I spent this past weekend in SF for Co-op America's annual Green Festival.

I drove up with The Do LaB twins (Josh and Jesse) and Shena (Do LaB/Green Gurus/etc.) Friday afternoon in a Honda Civic Hybrid (from LAX to downtown SF on one tank...nice!), met up with some old Orangekid friends for some drinks and a long night of wide-ranging talks.

The next day we hit the Green Fest at about 12-pm, where we met up with an even older friend Brent Hurley, a fellow Twin Valley graduate. I also ran into an old friend from LA, Onyay, who had performed the day before with the Shakti Tribe, which I was sorry to have missed. Most of the day was then spent nearly fighting through the ample crowd for numerous free samples of holistic goodness in all shapes, sizes and colors; examined nearly each and every vendor for the latest, innovative Green...stuff.

And boy was there stuff, so much productization in fact, that we were literally stumbling over it all to get from booth to booth; what a disappointment. Not only had the event not evolved from last year's nicely balanced collection of (yes) products (they're still a hook-line-and-sink for many), new technologies, services, and speakers to this year's onslaught of nearly pure products. It was really quite sickening, at least to me.

From an event that claims to be the world's leading expo in sustainability, I really expected some measure of progression, anything to keep things fresh and innovative, not inundated with the same ol' recipe for innovative disaster waste known the world over.

That all being said, it's still a great time for those curious about all the fuss and in need of alternative resources.

Just like Burning Man, the Green Festival has seemingly reached a pinnacle or threshold for that genuine raw creative inspiration I admire in innovative, truly ground-breaking events such as The Do LaB's own Lightning In A Bottle, an alternative event growing in mass appeal that combines both the latter two events prized distinctions: radical self-expression and sustainability, respectively.

Anyway, the event was worth attending at least to see first-hand, just how much the Green wave has spread in the last year alone. In terms of sheer publicity for this movement, Co-op America is doing a fine job at getting the word out.

Now just leave the festival magic for the real festivals. ;)