6th Annual Boston Greenfest

On August 15-17, 2013  join The Foundation for a Green
Future, Inc. on Boston City Hall Plaza for Boston GreenFest 2013,
the sixth annual fully-inclusive festival filled with fun learning experiences
that showcase environmental changes individuals can make in their daily
lives. 

Boston GreenFest 2013 is the
largest multicultural environmental music festival in the region.  With more than 200 exhibitors, educational
forums, live entertainment on four stages and a host of interactive activities,
GreenFest brings together the Greater Boston community to raise environmental
awareness and celebrate everything the earth has to offer. 

The theme of Boston GreenFest 2013
is Water – Let Every Drop Count.  Water represents an $80 billion industry and
throughout the three-day festival, attendees will understand how water is
involved in everything they do and how it needs to be valued as a finite
resource.  In addition to water, there
are five other festival focuses:  Green
Cities, Transportation, Energy, EcoFashion and Health-Food-Fitness. Throughout
the three days, there will be interactive exhibits, workshops, presentations,
Eco-games, continuous live entertainment and much more.

 “There are so many small things an individual
can do to make a difference,” said Karen Weber, founder of Boston GreenFest.
“We designed Boston GreenFest as both an entertaining and educational event, a place
where people can come and learn more about sustainable living while enjoying a
day in the city of Boston.  It’s going to
be a great three days and we look forward to seeing everyone on Boston City
Hall Plaza.”

The festival kicks off on
Thursday, August 15 with the One Gallon Challenge™, a first-hand
look at ultra-efficient vehicles and the chance to talk with their inventors.
Beginning at noon these vehicles will travel from their respective departure
points to Boston GreenFest and will “clock” their energy use. The vehicles will
then be on display as of 4 pm when they arrive on Thursday and throughout the
remainder of the event.  The festival
will officially open at 5 pm with a Native American Drum & Dance ceremony
followed by a concert featuring Freevolt, winners of the EcoMusic Award at New
England Music Festival.

On Friday, August
16, The Boston Metro, State Street and Masspoort will host the Boston Green Business
Breakfast, celebrating the sustainability work of local businesses and
organizations who have contributed to the community through their corporate
responsibility efforts.  This will be
followed by two transportation forums.  Massport Forum Transportation Tomorrow Today will
look at current transportation services and some of the questions surrounding
the future of transportation. A forum hosted by Ford Motor Company called H2O
on the Go! will focus on the need to conserve water and be mindful of
it locally and globally.

All twelve of
Boston’s mayoral candidates will gather on Friday for the Mayoral EcoForum:  Building Boston’s Future, moderated by Eric Lowitt, author of The Collaboration Economy.  Attendees will have the opportunity to
hear from each candidate about their sustainable perspectives and their vision
for the City of Boston.

Running a small
business or thinking about starting one? 
Join fellow entrepreneurs on Friday for the Green
Entrepreneurs Small Business Forum presented by Next Street and Mr.
Bill Johnson, President of Greening America through Public Private Partnerships.  Learn what it takes to get a small business
off the ground and running.

Finally on
Friday, the Boston EcoPageant
International is an all-inclusive pageant featuring
men and women ages 18-29 years old.  Everybody is a Star, a new nonprofit on
the West Coast with a mission to boost self-confidence in special needs youth
through the performing arts, will be participating in the EcoPageant.  Contestants will create an eco-accessory that
will connect to at least one of the main themes of GreenFest: water, energy,
transportation, green cities, health-food-fitness, and eco-fashion.  Four winners will be crowned EcoAmbassadors
of Boston GreenFest – a woman and man from the East and West Coast.

Throughout the
entire festival will be ongoing events and destinations designed to educate and
entertain.  These include:

·        
EcoFashion Shoppe, a destination designed to inform
individuals on the impact their purchases have on the earth. This EcoPavilion will
raise public consciousness and present realistic alternatives, showcasing
companies that adhere to fair trade and ethical standards, as well as informing
people on how to recycle, upcycle and reuse clothes and fabrics. The pavilion
will also feature meet and greets with local designers, an ongoing program of runway shows, yoga, beauty &
fashion tips, healthy eating and more.

·        
The MIT FAB LAB, a community resource designed to explore
the intersection of engineering, construction and computation.  The FAB LAB offers the ability to quickly and
inexpensively create solutions to personal and community needs, interests and
challenges

·        
The
BostonGreenFilmFest where festival
goers have the opportunity to view films designed to spur discussions about the
environment, including The Water Front,
Red Gold, Blue Gold:  World Water Wars ,
The Sky Is Pink and The Dirty Truth About Coal. A full
schedule of performances is available at www.bostongreenfest.org

·        
The Local Food Emporium where local restaurants and food vendors
share their delicious and healthy foods with festival goers. The Local Food
Emporium will feature a variety of cuisines from different parts of the world
and different types of foods, from vegan, vegetarian, to omnivore fare with
meats from animals that are raised free-range and grass fed.

·        
The EcoTerrace (21+) where individuals can
relax with a glass of sustainably crafted wine or beer, enjoy some snacks,
listen to the music and have some quiet time with friends and family. 

·        
The EcoKids Center, an interactive area
devoted exclusively to those under the age of 14, jam-packed full of fun
activities including robots, eco-poetry, eco-art, games, inflatables,
facepainting, a stage with live performances from RhymeZwell, storytellers,  international artists and much more.

·        
The EcoBazaar, where sustainable goods and
eco-friendly crafts are available for purchase

·        
Four stages of live entertainment
that span five continents.

Boston GreenFest
2013 will begin at Boston City Hall Plaza with a Kick-Off Concert on Thursday,
August 15, from 5-10 pm and will continue Friday, August 16, from noon-10 pm
and Saturday, August 17, from 11 am-10 pm. 
For more information, visit www.bostongreenfest.org

Sponsors for Boston GreenFest 2013 include The City of Boston, Boston
Metro, State Street, FORD,
Clear Channel Communications, Chevy, Massport, National Grid, Nantucket
Nectars, Zipcar, Enterprise CarShare, Eastern Bank, MBTA, Isaac’s Moving and
Storage, The Naked Grape, Peak’s Organic and Living Social.

Foundation for a
Green Future, Inc. is a Boston-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to
providing environmentally focused programs to the Greater Boston community.
Throughout the year, we run a series of programs focused on greening our urban
spaces through gardening, green roofs and living walls. We also provide green
jobs training and promote environmentally friendly business practices.
Foundation for a Green Future, Inc. works with local schools, community
centers, and neighborhood organizations to educate young and old about the many
dimensions of green technologies and design interactive curricula to suit their
needs.