LoDo Earth Action Fest (LEAF) to Celebrate Denver’s Growing Green Heritage
Alliance for Sustainable Colorado and Tattered Cover to host Downtown Denver’s greenest gathering.
Denver, CO (PRWEB) April 12, 2007
LoDo’s First Annual Earth Action Fest (LEAF), a two-week gala celebrating Earth Day and empowering Metro Denver residents with positive green strategies, will begin on April 15, 2007 with a special book presentation at the Tattered Cover by Senator John Kerry and Teresa Heinz Kerry, and conclude on April 27, 2007 with a zero-waste, fuel-cell-powered, LEAF Finale – a block party complete with food, music by The Reals and plenty of great ideas for the planet.
In between, visitors can enjoy free book readings and movie screenings at the Tattered Cover; participate in a tree planting with former Mayor Wellington Webb and students from Lake Middle School; sample organic wines at a tasting hosted by The Sierra Club; and take tours of the new Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) headquarters and The Alliance Center – two of Colorado’s greenest buildings. Throughout the festivities, visitors will be treated to a variety of food and entertainment from a number of local sponsors.
“LEAF is a party with purpose – an environmental extravaganza that’s all about taking action to educate, inspire, and motivate our community about the challenges we face and the steps we can all take to make a difference for our planet,” said Kendra Sandoval of The Alliance for Sustainable Colorado (http://allianceforcolorado. org (http://allianceforcolorado. org)), a host of the LEAF festival.
“There’s no better time than now to help protect and improve Colorado’s remarkable environmental heritage,” added Heather Duncan of the Tattered Cover Book Store, LEAF host and sponsor of a series of environmentally-focused book readings and movie screenings.
Free Informational Booths and Building Tours
On Monday, April 23, the Alliance Center will open its doors to the public, offering free guided tours of their buildings from 9:00 a. m. to 4:00 pm. In addition, the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency will be hosting more than 20 informational booths and displays from various local environmental groups from 10 a. m. until 3 p. m. Featured activities include a display of the winning entries of the Climate Change Art Challenge, kid booths, and the EPA mobile laboratory. Tours of the EPA building will be limited to the first 2 floors. Both buildings were built under the U. S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, standards, the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of high performance green buildings.
The Alliance Building, at 1536 Wynkoop St., utilizes green technologies that minimize environmental impacts, provide healthier workspace and increase building performance. The Center incorporates natural lighting, new fluorescent daylight lamps with high color rendition and electronic ballasts, water and energy conserving fixtures, no and low VOC paint, and non-toxic and recycled materials. The results have been impressive, with water use in the building cut by 84% and energy consumption reduced by 30%.
The EPA Building, at 1595 Wynkoop St., officially opened in March and is nine stories tall and 292,000 square feet. The LEED-certified building includes solar panels that generate 10 Kilowatts of power, a 20,000-square-foot green roof using native vegetation, energy efficient heating and cooling systems and a number of other innovative green building practices.
Events for the LEAF Festival:
Sunday, April 15, 11:00 am: Book Reading with Senator John Kerry and Teresa Heinz Kerry
“This Moment on Earth: Today’s New Environmentalists and Their Vision for the Future.” Senator John Kerry and Teresa Heinz Kerry will discuss and sign their book at the Tattered Cover, 1628 16th Street. This event is free and open to the public.
Tuesday, April 17, 7:30 pm: Book Reading with Jonathan Waterman
“Where Mountains Are Nameless: Passion and Politics in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.” Jonathan Waterman, adventurer and the author of nine books, will discuss and sign his new book at the Tattered Cover, 1628 16th Street. This event is free and open to the public.
Sunday, April 22, 1:00 pm: Book Reading with William Travis
“New Geographies of the American West: Land Use and the Changing Pattern of Place” William Travis will discuss and sign his new book at the Tattered Cover, 1628 16th Street. This event is free and open to the public.
Monday, April 23, 9:00 am to 4:00 pm: Green Building Tours
The EPA and Alliance Center will open their doors to the public, offering free guided tours of some of Colorado’s greenest buildings.
Tuesday, April 24, 12:00 to 1:30 pm: Movie Screening
The documentary “Climate Change” will be shown at the Tattered Cover, 1628 16th Street. This event is free and open to the public.
Wednesday, April 25, Show times 12:30 pm and 4:30 pm: Movie Screening
Al Gore’s Academy-Award winning documentary, “An Inconvenient Truth,” presented by Rebecca Moore Leach, will be shown at the Tattered Cover, 1628 16th Street. This event is free and open to the public.
Thursday, April 26, Noon to 1 pm: Brown Bag Lunch
Join The Alliance Center nonprofits, LoDo businesses, and others for presentations at the Tattered Cover on Greenprint Denver, and how organizations can calculate their carbon footprint. Lunch will be served. Available by reservation only. Please contact Janna Six at jsix @ allianceforcolorado. org.
Friday, April 27, 10:00 am: Alliance Center Tree Planting
Former Denver Mayor Wellington Webb and students from Lake Middle School will plant 30 trees in Commons Park on behalf of the nonprofits in the Alliance Center and other sponsoring local businesses. The Alliance Center is an official sponsor of Mayor Hickenlooper’s 7,000 trees in 7 days project. Please contact Kendra Sandoval at ksandoval @ allianceforcolorado. org.
Friday, April 27, 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm: LEAF Finale Block Party!
Join the LoDo neighborhood for the LEAF Finale, a unique Earth Action Celebration. Powered by a fuel cell provided by the EPA, this zero-waste environmental extravaganza will feature music by THE REALS. Food and drinks from Vitamin Cottage and Wild Oats; beer from wind-powered New Belgium Brewing and Wynkoop Brewery. To register for a booth, please contact Libby Hanna at lhanna @ allianceforcolorado. org.
About The Alliance for a Sustainable Colorado
The Alliance for Sustainable Colorado (http://allianceforcolorado. org (http://allianceforcolorado. org)), a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, was created in 2004 to advance sustainable policies in Colorado for present and future generations. The organization fosters relationships that build collaboration and coalitions among nonprofit organizations, socially responsible businesses, local government agencies and academia. The Alliance for Sustainable Colorado owns the Alliance Center, which is a “Multi-Tenant Nonprofit Center” that provides office and meeting space to 30 nonprofit organizations and non-tenant partners. The Center is mission driven, housing groups that advocate for development of policies and implementation of practices of sustainability.
About The Tattered Cover
A locally owned bookstore and a Colorado landmark, the Tattered Cover, with three unique locations, offers personal service, an extraordinary selection, coffee shops, extensive newsstands, and author appearances nearly every day.
For more information, please contact:
Wanda James
James Foxx Communications
720-987-5160
Wanda @ jamesfoxx. com
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