Trashed

Film Screening & DiscussionsPre-Fest Screening Event:Wednesday, March 5, 2014 - 5:45-8pm/University of Illinois at Chicago - Gallery 400 400 S Peoria St, Chicago/Tickets

Saturday, March 8, 2014 - 6-8:15pm/Roosevelt University 425 S Wabash Ave., Chicago, Room 611/Tickets

Directed By - Candida Brady/2012/97 minutes

The multi-award winning documentary Trashed, starring Jeremy Irons, looks at the risks to the food chain and the environment through pollution of our air, land and sea by waste. The film reveals surprising truths about very immediate and potent dangers to our health. it is a global conversation from Iceland to Indonesia between the film star Jeremy Irons and scientists, politicians and ordinary individuals whose health and livelihoods have been fundamentally affected by waste pollution.

Visually and emotionally the film is both horrific and beautiful: an interplay of human interest and political wake-up call. But it ends on a message of hope: showing how the risks to our survival can easily be averted through sustainable approaches that provide far more employment than the current 'waste industry'.

For more information on the film, please visit the official trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5z2s_klZkFg

Urban Roots

Film Screenings & DiscussionsPre-Fest Screening Event: Saturday, March 1, 2014 - 2-4pm/Sacred Keepers Sustainability Lab 4445 S. King Dr., Chicago/Tickets

Sunday, March 9, 2014 - 3-5:15pm/St. Martin's Episcopal Church 5700 W Midway Park, Chicago/Tickets

Directed By- Mark MacInnis/2011/93 minutes

Produced by Leila Conners (The 11th Hour), Mark MacInnis and Mathew Schmid, the film follows the urban farming phenomenon in Detroit. Urban Roots is a timely, moving and inspiring film that speaks to a nation grappling with collapsed industrial towns and the need to forge a sustainable and prosperous future.

Joining the discussion in Bronzeville will be Orrin Williams, Executive Director, Center for Urban Transformation; Johnnie Owens, Centers for New Horizons; and Sherry Williams, Founder, Bronzeville Historical Society.

For more information on the film, please visit the official documentary website.

GMO OMG

Revolution

Watermelon Magic

Film Screening & Discussion

Sunday, March 9, 2014 – 3-4:30pm/The Brown Cow Ice Cream Parlor,7347 Madison St, Forest Park/Tickets, SORRY, SOLD OUT

Family-friendly! Children ages 3-11+

Directed By – Richard Power Hoffmann/2013/38 minutes

 International audiences will delight in this nearly wordless burst of color and music that draws inspiration from film classic “The Red Balloon”. Weaving together documentary and narrative elements, “Watermelon Magic” chronicles a season on the family farm, as young Sylvie grows a patch of watermelons to sell at market.  The film employs a dynamic visual style that uses high-resolution stills at varying shutter-burst frame rates with stunning time-lapse sequences to trace the journey from seed to flower to fruit. When harvest time arrives, Sylvie must decide if she will share her precious watermelon babies with the world.

A resource table by the Oak Park Conservatory will promote upcoming programming, including free Saturday drop-in activities. Each child can take home a free packet of watermelon or sunflower seeds.

For more information on the film, please visit the official documentary website.

Enter Our Youth Film Contest!

Volunteer with the Film Festival

Become a Film Festival Volunteer

Register for the Tour and Join Us For a Party!

Green Community Connections' 2013 Green Living and Learning Tour is just a week away, on Septmber 28th.  With all the information about the Oak Park/River Forest event available in our posts about all the great tour sites, the schedule, the map, the one-hour guided tour descriptions and the drop-in opportunities descriptions, you are now well armed with everything you need to plan your day and to REGISTER for your selected tour stops!

We invite all participants and their families to join us at Oak Park's Field Park (northwest corner @ Berkshire St. & Woodbine Ave.) at 5 p.m., immediately following the final green tours.  We will eat, play, and enjoy our sustainable community connections.

Sugar Beet Co-op members are providing a Harvest Picnic free for all Green Living & Learning Tour participants. Picture a huge green salad, homemade bread and spreads, Italian panzanella salad, quinoa, kale, and other scrumptious freshly made - and in many cases, locally grown - food waiting for you after you finish up an afternoon of great tours.

We'll reflect on the tours we experienced during the day, recognize hosts, sponsors and volunteers, and we'll even give away some green door prizes!  Please join us.

Photos from the 2012 Closing Celebration

Green Living & Learning Tour - Prospective Volunteer Gathering

Consider being part of making this year’s Green Living & Learning Tour a great event by volunteering!  There are many different ways to help.

1. PROSPECTIVE VOLUNTEER GATHERING. Join us for food and conversation and to explore where your interests and talents intersect with tour tasks.  To learn more about being a tour volunteer, please join us!

Date: Tuesday, August 20, 2013, 7:30pm

Place: (NOTE CHANGE) Mills Park Towers Community Room,

1025 Pleasant Place (between Pleasant St and Randolph, turn East off of Marion), Oak Park

RSVP to sally@greencommunityconnections, or call 773-315-1109

2. VOLUNTEER SIGN-UP. Can't join us for the August 20 info session, but still want to help? Sign up now. If you know others who'd be interested in volunteering for this change-making event, please let them know about the information session and direct them to the sign up page. Get involved and become a part of this vibrant, enthusiastic group that's working toward a resilient, sustainable community. See here for more information about the event, including press coverage from last year's Green Living and Learning Tour.

Join The Sugar Beet Co-op for a Day on the Farm!

Spend Saturday, June 8th from 10am-2pm exploring the 5-acre organic vegetable farm that is also home to chickens, turkeys, pigs and goats. After a guided hayride tour by farmer Nick Choate-Batchelder, we will feast on a delicious farm picnic catered by Crème Crafted Parties & Events. Midnight Sun Farm 32400 N. Harris Rd., Grayslake, Illinois 60030

Midnight Sun Farm is just an hour away from Oak Park and is excited to host The Sugar Beet Co-op and friends for a farm tour and catered picnic lunch.

We will start the day by exploring the 5-acre organic vegetable farm that is also home to chickens, turkeys, pigs and goats. After a guided hayride tour by farmer Nick Choate-Batchelder, we will feast on a delicious farm picnic catered by Crème Crafted Parties & Events.

After lunch, guests are welcome to walk the fields, participate in a farm chore or visit one of the other area farms that are part of the Prairie Crossing Conservation Community.

Space is limited so purchase your tickets in advance. $40 per person includes tour and lunch $20 per child under 12 years old Free for kids under 3 $5 discount on each ticket for Sugar Beet Co-op members! Purchase Your Tickets Online