The induction ceremony will highlight the Green Living Festival Charity Preview on May 12^th.

Will Rex, Community Development Manager of MI Green Team, acknowledged that it was no easy task to select the inductees. "We had an impressive list of nominees from around the state," said Rex. "What stood out for us was the vision demonstrated by these leaders, and how long and effectively they have worked to improve our communities and protect our environment.”

The inaugural class of inductees into the MI Green Hall of Fame includes:

Donna Napolitano (Canton), successful business owner and promoter of solar energy for 26 years;
John Sarver (Lansing), retired from state government after 34 years at the Michigan Energy Office where he started many successful initiatives, served on numerous national boards of directors, and received the U.S. DOEOutstanding Wind Working Group Award;
Rev. Faith Fowler (Detroit), Executive Director of Cass Community Social Services, founder of Green Industries, Green Gym and Urban Gardening initiatives, named 2010 Detroit Free Press Michigan Green Leader and received Corp! Magazine 2010 Michigan’s Going Green Award;
and, Chris Bedford (Montague), award-winning film, television and radio writer, director and producer, founder of Sweetwater Local Foods Market, featured speaker, and widely published author.

The Green Living Festival Charity Preview will be held Thursday, May 12^th from 7pm to 9 pm on the festival grounds. The celebration, emceed by Fox 2's Robin Schwartz, will feature an eco-chic fashion show, live music, networking, and organic appetizers & drink. The evening will be highlighted by the awards ceremony, which will also recognize winners of the Detroit Chapter of the US Green Building Council’s “My Green School Art Contest”, participants in their Green School in a Lunchbox! pilot, and a recipient of its LEED Platinum certification.

The Green Living Festival is one of the planet's largest green living & wellness events. It will be held in downtown Rochester, May 13-15. Shop. Learn. Celebrate! at this f r e e weekend event, offering 250+ exhibits & presentations, stage & street entertainment, contests & prizes, organic food & drink, free massage & wellness programs, as well as activities and fun for all ages. Join the festivities and help grow a brighter, greener future! For details, visit www.MIGLF.com.

MI Green Team promotes green living, business & community thru Michigan's premier green/wellness network, website and events. Visit www.migreenteam.com for information.

Green Living Festival Walks Its Talk

Team Managers — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 09:51:26 GMT

Green Living Festival Walks Its Talk

In an effort to produce an event worthy of its name, the Green Living Festival (May 13-15, Rochester) is offering participants and visitors more than just green living information, it’s providing a truly green experience. These include eco-friendly initiatives in energy, materials, information and design. According to John Batdorf, the festival manager, “the effort to ‘walk our talk’ is not about doing less, it’s about doing more with less.”

Energy

All of the electrical power at the event will be produced on-site by renewable resources including portable solar power units from festival exhibitors, Solar Works LLC and Global Watt, both Michigan companies. “Even if it’s cloudy and we plug the units in to recharge, it will be at the Rochester firehouse where we recently installed a 16 kilowatt solar PV systems which is producing much of the building’s power”, said Dave Hollens of New Energy Solutions, a regular exhibitor at the festival.

Even the 300 amp stage sound and lighting systems will be powered by renewable resources produced on site. "We are ‘brewing’ 100 gallons of biodiesel from our fryer waste for the event", said David Youngman of Rochester Mills Beer Co, the festival’s Party for the Planet manager. "We’ll also use it to fill up the biodiesel tour bus of the Ragbirds, one of our headliner bands."

The festival will be a carbon-neutral event, thanks to the purchase of carbon credits. The festival will be accepting small donations at the exits from visitors who want to offset their own travel to the event.

Materials

“We have always tried to be green in our event preparations and logistics,” said Batdorf. “We limit paperwork by offering on-line forms, keep printed marketing materials to a minimum and use recycled/sustainably-produced paper when we do, give preference to local suppliers to reduce ‘embedded energy’ and promote local economy, use compostable food service materials, limit plastics and trash creation, and place Whole Foods Market recycling bins throughout the festival," said Rex. "This year, we’re adding single stream recycling of food/beverage items, and other technology to reduce materials."

The festival will also offer no charge E-waste recycling, drive thru service provided by Global Electric Electronic Processing (GEEP) Michigan. Visitors can bring used computers and electronics for free recycling, keeping toxic chemicals out of the landfills. A list of accepted materials is available at www.geepmichigan.com.

Information

Complete festival information is available at www.miglf.com and in event guides available at the gates. “This year, we are excited to offer visitors access to gps-enabled event maps, interactive schedules, and other information on their cell phones. ExpoTec will be offering its App at no charge to smart phone users. This will reduce the need for printed information, including exhibitor materials.”

