Eco-Fest in Venice Beach: Less Smelly than Usual

Here's an irony: the most green-conscious of all festivals set up on shop this weekend in the trashiest of Los Angeles beaches: Venice. Normally a cesspool riddled with litter and hippies who've been on a continuous acid trip for the last 30 years, Venice was transformed into a micro eco-city with cute white tents dotting the grass by Eco-Fest. Over 150 vendors set up shop; we spotted a couple of places where you could convert your car or Harley into a hydrogen-powered vehicle, and there was a place that offered electric bicycles -- tempting to our lazy ass, since we live on top of a very big, seemingly insurmountable hill.

There was more there there than at another festival held earlier in the month (the name escapes us for good reason); for that one, we showed up and realized all they had done was replicate the tacky booths already on the boardwalk and put them on the street, adding a stage where bad bands played bad music all day. We left faster than you could spin around three times. When we walked by, Eco-Fest’s stage (solar powered of course) had an act playing something bluesy and jammy, which was infinitely more pleasant; and of course, a multitude of vegan food offerings could be had at a price comparable to the bad-for-you food on the boardwalk. There were reusable bottles for sale nearly everywhere, and we even spotted a recycled frisbee for Fido. Eco-Fest, you can come back anytime; just take the hippies with you.

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