Anyway, got to the Fest, slapped on my blue armband, and descended to the convention floor. This time I pretty much headed straight to a workshop, this one on DIY Energy Savers for Your Home. The speaker was Jason Holstine from Amicus Green Building Center. I learned some good stuff (I want to go re-insulate my attic with Roxul insulation now...as well as get some draft stopper gaskets. Oh yeah, and insulate my hot water heater. We got a free fluorescent light bulb out of the dealie too.
Then I walked around a bit, did some more shopping (some jewelry from India and a wool winter hat from Peru) and half listened to Ralph Nader speak. I'm not sure I agree 100% with everything he said, but he sure does get passionate about his opinions.
It was a pretty packed crowd and he had them eating out of the palm of his hand. Afterwards, he went over to sign books.
He drew quite the crowd and the line went on for awhile. I didn't get in line, but stood nearby to take photos.
I lost track of time and missed the yoga demonstration I was planning to check out, so I wandered about some more, complained to the Hydros people about the bottle I bought yesterday (advice is to try the filter charging process again, then call customer support), and bought some fun free trade crafts and stuff. I caught the very tail end of the workshop about Yoga and the Collective Action (how Yoga can tie into organizing for social change) before heading over for lunch.
The food court was a madhouse again, but the smells were just heavenly. I decided to brave the Indian food.
I got the one curry (aloo palak) with rice and a samosa. Oh yeah, let's not forget the most delicious mango lassi I've ever had in my entire life! The curry was spicy, but not overpoweringly so and the samosa was crispy and yummy. Fabulous lunch!
Again, with the wandering. I had stopped at an ATM in the morning as there were a few vendors that did not take credit cards. I got this most amazingly gorgeous blue hand woven silk scarf that I am in love with. Other things picked up were a Green Festival t-shirt, a Kleen Kanteen insulated bottle, some nifty rechargeable heating pads from Click Heaters including ones for my frosty feet in the winter. I found that the yummy cup of coffee I got yesterday was Bright Day Brew from Equal Exchange, so I picked up a bag (gotta find my coffee grinder somewhere).
Then I stumbled upon civil rights leader Dr. Benjamin Chavis' presentation on the main stage. I have to say it was a riveting speech. Dr. Chavis is promoting the idea that we need to take the green movement out of our national arena and expand it globally. I have to say that I completely agree...it's all the same planet we're mucking up here! I didn't get a very good photo...
Which was a serious bummer as it was a very memorable and moving speech and I would have liked a photo to remember it by.
A bit more wandering about and I got thirsty, so I went back to the food court. I decided on the pineapple mango ginger punch. The lady behind the counter warned me "It's fermented" and added "on purpose!" I gave her the thumbs up and bought my drink. I have to say that I did enjoy it and I almost believe I got a bit of a buzz. It wasn't sweet, and had a little kick of ginger. Quenched the ole thirst...so I was happy.
I have to give another shout out to my friends at Dr. Bronner's (who gave me a free ginger orange lip balm yesterday) because when I snagged a sample size bar of their plain soap and the girl there found out that I love it to do hand laundry when I travel, she reached under the counter to give me another bar in my favorite lavender.
By this time, I was shopped and walked out but I wasn't ready to leave, so I checked out the side stages for another presentation. I luckily stumbled upon Vanessa King and "Finding Fullness: Mindful Eating" which was perfect for me! Vanessa is a yoga teacher and nutritionist (with her own website) who did a great presentation and involved the audience. I have always known that I really need to keep a food diary, but always avoided it. Vanessa made it clear *why* I need to do it. I need to do some follow up reading on mindful eating.
Once that was done, about 15 more minutes of wandering about before I decided I was dead tired. Got another t-shirt, this one from Green America who threw in a kid's t-shirt. Good thing, because my niece Ashley is ticked off at me for going to Washington DC without her.
Said goodbye to the convention center, waited 10 min for the Metro, and collapsed back into the apartment. I've done a bit of packing, but hope to get up reasonably early tomorrow. I think I'll skip the National Gallery as I'm likely to come back next year with a friend for a special exhibit there anyway.
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