Design

“It begins with designing the event around our green values, specifically the ‘triple bottom line’ of producing benefit to people, planet and prosperity”, said John Batdorf, festival manager. An example of this is the festival’s reduced size. “We reduced our footprint and improved our layout considerably. The number of exhibits, activities and displays will be the same, but the distance between them is reduced. This will make it easier to get around and increase parking around the festival.

Green Living Festival Focuses on Community Building

Team Managers — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 12:22:14 GMT

The Green Living Festival is doing everything possible to help visitors make green and healthy connections!

The festival offers great networking, community building and educational opportunities at the Connections Cafe (CC) and other venues. Non-commercial displays of a wide variety of organizations will be located in the CC tent, where visitors can learn about sustainability and wellness in a casual and lively round table setting. The open format offers space for greater participation and encourages visitors to make "sustainable" connections with experts, organizations and each other. The festival's Green Stage with seating for 100+ will be located in the Connections Cafe, as well. Check out the program schedule.

"By offering free space to qualified non-profits and a large, centrally-located space for networking and educations, the festival is more than a green consumer show. If we had room on the signs, we would call it the 'Community Connections Cafe', because that's where community-building can really happen at the event", said Will Rex, GLF Operations Manager.

In addition to the Connections Cafe, non-commercial exhibits will be scattered throughout the festival, including at the following venues: Farmers Row, Film Theater, Kids Corner, Media Center, TrailHead and Wellness Way. For an updated list of non-profit and government exhibits, see Community Connectors List.

FREE Drive-Thru Recycling at the Green Living Festival, May 13-15, Rochester

Team Managers — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 20:18:17 GMT

Global Electric Electronic Processing (GEEP) Michigan will be offering FREE Computer & Electronic Recycling with drive-thru service at the Green Living Festival in Rochester, Michigan. GEEP Michigan is a sponsor of this event and would like you to join us by bringing your unused computers and electronics for free recycling. There will be a staff of GEEP employees, awaiting your arrival near the east entrance of the festival at the intersection of 2nd Street and 3rd Street (just west of the Fire Station), to remove your electronics from your car and allow you to enjoy the rest of the festivities. Not only will you be helping the environment by recycling but you are helping future generations by keeping toxic chemicals out of the landfills.

Examples of the electronics accepted: desktops, hard drives, laptops, monitors, keyboards, mice, alarm clocks, VCRs, radios, toasters, blenders, etc. We do not accept glass, batteries, paper, paint, bulbs, wood, etc. For a list of accepted and unaccepted materials, please visit our website under ACCEPTED MATERIALS at www.geepmichigan.com or contact us at 1-877-GEEP-4-YU (433-7498).

My Green School Art Contest Announced

Team Managers — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 22:09:11 GMT

US Green Building Council - Detroit Regional Chapter Green School Committee (GSC) is inviting students to help demonstrate a green school through art work. The My Green School Art Contest! will promote the Green School in a Lunchbox! program. It is open to any child in a Michigan school, Grades K-5. 3 semi-finalists from each grade, K-5, will be invited to a luncheon sponsored by ecoSTORE USA for final judging and awarded a participation certificate. 1st place winners from each grade will be honored at the GLF Charity Preview Party, and have their artwork published in the Oakland Press, and displayed at the Green Living Festival and at the ecoSTORE USA headquarters, as well as receive green gifts.

Daily Newspapers Partner to Promote Green Living Festival

Team Managers — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 13:48:46 GMT

The Oakland Press, Macomb Daily and Daily Tribune newspapers will partner with MI Green Team to promote the Green Living Festival. Each newspaper will promote the festival with generous advertising placements The Oakland Press will print and distribute the official event guide, which will be available at the festival and inserted in 30,000 newspapers on Sunday, May 8th. and will offer promotion and recognition of the winners of a kids art contest, presented by the Detroit chapter of the US Green Building Council. MGT would like to extend our sincere appreciation to these fine community newspapers, whose combined daily circulation (printing) is 120k and growing!

MGT Partners with WXYZ TV-7 to Promote GLF Sponsors

Team Managers — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 11:15:33 GMT

MI Green Team is excited to announce that it will be partnering with WXYZ-TV Channel 7 (ABC) to promote sponsors of the Green Living Festival. Top sponsorship packages will include "live remote" interviews from the festival on Friday, May 13, with sponsor representatives. Interviews may also be replayed throughout the day.

The 90 second interviews will leverage sponsor festival participation and provide them an opportunity to tell their "green story" in an extended commercial, position themselves at the highest level of festival sponsorship, and help launch their merchandising effort. Other benefits include:

* Help legitimize sponsors' company, products and services with major network TV exposure.
* Leverage festival participation by adding the immediacy of television advertising.
* Create excitement for employees, customers, prospects, the green community, etc.