Earth Day is later this week, but that did not stop most people from celebrating early. Most Earth Fest activities were held this weekend in advance of the big day. That was the case with Earth Fest at the Zoo. We volunteered at the NEO USGBC table for a couple of hours and had a good time. We arrived a couple of hours early and saw the exhibits and wandered the grounds. It was most of the usual suspects, like the Green Triangle, Nature’s Bin, and Cleveland Bioneers. Of course, there are always some people at these kinds of events that make no sense to me-like the Radical Communist Party and the Colleges who have no real green program. But hey, it is a party and everyone is welcome. I do find much of these kinds of events very ironic, though. Just like so many other green events, every table is loaded with paper and other freebies that are really not necessary. While working at the table, there was a bowl of candy out. It attracted plenty of children who have no real interest in the USGBC or green building. Still, armed with their free grocery bag from Wal Mart, they picked up several brochures as well as their free gobstoppers. I remember the days as a kid when we would go to the state fair. We would get our free bag and go through the exhibition hall and see just how many free brochures we could fit in the bags. It all would go in the trash when we got home. If we were particularly successful in our endevours, it often got tossed right on the fairgrounds as it became to heavy to lug around, as we wanted to ride the rides. It got me to thinking about waste and recycling, and I noticed there were no paper recycling stations set up anywhere on the grounds. While I can understand that the zoo has no need for paper recycling on the grounds in general, as usually there is little paper to collect that isn’t stained with burger grease or what not. Still, it seems to me that they could easily have gotten some bins for the day. At any event, there are people who are always trying to shove paper at me, and when I try to turn them down, they look hurt. I would expect less of this at an Earth Day event, but that was not the case. Still more intriguing was the cheap crap that was being given away, much of which was not going to even survive the day, let alone avoid landfill. This is the irony of planet saving and baby steps. We were given stainless steel water bottles emblazoned with the slogan to drink local drink tap. While I support the sentiment and especially the reduction of plastic water bottles, the irony of it is the water bottles were NOT made locally. In fact they were made in China-probably from steel that came from materials in the US that was shipped there, processed into steel bottles and shipped back here for our event. At least there were plastic bottle recycling stations for the only other beverage that I had while there, and I added a selection of reusable bags to my arsenal. I have managed to not bring new plastic bags into our house in over a year, so I am a happy camper.
I think the Earth Day Coalition could take a page from the play book of a homeowner named Rollie in Cleveland Heights. I accompanied Bud and our friend Judy to a GLSEN event at this lovely Cleveland Heights colonial, but was most impressed with the recycling efforts they were making. Lined up were a series of trash cans, each individually labelled and properly lined with blue bags for their recycling products. One for each kind of material and a staging area for sorting, I was so moved that I think a tear came to my eye. I admit that I don’t know much about the program in place in Cleveland Heights, but this kitchen was obviously making use of every bit of it!
The other event that I attended over the weekend that was stunning was the Art Cares event, a benefit for the AIDS Taskforce of Greater Cleveland. I always donate a piece or two to this worthy cause and am pleasantly surprised when they sell in the pre sale. The event was held at the Saigon Plaza on the edge of Gordon Square and was a huge success. Packed with all sorts of people, art pieces flew out the door like there was no tomorrow. This is the preeminent arts event of the year for the Taskforce and I am always proud to be a part of it. My buddy Rebecca had a huge part to play in its success this year, so hats off to her and her efforts. Catered by Marigold, I think, there was plenty of food and plenty to drink-the easy way to open hard fast wallets. We sneaked out as the live auction began, but hear it was a huge success. Congrats to everyone involved for putting on another fantastic show!
Help the Cleveland Greenhouse Project build composting bins at the Trinity Community Garden downtown at East 36th Street and Cedar Avenue in order to experiment with arrangement, mixes and composition of nutrient-rich compost. Bring gloves, shovels, hammers, heavy-duty Staple guns, old newspapers and cardboard boxes, and be ready to have fun while getting a little dirty and learning a lot! We’ll be combining organic food waste, yard waste, cardboard, newspaper and wood chips in order to make a rich compost for next year’s growing season. Food waste and shipping pallets will be donated by the Sanson Company, located at the Northern Ohio Food Terminal.
You can go and see The Santaland Diaries directed by my friend Brian, to put you in that holiday mood:
So popular was this show, in fact, that they added a second show on the East Side this year. The East Side show is Black Friday Weekend (this Friday and Saturday) 12635 Larchmere (across from Vine & Bean) during the Larchmere Holiday Stroll. 10:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. There are 50 vendors for this event. The West Side event is once again at the 78th st studios 1300 W. 78th St to 1305 W. 80th St., north parking lot, north entrance (behind the building) — accessible from W. 78th OR W 80th St. Saturday December 12th from noon to 9:00 p.m., and Sunday December 13th from noon to 6:00 p.m.
On of the other events that we attended was the 
His futuristic designs came to life in the form of sculptures that were created from gears, metal and parts. Graceful and fluid, yet cold and robotic. Sometimes you see art in your lifetime that years later you will recall with the same feeling of fascination, and Lewis has created this type of work. His card stays in my files for future reference! Be sure to visit his 
