The 2007 Tree Hugger's Ball
The 3rd Annual Tree Hugger's Ball and "Go Green" Expo, held in Baker Canyon on Saturday, May 19th was a huge success. "We busted out the seams when more people flooded the gate than had been anticipated with the event's catered Italian food & biodegradable forks! 'Where's the fork'in food's is our new moto!" stated the event promoter & CLCF Director, Chay Peterson. The CLCF had to make runs to the local stores and Pascale's Pizza to accomodate the over 500 hungry guests!
The environmental awareness event and fundraiser opened at 4:00 pm, with the
"Go Green" expo filled with organizations and companies showing their earthy
wares and /or information. The neon green "Veggie" car exhibited by Earth
Friendly Moving, who owns the country's largest fleet of vegetable oil run
trucks was a favorite of eco car lovers. Next to Santa Margarita Ford, who
let folks check out the new hybrid for sale was Extreme Biodiesel of Orange,
who showed off their affordable biodiesel making equipment any Joe Smith can
own and operate from their own garage! The expo also sponsored a juried So
Cal Papa Plein Air art show and sale of beautiful canvased paintings by
local artists.
The Tree Hugger's Ball from 6-11 pm, was graced with an Italian catered
dinner, and local live 'old timey' Bluegrass, and Rock 'n Blues musicians,
under the beautiful canopy of Oak trees. Guest speakers of the evening
included Flossy Horgan of the Bolsa Chica Wetlands Project, and Sierra
Club's Robin Everett. The dance floor was almost worn out by earthy costumed
dancers of all ages who came to hear the Grateful Dead classics played by
Cubensis, and didn't stop until sometime around midnight!
Proceeds from this year's event go to the CLCF and Orange Hills Task Force
to help preserve the wildlands of the Santa Ana Mountains slated for a
development of 4,000 homes. "We really need the community to come together
to help save our wildlands for the future generations to enjoy and protect,"
affirmed Chay Peterson. "People, no matter what their beliefs, need to pay
attention to the Earth's destruction by human forces and become stewards of
the planet, rather than destroyers." "It's not that hard to change a few
things in our daily living, like recycling more of our trash, growing a
garden, buying some foods in bulk, driving a more eco friendly vehicle,
turning off the lights we don't need to be using, getting by with less...is
utimately more."
Next year's event will be held June 21, 2008, so mark your calendars and
be there!