MAIN STAGE
Ultralight kites take flight - inside
Indoor Kite Flying - Throughout the Day!
9 & 11 am, 4 & 5:15 pm Craig Wilson / Kite Aerial Photography
Madison's Craig Wilson is more than a kite flyer. He's been fabricating his airborne works of art for more than 25 years. Plus, when launching his large kites above many a local landscape he often adds a radio-controlled camera, and creates amazing aerial photographs. See his gallery at www.fromakite.com, or page through the sky-high images in his book, Hanging by a Thread.
As a force behind the late, lamented Kites on Ice (an annual fixture on Madison's lakes from 1999 to 2005), Wilson helped elevate the sport and art of kite flying across Wisconsin's wind-blessed prairies.
At Isthmus Green Day, Wilson demonstrates his indoor-flying prowess, capturing the pure power of air using specially made kites. These performances are meant to delight and surprise. Heads up!
Eat well, feel great, save money
Organic Eating on A Dime
9:30 am Lisa Kivirist / Renewing the Countryside
Join Lisa Kivirist as she shares practical tips and strategies for enjoying more sustainable, healthy foods at home or when traveling, while saving money and stewarding the environment.
Kivirist is a national speaker, innkeeper at the award-winning Inn Serendipity, marketing consultant and co-author of four books, including Rural Renaissance, ECOpreneuring and Edible Earth. Kivirist is a Distinguished Fellow with the Kellogg Food and Society Policy Program, and her work has been published by Mother Earth News, Hobby Farms and Hobby Farm Home. She's a regular contributor to projects for the nonprofit organization Renewing the Countryside.
Inn Serendipity - recognized as one of the "Top 10 Eco-Destinations in North America" - is completely powered by wind and sun. She shares her farm with her husband, John Ivanko, their son and millions of ladybugs. For more information, see www.ecopreneuring.biz, www.ruralrenaissance.org and www.innserendipity.com.
Why green is worth it
Environmental & Social Sustainability in Tough Times
11:30 am Dr. Sonya Newenhouse / Madison Environmental Group
Dr. Sonya Newenhouse gives an overview of sustainability and provide examples of how to save money and strengthen community by taking steps toward greener living. Newenhouse is president of Madison Environmental Group, a creative consulting firm that works to improve communities and the environment, and Community Car, which she founded in 2003 as Wisconsin's first car share organization. Madison Environmental Group (Booth #1006) received the Wisconsin Partnership for Clean Air Award in 2003, a Dane County Small Business Award in 2004, and in 2006 Madison Magazine voted it Most Meaningful Place to Work in Madison.
Newenhouse also founded founded WasteCap Wisconsin, a nonprofit that provides recycling assistance to businesses, and recently authored EnAct: Steps to Greener Living, and has worked as an environmental analyst at Wisconsin Power & Light. Newenhouse received her Ph.D. from the UW-Madison, and has a B.A. from Michigan State. She is on the board of Thrive, the Madison Community Foundation and Sustain Dane. She also chairs the Mayor's Solid Waste Advisory Committee.
In 2001 Newenhouse divorced her paid-off Honda Accord and now travels by bike, bus and carpool to reduce her output of CO2 emissions and save money. She lives part-time in Viroqua, Wis.
Find your opportunities
How to Start a Green Business in a Down Economy
1 pm Bryan Chan / SupraNet Communications
Bryan Chan discusses how to recognize opportunities for energy efficiency and sustainable business practices within the workplace, and various ways of approaching, managing, and financing a green-focused business. He includes a showcase of local investment in sustainable products and services.
Chan, a native of San Francisco, has lived in Madison for more than 20 years. He is the president and founder of SupraNet Communications, Inc. (Booth #901) and B2B Holdings.
