San Francisco Green Festival

The Green Festival event is a movement towards a just, inclusive, and sustainable economy. On November 14- 16, the Concourse Exhibition Center, located at 8th and Brannan in San Francisco will host this year's event, sponsored by the Project of Global Exchange and Co-op America. The event tour will stop in five cities across the country, starting with Washington DC on November 8 and 9. San Francisco is next, followed by Seattle in March, and Denver and Chicago in May.

The festival is a stroll through a sustainable community. First, the festival shows what people can do on a personal level. Next, it shows what can be done on a business level and in the community.
There will 125 renowned authors, leaders, and educators and 350 eco-friendly businesses this year. To get more involved, there will be workshops, green films, art, activities for kids, live music, and more. Of course, there will be yummy organic and vegetarian dishes and all will be from brought to you by local organizations and businesses.

Some of the featured speakers include:

• Dr. Cornel West (Speaks of racial justice)
• Van Jones (President and founder of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights in Oakland, CA)
• Winona LaDuke (Native American and environmental activist)
• Riane Eisler (Social scientist, attorney, social activist, author of The Chalice and The Blade: Out History, Our Future)
• Chuck D (Leader and co-founder of rap group Public Enemy)
• Greg Palast (NY Times Bestselling author and journalist for the BBC)
• Lawerence Lessig
• Daniel Pinchbeck (founder of Open city, an art and literary journal)
• John Perkins (runs Fungi Perfecti, an environmentally friendly company)
• Rickie Byars Beckwith (Music and Arts Director for Agape International Spiritual Center in Culver City, CA)

The hours are the following:
Friday 12pm-7pm
Saturday 1am-7pm
Sunday 11am-6pm

This event is all ages. For more information, click here or call 800-58-GREEN. Tickets start at only $15 per day and I recommend buying tickets as soon as possible because last year's event was sold out.

If you'd like to volunteer for the event, the Green Festival hopes you will commit to at least one 4 1/2- 5 hour shift. By clicking here, you can find out the volunteer opportunities are available and more information. Did I mention you get to attend the festival for free and you receive an exclusive organic t-shirt?

7th Annual San Francisco Indie Film Festival: DocFest

The San Francisco Indie Fest's Documentary Film Festival has been going since October 17th and will continue through October 30th at the Roxie Cinema and then will be moving to the Shattuck Cinema in Berkeley. The festival features 60 films from around the world. Some of this year's selections are a bit quirky, like Bigfoot: A Beast on the Run directed by David Thayer, which follows a search for Bigfoot, and Come on Down! The Road to 'The Price Is Right directed by Jeruschka White and Caryn Capotosto, about game show culture.

Tickets are $10.50 and there are no service fees. The BerkeleyDocPass is still available for $100 and gets you in to all the screenings at the Shattuck.

Roxie Cinema is located at 3117 16th St in San Francisco. Shattuck Cinemas is located at 2230 Shattuck Avenue in Berkeley.

For more information about the festival, click here.

Six Flags: Fright Fest

It's almost Halloween which means you've got to make it to Fright Fest at Six Flags Marine World in Vallejo. Fright Fest is going on every weekend leading up to Halloween.

If you're like me, it's probably been awhile since you've been to a theme park and feel you just don't have the time or energy. Well, if you want to feel young again, make some time and head to Six Flags to ride the rides and prepare to be spooked.

The following was taken from Six Flag's website to give you an idea of what the park has in store for you this year:

Thrills by Day:

• Twick or Tweet Trail featuring Bugs Bunny and Friends!
• Shouka's Halloween Celebration
  
• Merlin's Haunted Harbor Dolphin Show
  
• Super Spooky Sea Lion Show
  
• Bird Drop Inn (Bird Theater)
  
• Witch's Brew and Island Zoo (Wildlife Theater)
  
• Dracula Magic Show for Kids
  
• Daily costume parades
  

Chills by Night:

• Two spine-tingling haunted mazes: Kamp Khaos and Tinseltown Terror (additional fee)
  
• Harley Newman's Scandalous Side Show - you'll be amazed!
  
• Themed scare-zones filled with demonic clowns, ghouls and other freaks of nature
  
• Twilight Funeral Procession parade
  
• Halloween-themed live stage shows

Other attractions include:

• Wheel of Fright
  
• Zombie Zones
  
• Witches Lair (cookie mask and miniature pumpkin decorating)
  

Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Festival

This weekend, if you want to see who won the pumpkin growing contest head to Half Moon Bay for their 38th annual Pumpkin Festival sponsored by Safeway. Last year, the winning pumpkin was 1,524 pounds! Not your average-size Halloween pumpkin. I wonder how much pumpkin pie you could make out of that pumpkin. Probably a LOT.

As any festival, there will be arts and crafts booths from locals, as well as food, drinks, and entertainment. Shana Morrison, Dub FX and Manicato are headlining the event.

Half Moon Bay Brewery Company made a Mavericks(R)  Pumpkin Harvest Ale specifically to honor the event and will be served at the Take 5 Lounge. The Brew Co. actually started serving the beer on October 6th and I was lucky enough to eat and have a drink there a few days later. Guess what I had to drink with the calamari appetizer? Yup, Mavericks(R)  Pumpkin Harvest Ale and it was tasty. I definitely recommend it.

Festival is on October 18 and 19 from 9am-5pm. For more information click here.

Red Bull Soapbox Race

If you aren't at the Oktoberfest in Campbell on the 18th and will be in San Francisco, maybe you should stop by Dolores Park and watch the Red Bull Soapbox Race. There will be 39 teams participating in the race and starts at 1pm on Dolores Street and 21st Street in the Mission District. The park will be set up like any other festival with drinks and food stands. It's a first-come first serve basis with finding spots to watch the race so you might want to get there a little early. As with any other event in the city, try to take public transportation so you don't have deal with the hassle of parking and you're doing your part to be "green."

What exactly is a Red Bull Soapbox Race? Their website says:

Not to be confused with the youth soapbox derby, Red Bull Soapbox Race is a national race for amateur drivers, which is fueled by creativity and competitive fun - not to mention the need for speed. This unique non-motorized racing event challenges both experienced racers and amateurs alike to design and build outrageous, human-powered soapbox dream machines and compete against the clock in a downhill race.

For more information go to www.redbullsoapboxusa.com

Date: October 18th, 2008

The sidelines open at 11am and the first race is at 1pm. The award ceremony is scheduled to be around 3:30pm so you might still have time to make it to Oktoberfest Day 1.

Below is a clip from this year's race, thanks to YouTube user decroan.