An Eco-Bite of Seattle

A Loaf of Bread…
By: Karin Bigelow

It’s been a growth process, helping produce Green Your Theme Seattle! Gathering eco-friendly experts together for the Sept 16 event at Sodo Park meant working with those who’ve been dedicated to sustainable business practices. People who love their work. Willa Cather once said, “That is happiness: to be dissolved into something complete and great.”

What a perfect description of those involved with everything from the indoor venue to the local cream for the coffee. Essentials for a successful party have always included good food, and here it is front and center. The organic caterers, farms, chefs and venue owners contributing to this event have implemented ways to green their methods, from reducing miles of transported ingredients, to sustainable farming, to using organic resources. Included among the eco friendly local food suppliers:

• Herban Feast
• Madres Kitchen
• Ravishing Radish Catering
• Essential Baking
• Mt Townsend Creamery
• Cascadian Farm
• Appel Farms
• Honest Tea
• Twin Brook Creamery
• Caffe Vita

The tasty treats run from healthy granola bars for those daycation snacks, to delectable hors d’oeuvres, to the bread, another main ingredient in those three called for in the saying, “a loaf of bread, a jug of wine, and thou.”

There will be wine tastings. And the “thou’s”  include all attendees, the wedding planners, the event coordinators, the meeting organizers, all those who love what they do. This event is aimed to those who are moving towards to a deeper shade of green awareness. At best, growing is a lifelong process. The gathering that highlights practices for keeping that growth process sustainable is Green Your Theme Seattle!

Taste, mingle and learn at this carbon neutral event, Sept 16, 2009.

Green Your Theme Seattle! Press Release

For Immediate Release
Press Contact: Jessie Upp (jupp@GreenYourTheme.com), 206-841-9917, http://Seattle.GreenYourTheme.com

“Green Your Theme Seattle!”

Edutainment event featuring successful Green Event Planners, local wine tasting, regional food sampling, entertainment and green resources to reduce an event’s carbon footprint.

September 7, 2009 – Seattle, WA – Proving economy, class and a carbon neutral time can all come together, “Green Your Theme Seattle!” includes much beyond the usual ‘meet and greet’ networking opportunity. The event set for September 16 is a tandem effort between www.GreenYourTheme.com and the Association of Bridal Consultants. While connecting event planners with suppliers of resources to stimulate the new green economy, the event goal is to kick off necessary conversations to produce the greenest events in the United States.

With a standing capacity of 300 at Seattle’s eco-friendly indoor venue, Sodo Park, this soirée includes a panel discussion, food & wine tasting, eco fashion show and dancing.

The panel discussion will showcase best practices on creating sustainable events. Featured panelists include Jill Hashimoto, Mariners Director of Event Sales & Marketing: Heather Smith Teegarden, fundraiser for the Woodland Park Zoo: Gabriel Scheer of Seattle Green Drinks: Rachel Hall of Hollywood Lighting: Ms. Mike Thomas of Margo Wendorf & Associates and Nancy Skipton with Simply Celebrations & Events.

Additionally, Washington State and organic wineries are offering samples as caterers move through the crowd with trays of local food appetizers.

Fashion Show Organizer, Shyla Wilcynski of Consciously-Chic is presenting the Eco Fashion Show by Marge Design.

And then dancing to Bamboo Beats on an LED lit dance rounds up the evening for networking between event planners, vendors, sustainability experts, Corporate Responsibility Program Leaders and carbon neutral business neophytes.

“We recognize venues, vendors and product suppliers have made significant commitments to greening their offerings,” said Jessie Upp, Founder of GreenYourTheme.com. “Climate change has finally become a business imperative and this event goes hand-in-hand with educating and connecting planners with vendors to create green events. This is going to be proof that environmental responsibility can be a first class party!”

To balance out energy used, a Carbon Reduction Certificate from the Adirondack Council was donated which permanently retires Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) pollution allowances, representing the right to release three tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. This helps reduce the amount of climate-altering carbon pollution in our atmosphere and protecting ecologically sensitive places like the Adirondack Park.

“This helps us leave less of a carbon footprint. More like a carbon toe print,“ laughs Karin Bigelow, Facilitator at GreenYourTheme.com. “We are located in the midst of some of the finest wineries right here in Washington State, we have easy access to excellent regional food products and the Pacific Northwest is home to a lively, aware population who want to know more. At the end of the evening, the crowd will walk, carpool and mass transit their way out of this gathering having learned, sampled, viewed eco friendly fashions and enjoyed dancing. What a great way to Go Green!”

Tickets are available for $40 online at Brown Paper Tickets, “The First and Only Fair Trade Ticketing Company”
http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/73979
Tickets at the door will be available for $50.

For more information on this event, visit http://seattle.greenyourtheme.com

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