In 2008 SupraNet was named one of the recipients of the Dane County Small Business Awards. Chan serves on several local nonprofit boards, including the United Way AVD CST Board, the AidMatrix Governor's Advisory Board and the High Tech Happy Hour Board of Directors. Chan is also the current board treasurer of Big Brother Big Sisters of Dane County, and a member of Downtown Rotary, Downtown Madison Inc., the Middleton Chamber of Commerce, and Dane Buy Local. In his spare time Chan enjoys cooking, gardening and travel. His personal goal is to someday visit all the U.S. National Parks.
For more information about Chan's initiatives, see www.supranet.net, and www.renewableinternet.net.
99% inspiration!
WKOW Living Green Challenge Winners
2:30 pm WKOW-TV and Carl Agnelly
TV newsman Carl Agnelly hosts this year's WKOW Living Green Challenge winners on the Main Stage at Isthmus Green Day. He'll be awarding some excellent prizes, courtesy of Olbrich Gardens, Sustain Dane, Fair Indigo, Live In Light Candles, and Speckled Hen Inn.
The Kid's Division winner is Brighin Kane-Grade for Reducing Garbage, a video exploring an idea for metering and taxing garbage. In the Young Adult Division, Jane Seika Lane created a multimedia presentation detailing her idea to increase biking to school, including a student survey, incentives to bike, and an assessment process.
The Adult Individual Division winner is Art Schmaltz, who sustainably harvests wild, edible plants in Dane County. Schmaltz also creates artwork out of recycled materials. In the Adult Group Division, Tory Miller, Traci Miller and Dianne Christensen highlighted Café Soleil's green initiatives, demonstrating the many ways their Pinckney Street restaurant has gone green, most of which can be implemented in home kitchens. The Family Division winners Tammy and Lu-Venus Markee-Mayas and Trystan Erickson are also Best of Show, for the sheer accessibility of their project which shows how they greened their home. The multimedia presentation is both educational and inspirational - and the ideas so easy, anyone can try them.
Isthmus staffers Michana Buchman and Joe Tarr assisted in the judging.
In addition to his regular green-centric gig on the news, Agnelly's Good to be Green blog on WKOW's website is focused on more than just good green living. Agnelly thoughtfully examines currents in 21st-century environmentalism, in search of a better understanding of what could possibly save the planet, versus which green trends are "utter baloney." Check it out at addins.wkowtv.com/blogs/downtoearth.
True colors
What Does It Mean To Be Green
3 pm Robin Pharo / Healthy Homes
Robin Pharo thinks the trouble with "green" is the many different opinions on what it is and isn't. For Pharo, the growing "going green" movement is about making choices based on whether products and services are earth-friendly, ethically produced, recyclable and energy-efficient. This session demystifies the "green" movement, and points to how different choices can lessen your impact on the environment.
Pharo holds a bachelor of science from the UW-Madison, and has experience working in organizations with an environmental focus, including the Department of Energy, Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the National Association of Home Builders.
Pharo is the founder and president of Healthy Homes, a building consultancy firm in Mount Horeb. She is also president of the Treysta Group, LLC, dedicated to green business development and certification. She serves as director of Green Built Home, a Wisconsin Environmental Initiative that supports voluntary programs for single and multi-family homes. For more information, see EasyBeingGreen.info.
Healthy you, healthy world
T'ai Chi Demonstrations
10:15 am & 2 pm Group Health Cooperative
Creating a Sustainable & Integrated Self-Care Program
4:30 pm Dr. Nancy Selfridge / Group Health Cooperative
Dr. Nancy Selfridge speaks about the impact of choice and behavior on health and longevity, and the economy and ecology of positive health practices. Some of the best behavioral choices for health also support a healthy environment, which in turn positively affects human health. This talk highlights the benefits of positive self care.
Selfridge, chief of Complementary Medicine for Group Health Cooperative of South Central Wisconsin, received her board certification in holistic medicine in October 2003. Complementary medicine focuses on prevention, and addresses underlying causes of disease rather than simply treating external symptoms. Selfridge teaches people to alter their responses to the stresses of daily life through self-care, a healthy diet and various manual and energy therapies. Her vision is to see a large base of primary care practitioners able to incorporate complementary medicine into their practices. She is working on writing a book, Freedom From Fibromyalgia.
