A Fair To Remember! The OC Sustainable Living Fair

- By Joclyn Rabbitt-Sire, Co-Chair Sustainable Living Committee and Tristan Miller, OC Chapter Vice Chair

Savory vegan food, up-close browsing, activities for kids, engaging talks, soulful live rock and folk music - on a cool Saturday in May, all combined to make the 2022 OC Sustainable Living Fair an in-person triumph for Orange County. The event was originally conceived and founded in 2018 by Citizens Climate Lobby member Dennis Arp and Reform and Sustain co-founder Ariane Jong as a way to educate Orange County residents on ways they could lower their carbon footprint. Since then, the two leaders have managed to provide both online and in-person events presiding over a $0 budget but ample people-power!

According to Jong, this year’s fair "brought together residents from across Southern California to learn about and celebrate sustainable living. From a fantastic program of talks and panels to sustainable product vendors to composting and vegan cooking demonstrations, the fair was filled with fun things to see and do; our hope is that it inspired our community to explore a shared vision of a sustainable future in Orange County and beyond!"
After having to go virtual for two pandemic years, this was a victorious return to face-to-face action, jointly organized and executed in collaboration among four nonprofit organizations: Citizens Climate Lobby Tri-County Chapter, Reform & Sustain, Climate Reality Orange County, and the Brea Congregational Church, which hosted the event.

Our Local Girl Scouts Led the Painting Booth & Taught Fair-Goers About Sustainability! Bravo!!

***Girl Scouts Visiting Booths As Part Of The Fair Scavenger Hunt!***

The 100+ year-old church campus provided a most welcoming backdrop, with verdant, shady patios and play areas, and cool, oak-paneled halls throughout the venerable parish building. One of these rooms featured a collaborative art project conceived by artist Kapil Amin, entitled “Tree for Change.” Fairgoers were invited to design and affix their own paper leaf or flower with a drawing or phrase demonstrating their own vision for a healthy future. The piece represents the collective nature of the event itself, which invited every visitor to become an active participant in solutions to environmental problems.
Outdoors, the friendly buzz of visitors exploring the 23 vendor and nonprofit booths continued throughout the day. Fairgoers browsed eco-friendly products, got familiar with solar and electric solutions for their homes, learned how to compost their kitchen scraps, and chatted with representatives of various volunteer organizations. Mingling among the crowd were two special guests and speakers: Miss Placentia 2022 (Ashley Nelson) and Miss Placentia's Outstanding Teen 2022 (Hailey Whitehurst). These accomplished young women share a passion for the environment and use their platforms to advocate for the planet.

**Reform and Sustain Members having fun making colorful seed bombs at the Fair**

**Our Eco-Future Panelist Share How Youth Can Make Their Voices Heard**

The fragrant aromas of fresh vegan comfort food drew visitors toward the back parking lot and the Original Herbivore food truck. Patrons could relax and gormandize at nearby folding tables and chairs. Children’s voices and laughter lilted gently through the open windows, as they painted pictures of the earth with the Girl Scouts, played on the preschool playground, and had their faces painted with brightly colored animals. Fortunately, none of the outdoor activity disturbed the engaging talks and panel discussions rotating through the main hall.

There, fairgoers took seats to listen and ask their own questions during speaker program sessions on diverse topics all linked to sustainability. Climate Reality Project OC Vice Chair Tristan Miller assembled the slate of 22 leaders in such fields as outdoor recreation, city government, art, ecology, activism, and upcycled clothing.

Dennis Arp, CCL’s Chapter Leader of the SoCal Tri-Counties Chapter, summarized the program this way: "A day that began with a Native American blessing and Girl Scouts leading us in the Pledge of Allegiance ended with a moving and inclusive presentation by young climate advocate William Morris. In between, remarkable talents, insights and experiences were shared across the broad landscape of sustainable practices, showing that this growing community of changemakers is much larger than the sum of its parts. Now our mission is to keep the learning and advocacy going so we realize the fair's hopeful vision of a future that can sustain us all."

Whether through tasting pizza from the vegan cooking demonstration or hearing some surprising fact, that day may have inspired the start of a visitor’s journey into sustainable living. Alternatively, perhaps the conviction of one of the many speakers enlivened another attendee to get involved in volunteer work or to speak to their city council. Or perhaps a child came away asking her parents if they could start a compost bin at home. Still another may have left the “Youth Voices” panel with a plan to recruit friends into their highschool environmental club. If anything akin to these scenarios played out after the 2022 OC Sustainable Living Fair, its purpose was realized. Such was the goal of this fun, family-friendly event that celebrated our collective power to make a positive impact through our everyday lives.