Boy plays with nature exhibit at the 2011 Cool Davis Festival [Credit: Samer Alassad
Cool Davis Festival Co-Directors thank all those who made the Festival on Healthy Pathways to a Low Carbon Life a great success! A huge thank you is owed to them for the massive amount of work they did.

As co-directors of the Cool Davis weekend, we are thankful to Mother Earth who gave us three days of blissful weather and to all those who contributed – Cool Davis Members and Initiative Partners, sponsors, performers, Davis City Staff, elected officials, exhibitors, demonstrators, awardees, a host of volunteers and hundreds of visitors.  On Friday evening, the first Cool Davis Cruise About of Electric vehicles wound  through the downtown and wound up in Central Park.  On Saturday, approximately 200 Community volunteers enjoyed the ten diverse service projects organized by local groups for the Day of Service.  At the October 16 festival, 1700 participants – visitors, exhibitors, demonstrators, awardees and volunteers – explored healthy pathways to a low carbon life.

In the main festival exhibit hall, Carbon Central exhibitors provided a wealth of useful, practical tools to calculate and lower carbon emissions.  In the theater, a panel of food experts awakened us to the reality of our food print; Nature’s Theater presented an antidote to the lure of junk food; and Eco-heroes and group award winners for the Compost Program and Partners for a Greener Davis set high examples for us all to follow.

Outside, proud EV owners shared their efficient vehicles; Davis Bicycles! treated children to a Bike Rodeo; and visitors took a spin on electric assist and working bicycles. Gardening groups clued people into water conservation and drought-tolerant planting while restaurants tempted visitors with local vegetarian treats. Demonstration gurus showed us how to live green.

All together, the Festival showed how climate solutions are easy to implement, economically advantageous, and often fun, too!

Visitors absorbed all the information and signed the Cool Davis pledge to reduce their carbon emissions this year.

We appreciate each and every person who helped. Our dedicated inner crew poured their knowledge, resources and passion into crafting a remarkable educational event.  We are especially pleased by the response of the Davis community – for it is only by working together that we will reduce our citywide greenhouse gas emissions and eventually achieve the City’s goal of Carbon Neutrality by 2050.  Thank you one and all.

Chris Granger, Judy Moores and Lynne Nittler, Festival co-coordinators