The Everett Fall Home Show &Go Green Showcase isn’t the only event happening this weekend catering to people who want to go green.
On Saturday, Green Everett will host its fourth-annual Everett Renewable Living Fair at the Snohomish County PUD in Everett.
More than 40 specialty vendors will be at the fair, which will also feature speakers, documentary movie screenings, and activities for kids focused on sustainable living and renewable energy.
Green Everett organizer Debbie Shue is particularly excited about the event’s keynote speaker, Paul Stamets, an Olympia-based mushroom expert.
Though Stamets’ longtime business, Fungi Perfecti, specializes in gourmet and medicinal mushrooms, Stamets is internationally known for his research using mushrooms to revive polluted ecosystems.
In his keynote speech at 1 p.m., “Solutions From Nature: How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World,” Stamets will discuss strategies to “help steer ecosystems and humanity to a healthier future.”
Stamets’ research has shown that mushrooms and their underground mycelium can break down toxic wastes found in contaminated soils, including petroleum-based products such as diesel and dioxins.
In 2008, Stamets was named one of the 50 visionaries of the year by Utne Reader.
His mushroom talk was a huge hit at the Green Festival in Seattle earlier this year, Shue said.
“Everyone was saying, ‘Did you go hear the mushroom man? He is awesome,’” she said. “I could not believe we were lucky enough to get him to come to our fair.”
Other local speakers will tackle topics such as community gardening, composting with worm bins, mushroom cultivation, alternative currencies, how to live more sustainably and the Transition Movement in Everett, which is part of a worldwide effort to address climate change and peak oil.
Green Everett and the Foundation for Sustainable Community organized this year’s fair, which will also be the departure point for the Snohomish County Solar Tour, featuring more than 15 residential and commercial properties using solar power in Snohomish County.
Exhibitors will include solar companies as well as The Green Car Company of Bellevue and Electric Bikes Northwest of Ballard, offering transportation options.
Attendees will also find groups such as Everett Tilth, which promotes backyard gardening and sustainable living, and the Snohomish County Mycological Society, a group of mushroom enthusiasts.
Green Everett organizer Marilyn Rosenberg, owner of Zippy’s Java Lounge in Everett, said the event will cater to families with activities for children, including recycled art projects, eco-themed movies, a dancing bear and juggling lessons.
Rosenberg said Stamets’ keynote speech, which will be followed by a signing of his latest book, “Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World,” will be one of the biggest draws of the event.
“We’re expecting close to 1,000 people this year,” she said, adding that the mushroom man’s hopeful message promises to inspire. “It’s just going to blow you away. Everyone is going to leave there going, ‘I just want to do something now.’”
Sarah Jackson: 425-339-3037, sjackson@heraldnet.com
Everett Renewable Living Fair
What: The Everett Renewable Living Fair, held in conjunction with the Snohomish County Solar Tour, will feature exhibits, booths, speakers and kids activities focused on renewable energy and living sustainably.
When: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. Keynote and mushroom expert Paul Stamets will speak at 1 p.m.
Where: Snohomish County PUD, 2320 California Ave., Everett.
Cost: Admission is a $5 suggested donation to Green Everett.
What to bring: Refreshments by Zippy’s Java Lounge and Sno-Isle Natural Foods Co-Op, both of Everett, will be for sale. Attendees are encouraged to bring their own cups and plates. Bring a standard incandescent light bulb and exchange it for a free compact fluorescent light or CFL from the PUD. Bring leftover garden seeds for a seed exchange from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Volunteers will also be accepting old cell phones and empty ink or laser cartridges for recycling.
Information: See www.green-everett.org or 425-258-4940.
Snohomish County Solar Tour
What: The free Snohomish County Solar Tour, which is part of the statewide Washington State Solar Tour, will feature more than 15 residential and commercial properties in Snohomish County. Most sites will feature on-site docents to describe the systems.
Where: Pick up a list of properties during the Everett Renewable Living Fair at the Snohomish County PUD, 2320 California Ave., Everett or see www.solarwashington.org for full details.
When: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday
Information: See www.solarwashington.org or call 425-783-1742.
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