GHC (Booth #701/800) also hosts two tai chi demonstrations at 10:15 a.m. and 2 p.m. on the Main Stage. For more information about Group Health Cooperative, see ghcscw.com.
TDS CUSTOM KITCHEN BOOTHS 611/710
Mmmm… something's cooking!
REAP (the Research, Education, Action and Policy on Food Group) hosts three demonstrations at a kitchen staged by TDS Custom Construction. Watch REAP's Buy Fresh Buy Local partner chefs show how to make the most of early spring ingredients. Buy Fresh Buy Local helps food buyers and farmers connect, and keeps consumers aware of how to find fresh local foods from our farming neighbors. Learn more about this and other REAP initiatives at reapfoodgroup.org.
REAP Cooking Demonstrations
Noon Chef Charles Lazzareschi / Dayton Street Grille
Executive Chef Charles Lazzareschi wields his knives at Dayton Street Grille in the Madison Concourse Hotel. A relatively recent (since 2006) addition to the Madison culinary scene, Lazzareschi has wasted no time making an impact, and was named Best Local Chef in 2008 by Madison Magazine. Lazzareschi inherited an interest in cooking early, spending time at his father's Italian restaurant in San Francisco. He studied at the California Culinary Academy. His 12-year career includes a stint as executive chef at the Embassy Suites in Denver.
2 pm Chef Tory Miller / L'Etoile
Executive Chef Tory Miller of L'Etoile presents a "Farmer's Market Basket" demonstration, with ingredients available this very week. Miller, who is also co-proprietor of L'Etoile, a perennial star in the Madison food galaxy, is passionate about delicious food, which he believes starts with sustainable and organic ingredients cultivated by Wisconsin farmers. Miller studied at the French Culinary Institute before working at several restaurants in New York City, and now shares his love of local foods with students at Sherman Middle School, Shabazz High School, and his guests at L'Etoile and Café Soleil.
4 pm Chefs David McKercher & Lisa Jacobson / Mermaid Café
Chefs Lisa Jacobson and David McKercher can't decide if they are gardeners who cook, or cooks who garden. Either way, they are committed to making local, fresh food as tasty and addictive as possible. They ply their delectables at the Mermaid Café, a breakfast-and-lunch spot with an inventive menu that colorfully combines the best ingredients with a vision of a sustainable future. At Isthmus Green Day, McKercher and Jacobson teach the fine art of the Banh Mi (bon mee), their vegetarian version ("Banh Meatless") of a popular French-influenced Vietnamese sandwich.
LAKESIDE COMMONS STAGE
Earth-friendly landscaping just steps away
Easy Ideas for Eco-Landscaping
10 am Jane Kuzma / Bur Oak Designs
Philosophically, one role of a beautiful landscape is to enhance the "greenness" of our planet. In her presentation, Easy Ideas for Eco-Landscaping, Jane Kuzma of Bur Oak Designs (Booth #515) shares ways to use natural resources more wisely, create healthy soil for vegetables and perennials, where to use native plants, how to harvest rainwater, and other ideas to conserve water.
'Yes I can be sustainable'
What CAN One Person Do
11:30 am Josie Pradella / Wisc Partners for SustainAbility
In her talk, Josie Pradella approaches a daunting mission with some earth-based perspective. After all, there are so many ways individuals, organizations and businesses can foster a healthy planet. Pradella, who helped found Dane Buy Local (danebuylocal.com), offers ideas on sustainability to inspire action from wherever you are right now. Pradella is the director of Wisconsin Partners for SustainAbility, and owner of TerraSource Gourmet Chocolates (Booth #900).
