Big day at Green Festival Chicago, plus a possible giveaway

Did anyone else attend the Green Festival this weekend when it was in Chicago? It was huge. To give you an idea of it’s hugeosity*, here’s a bird’s eye view of about half of the festival. Click on the image for the full size, as I’m not going to use its full size in this post.

Lots of vendors set up shop there, but what was really interesting to me was the local groups taking action and offering services. You may have heard of some of these groups, such as Earth Wind & Solar Energy, LLC, an alternative energy company in Chicago. Solar Service, Inc. is another, and they’ve been around for over 30 years.

Green Envelope, a green construction company, was there, as was Green Choice Bank. Green Choice Bank says they will be the Midwest’s first green bank and will launch later this year.

Olive Owl Organics is in downtown Oak Park and I must stop in there one day. They sell lots of natural, organic body products and a few other things.

Of particular interest to me was NeighborSpace, which partners with other groups in the area to acquire and protect community gardens and other open spaces.

Not all the vendors were local. Global Exchange had some of their wares on hand.

This is their display of handbags and wallets made from recycled car and truck inner tubes. Have you ever wondered where tires go to die? Often they go to a landfill, and they tend to stick around for a long time after that. By the way, look for a possible Global Exchange product giveaway from Green In Oak Park in the near future.

And finally, many spoke at the Green Festival. I went to see only one, and that was Dr. Kevin Danaher. He is one of the founders of the festival and he spoke about green careers. There are lots of opportunities out there. Check out Greencareercentral.com for lots of listings.

All in all, good if somewhat overwhelming day. Did I mention the festival was huge?

* – My browser’s spellchecker doesn’t like “hugeosity”. I wonder why? 😉