I was lucky enough to spend my weekend at the Santa Barbara Earth Day Festival with Sofia’s Dream author, Land Wilson. I may be slightly biased but I know if you ask other festival goers they will agree with me; one of the highlights of this year’s festival was Land. His passionate environmentalism is infectious. He is a gracious educator who not only presented twice to the crowd but engaged in in-depth, one-on-one conversations with children and adults alike. Also, the 80-degree sunshine on Saturday was quite enjoyable and I’m glad our Chief Executive Pickle, Rana DiOrio, and Marketing Director, Leslie Iorillo, were there to enjoy it with us.
One of my favorite aspects about working for Little Pickle Press is sharing books with children, which I was able to do all weekend. Despite being right across from the very popular face painting booth hosted by Peanuts Maternity, many children came to our booth to flip through the five Little Pickle Press titles. I was even lucky enough to sit in the grass and read to a couple of them.
The Community Environmental Council and Loa Tree Collective did an amazing job of producing a truly global event. Local companies were side-by-side with international organizations all gathered to promote the protection of our planet.
One of the companies I learned about this year is Empower Playgrounds, Inc. The non-profit charity builds electricity generating playground equipment throughout Africa. The merry-go-round on display this weekend provided hours of entertainment for children and gave parents the hope for a good long nap when they got home. Karen van Gool, Children’s Enchanted Forest Volunteer Coordinator said EPI would be back next year, and generating power to the stage!
As I watched families exit the children’s section and head to the food court, I noticed many of them carrying little cardboard flower pots filled with dirt and seedlings from the Petite Pediatrics booth. When they headed back to their homes, I smiled, knowing that Little Pickle Press and Land Wilson planted a few seeds this weekend, too.
A reminder, readers, that you will receive 25% off your purchase of Sofia's Dream and What Does It Mean to Be Green? with coupon code LPPGREEN throughout the month of April. Please click here to order.
7 comments:
We were very pleased to participate in this vibrant festival. We'll do it again next year. Thank you, Santa Barbara, for your warm welcome and environmental stewardship!
I enjoy Land's genuine way of presenting Sofia's Dream! You can tell how much time and dedication has gone into this story. It is as if he is presenting a newborn baby, with love and care. I am so happy you and Land are able to reach people the way you do. You are both very special!
If I didn't have deep roots in the Bay Area, I would seriously consider moving to Santa Barbara. Not only is it beautiful, but it is full of wonderful people. Over the past few weeks, I have connected with a handful of these wonderful people like; Mark Galbraith of Santa Barbara Ice Company who supplied me with the dry ice needed for my presentation. Doug Fischer and Robbie Haines who put me up for a night. Coordinators Karen van Gool and Erica who offered me the opportunity to present at the Children’s Enchanted Forest. Most of all, Kara Petersen for coming up with the idea for my visit and for making me feel so welcome. I think that dream jobs are the jobs where you get to work with people you like. Thank you, Kara for your role in making my work with LPP a dream job! ~Land
Absolutely loved the Santa Barbara Earth Day Celebration! The Petite Pediatrics planting booth was too cute for words! It really seemed to engage kids and parents with planting and learning about the care of their new plant!
This festival might have to go on my bucket list. It truly did look like an amazing experience for you all!
Sounds like it was a wonderful weekend. Glad to read about all the "seeds" that were planted.
i have not yet been at Santa Barbara. but, by reading the post and previous comments, i can not but express my eagerness to spend at least a weekend there.
Post a Comment