Take a deep breath, and stretch
Yoga 101: An Introduction
1 pm Manisha Bhargava / The Chakra House
Fight stress with yoga! Okay, that's oxymoronic, but in trying times, yoga offers a way to use your body's natural abilities to enhance endurance and concentration. Manisha Bhargava of the Chakra House (Booth #709) gets down to basics with Yoga 101. Bhargava describes everything that's good about being nice to your body, and lead the audience in a breathwork exercise, which you can do while seated.
Easing up on global warming
Alleviating Potential Climate Change
2 pm Alan Capelle / Upper Iowa University
Alan Capelle, director of Upper Iowa University's Madison campus (Booth #713), says global warming and potential climate change are the preeminent environmental challenges of 2009. Capelle's concern motivated him to expand the environmental coursework his college offers, in hopes of prepping students for a greener business future. In his Isthmus Green Day session, Capelle offers insight on the various game plans in play, all aimed at mitigating the climate changes likely to come our way.
How your grass can be greener
Native Plants for a Sustainable Landscape
3 pm Frank Hassler / Good Oak Ecological Services
Frank Hassler, of Good Oak Ecological Services (Booth #408), believes the environmental benefits of landscaping with native plants are substantial. Happily, there are economic benefits as well. Native plants can save you money. In his presentation, Hassler discusses the damage caused by traditional landscaping, what to expect when you introduce native plants to your yard, and tips for installing attractive plantings.
LAUNCHPAD MUSIC STAGE
'Music leads to cool things'
Isthmus Green Day is pleased to present four local bands hosted by Launchpad, an annual music competition for Wisconsin high school students who are in bands formed outside of traditional school ensembles. This year's state finals take place on June 20, at the Wisconsin Union Theater in Madison. For more information, see launchpadwisconsin.org.
Launchpad Live: Welcome to the Spotlight
2 pm Sleeping in the Stereo
Madison quintent Sleeping In The Stereo started playing together almost three years ago as a foursome, with Paul Arbaje and Henry Stoehr on guitar, Alex Leeds on bass, and Teddy Mathews on drums. Frankie Pobar Lay joined in late 2007 as lead vocalist, and helped round out their pure pop sound. "Recently we recorded a three-song demo with Pop Sensation Productions," says Leeds. One of the top three at the Launchpad regionals, Leeds says Sleeping In The Stereo is really looking forward to competing at the finals in June. Find out more at myspace.com/sleepinginthestereo.
3 pm Stereocolor
Original reggae pop is the sound that emanates from Stereocolor, the Middleton-based quartet featuring songwriter Sam Lyons on guitar and vocals. Lyons is in eighth grade, while his bandmates are freshmen at Middleton High School. Davis Van den brandt plays bass, Sam Wirth plays guitar, and Ryan Jansen mans the drum kit.
4 pm Blindub
"Our band came together about a year ago," says Bradley Giroux, vocalist and guitar player for Middleton-based Blindub. "Simple jams later turned to extensive jams, which turned out to be the basis for most of our songs." Giroux is joined by Craig Leitch on guitar and vocals, Patrick Berthiaume on bass and vocals, and Eren Tanyeri on drums. Blindub hopes to release a cd by September. Describing their sound as "a fusion of funk, rock, reggae, punk, blues, and some rap," Giroux cites the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Dave Matthews Band, and Jimi Hendrix as influences. Find out more at myspace.com/blindub.
5 pm Skepsis
"We have been playing together for about a year now," says Alex Ketner, guitarist for the Cottage Grove band Skepsis, which includes vocalist Erika Sorenson, drummer Emelly Miller, and bassist Dan Crawford. "Our sound is a combination of solid drumming and funky grooves," Ketner continues, influenced by "original rock gods" such as AC/DC and Led Zeppelin, noting that Sorenson's unique voice completes Skepsis' rhythmic combination of classic and new age rock. The band is currently writing and recording. Find out more at myspace.com/skepsismusic1.
