Creatively United for the Planet's 3rd Annual Festival - Saturday April 26th

Creatively United for the Planet is exactly what it sounds like, communities and individuals united together in creative ways to promote taking care of our planet. “We focus on education and awareness,” states founder Frances Litman. “We want to create a positive atmosphere and attitude towards approaching a difficult/negative subject [like the current state of the environment].”

Recently in June 2013, they created Vancouver Island Green Scene, another non-profit that specifically focuses on “building, enhancing and supporting a values-based green economy” which “promotes sustainable choices and responsible practices.” Members range from individuals and businesses to local agriculture and the regional government. As the list grows, Frances hopes that it can be used as a resource not just for members, but also the local community.

As a non-profit organization, their projects mostly involve bringing people together to share ideas and talk. A local company in Victoria has helped them create a community blog where anyone can share ideas, articles, stories, and anything that interests them or might interest others. This new program is called TicTalking and is an innovative new way to use technology to gather people together. Say goodbye to the old staple covered bulletin board at the community centre and instead just log on to TicTalk for all the latest in your community.

Founded in 2010, the society has hosted two community festivals, which last year drew over 5,000 Victoria residents. Amazingly, in spite of having over 5,000 attendees, the festival only had 4.5 bags of garbage! Everything else was either composted or recycled.

This year they are proud to present this year’s third annual Creatively United for the Planet Festival 2014 on Saturday April 26^th, which will coincide with the 33^rd annual Earth Walk parade. Gather together at Centennial Square at noon because the walk takes off at 12:30pm sharp to bring everyone to St Ann’s Academy, the festival hosts. With tons of food, arts and crafts, dancing and other events, the festival will be a great day out for people of all ages.

If you enjoyed our interview article on Level Ground Trading, co-founder Stacey Toews will be joining Deebee’s Organic Tea Pops founder Dionne Laslo-Baker in an educational talk. I had the great fortune of trying Dionne’s Tea Pop’s at a trade show last weekend and was incredibly impressed.

Stacey and Dionne will be sharing their experience and ideas on how everyone can integrate healthy eating, living, and being into their business. From how employees interact with each other, to product quality, relationships with suppliers, keeping your business environmentally healthy, and reinvesting profits back into the community.  The talk will be in St. Ann’s auditorium on Saturday April 26^th and goes from Noon until 1:30pm. It is a ticketed event (only $12 pre-sale, $25 at the door) and all proceeds go straight back into the society for planning their next event.

Another light hearted and fun family event will be the screening of “The Clean Bin Project,” a film where partners Grant and Jen go head to head to see which of them can “swear off consumerism and produce the least garbage in one year.” The film has won over six different awards since its release, including Best Canadian Documentary Projecting Change in 2011. It has been described as “An Inconvenient Truth meets Super Size Me.” It is also a ticked event $12 pre-sale and $20 at the door.

We hope to see you there!