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Green Festival's Food Program Continues to Expand

Veggie Dream Girl, Raw Foods Experts, Serena Williams personal Chef, GMO panels and more

Green Festival's Food Program Continues to Expand

Veggie Dream Girl, Raw Foods Experts, Serena Williams personal Chef, GMO panels and more

Published 10-18-13

Submitted by Green Festival

The 3rd Annual Green Festival returns to the Southern California October 19-20, 2013 at the LA Mart, featuring an ever-widening variety of food programming, demonstrations and displays, establishing a presence as one of the top annual events for “Green Foodies” in the Los Angeles area.

“Food has become the most popular program element of the show,” says Green Festival Regional Director Pascale Coupal-Sikes. “As consumer interest in healthy eating and know where their food comes from has increased dramatically, we’ve gone out of our way to expand programming to meet the demand.”

Southern California native/actress/Vegan Chef Leslie Durso’s “Vegan Meatballapalooza” Demo is among the highlights at the event’s very popular Good Food Stage – she describes it as a “crash course in how to use plant-based ingredients to replace meat/dairy staples like egg, butter and beef to make deliciouis gourment meat balls and dipping sauces.” Noted “raw foods” chef Bryan Au of the Raw Star Cafe (www.RawStarCafeLA.com) will show you how to “lower your carbon footrprint” while learning to make top recipes like his Famous Forbidden Rice along with others from his best-selling cookbook.

Dorit Dijk of Serenity Foods, best know as tennis star Serena Williams’ personal Chef and Wellness Coach, will present delicious “GMO free” breakfasts (www.serenityspaces.org and www.greenlifestyles.org), and top experts will discuss the health benefits of a plant-based, non-GMO diet on the Main Stage Saturday at 3:00 PM.

For those that love Food Network-style demos, Raw Chef Ronald Russell of SunCafe Organic Cuisine (www.suncafe.com) will show you how to “serve your palette and the planet” with gourmet Italian recipes, and Vegan Chef Doug McNish will demonstrate some of the best recipes for his new book “Raw, Quick & Delicious” (about.me/dougmcnish).

One of the event’s most inspiring stories is that of young Charles Chen (rawyouth.org), who at one point was dealing with poor health and a body weight of over 250 pounds. His own experience with changing his life and his diet through the adoption of a “whole foods lifestyle” is among the most compelling you will hear this year. His lecture – “Superfood Fast: 5 Ingredient Truffles” – proves you don’t have to sacrifice taste and love of gourmet food for health.

“We’ve seen a surge in interest in organic food and cooking all over the country,” says Hamler. “The public is increasingly interested not only in supporting local sustainable farmers and food sources, but in employing gourmet methods to enjoy this food, and we’ve doubled programming in this area in the last few years.”

The event also features an Organic Food Court and a Sustainable Beer & Wine Garden. There are also dozens of booths, demos and displays on the show floor itself that can be explored through the event’s website. Green Festival is the largest marketplace of eco-friendly, organic and Fair Trade businesses with products and services for home, school and work. The event is a project of two nationally recognized not-for-profits, Green America (www.greenamerica.org) and Global Exchange (www.globalexchange.org).

The 2013 Los Angeles Green Festival will be held at the LA Mart. Hours are Saturday, October 19th, 10 AM – 6 PM and Sunday, October 20th, 11 AM - 5 PM. Tickets are $10 for a one day pass and $20 for a full weekend pass when purchased online at www.greenfestivals.org, or $15 and $25 at the door. (All tickets provide access to exhibit floor, all workshops/yoga classes, speakers and films.) Free admission for anyone who rides a bike to the event and parks with the Clif Bar bike valet, youth under eighteen, union members, volunteers and Green America and Global Exchange members.

For more information, please visit www.GreenFestivals.org. To exhibit, please call: 828-333-9403 x 300.

For partnership information, visit www.greenfestivals.org/become-a-partner.

About Green America
Green America is a national nonprofit organization founded in 1982, providing the economic strategies, organizing power and practicing tools for businesses and individuals to address today’s social and environmental problems. Its Green Business Network is the largest national network of businesses screened for their social and environmental responsibility.

About Global Exchange
Global Exchange is a membership-based international human rights organization dedicated to promoting social, economic and environmental justice around the world. Since its founding in 1988, Global Exchange has successfully increased public awareness of root causes of injustice while building international partnerships and mobilizing for change.

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Good Food Stage

Saturday

October 21st

11:00am

Charles Chen (RawYouth.org)

Superfood Fast: 5 Ingredient Truffles

12:00pm

Leslie Durso (“The Veggie Dreamgirl”)

Vegan Meatballapalooza

1:00pm

Bryan Au (Raw Star Café)

Quick & Easy Raw Vegan Gluten-Free Recipes

2:00pm

Cicely Everson (Tao Holistics, “The Raw Hippie”)

3 Holistic Secrets for Living with The Raw Hippie

3:00pm

Frank Golbeck (Golden Coast Mead)

Mead – The Honey Libation! What It Is & How To Make It

4:00pm

Green Cocktail Hour

Showcasing the best in Green Entertaining + sampling the latest in green spirits

Good Food Stage

Sunday

October 20th

12:00pm

Douglas McNish (author of “Raw, Quick & Delicious”)

Raw, Quick & Delicious:

1:00pm

Dorit Dijk (Serenity Foods, personal Chef to tennis star Serena Williams)

GMO Free Delicious Breakfasts

2:00pm

Ronald Russell (Sun Café Organic Cuisine)

Raw Food Cooking Italian Cuisine – Serving Your Palette & The Planet

3:00pm

Hannah Crum (Kombucha Camp)

Kombucha Culture: How to Befriend Your Bacterial Bretheren

Main Stage

Saturday

October 19th

3:00pm

Panel Discussion: Mimi Kirk (Author & Raw Food Advocate), Rainbeau Mars (Author), Kirk Hamilton (Author) , Alisa Gravitz (Green America) and Jeff Golfman

The Power of Plants: Discover the Benefits of a Plant-Based GMO-Free Diet

DIY Stage

Saturday

October 19th

1:00pm

Zuri Allen (Inside GMO), Alisa Gravitz (Green America)

Inside GMOs – A Survivor’s Guide

DIY Stage

Sunday

September 22nd

1:00

Christy Wilhelmi (Gardnered)

Small-Space Gardening (urban spaces, roof tops, etc.)

3:00

David Rosenstein (Evo Farm)

Nano Farming with Aquaponics

Green Festival logo

Green Festival

Green Festival

Green Festival is a celebration of what is working in our communities and what is possible today. It's a gathering of more than 30,000 people with a passion for social justice, ecological balance and a sustainable economy. Whether you want to learn something new from one of our 125 visionary speakers, shop the Green Marketplace for new eco-friendly products, sample local food and wine or introduce your kids to the fun of a green lifestyle in the Green Kids Zone, Green Festival has something for everyone. www.greenfestivals.org

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