Six Things Tuesday: Eco Event

In just about six month’s time, OrganFam will be hosting Boo’s Bat Mitzvah. In keeping with our philosophy of sustainable/environmental/organic/local, we’ve begun to set things in motion for a fabulous event.

1. Our save-the-date cards were printed with vegetable and soy-based inks by eco-friendly printer, GreenerPrinter, on 100% post-consumer, recycled paper. Using wind power! How uber cool is that?

2. Our menu for the evening event will be entirely comprised of organic meat and produce, fairly traded teas, coffee and chocolate. We met with the (young, hot) chef of the hotel/restaurant and he is psyched to create a potentially signature and therefore marketable set of dishes for more events of this nature. He was a vegetarian for years and lives as organically as possible, so not only will this menu not be outside his paradigm, he considers it a professional challenge.

3. The flowers for the Bat Mitzvah will be grown in local hothouses, under organic conditions. We may augment the selection with companies like this one; despite the fact they’d be shipped across the country, they wouldn’t be coming from industrial farms on the other side of the globe.

4. Candles for the simcha (an event or moment associated with gladness, or joy. It comes from the root word “sameyach,” which means glad or happy in Hebrew) will be locally-produced organic beeswax.

5. Traditionally, a child wear a tallit (prayer shawl) for services. For Boo’s upcoming simcha. Bob (wearing his artist’s hat) is creating his daughter’s (organic linen/cotton) shawl using watercolor techniques, and a fabulous sewing machine to create intricate embroidery. You can actually BUY gorgeous and sumptuous ones (and spend an inordinate amount of money so doing), but Boo is really attached to her Dad creating hers.  For a peek, check these out..

6. Everything we serve – from the wine to the salad greens, will have an origin listing on the menu, so guests can note where certain things can be obtained. We’re interested in helping to help foster a better understanding of the relative ease of using such products. The teacher in me is interested in not prostelytizing, but providing information by reasonably covert example, not by bloody preaching.

Fortunately, none of these things are esoteric anymore; it’s all available and it’s incredibly exciting to create an event that so closely aligns with they way we like to live our lives. I am certain we’ll have some guests rolling their eyes at their perception of our mania; at the relative costs, at the extra effort, the dogma we exhibit. Whatever.

This event will be fantastic.