Thank you to everyone who made Bright Green Day a success!
Nearly 1,000 people attended Bright Green Day, a celebration of the Earth and Sun, at San José City Hall on April 29! The zero-waste event included an array of activities including local food trucks featuring Treatbot, a karaoke ice cream truck, to MoGo, a popular Korean-style barbeque taco truck, to many other well-known catering trucks in the Bay Area. An electric vehicle display featured the latest vehicles on the market and a powerful, all-electric, all-highway-capable Vectrix motorcycle. Attendees took part in free environmental workshops from “How to Make Your Own Reusable Bag” to “Young Tree Pruning” to “How to Grow Your Own Green Business.” There was also live musical performances, eco-face painting, a community art canvas, tours of the Clean Energy Showcase, a 22-foot interactive Earth Balloon, and a reusable bag challenge. The event was funded by the Department of Energy/Solar America Communities Program and through generous donations from Nissan, SunPower, Silicon Valley Community Newspapers, World Centric, General Motors, Pacific Gas & Electric, SolarCity, Vectrix/Wattco and others.
See photos of the event!
Watch a video of the event!
Check out the Flash Mob by Our City Forest!
Find out how to have a Bright Green Day every day by visiting www.sanjoseca.gov/esd!
General Information
 Friday, April 29, 2011
11:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
San José City Hall Plaza – 200 E. Santa Clara Street, San José, CA
Bright Green Day is a one-day event held on April 29. The Showcase will feature an Efficiency and Solar Energy Fair on Saturday, April 30 for additional self-guided tours.
This free event is a partnership between the City of San José and Department of Energy's Solar America Communities program.
Share Bright Green Day! Download the flyer and share it with others.
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Tours & Workshops
 Clean Energy Showcase — 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Visit the country's first Clean Energy Showcase in the nation! Take a self-guided tour of the showcase and talk to various companies about new solar technologies for your home and business. Registration is not required.
Find out how you can get a free reusable bag by completing the Bright Green Day challenge at the Showcase!
Unable to attend? Check out other events at the Clean Energy Showcase:
- Efficiency and Solar Energy Fair – Saturday, April 30 from 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
View solar and wind technologies and electric vehicles; learn how solar energy helps you save money; and talk to company representatives to learn how you can go solar! For more information, visit the Clean Energy Showcase website.
- Guided tours – Through December 2011
Sign up for a weekday or weekend guided tour at the Clean Energy Showcase website.
 Tree Mobile — 12:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Learn about neighborhood trees on this 20 minute bus tour of Downtown San José with Our City Forest. Departing at 12:00 p.m., 2:00 p.m., 4:00 p.m., and 6:00 p.m. from Santa Clara Street between the 5th Street crosswalks.
Workshop Schedule
| |
Room W118 |
Room W119 |
Room W120 |
Outdoor Tent |
| 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. |
Get Back on Your Bike |
Solar for Homeowners |
Energy Efficiency |
Young Tree Pruning |
| 2:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. |
Make Your Own Reusable Bag |
Growing Your Green Business |
Home Composting |
Green Cleaning |
| 5:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. |
Get Back on Your Bike |
Solar for Homeowners |
Energy Efficiency |
Buying a Plug-In Car |
All workshops are free. Check in at the workshop sign up table in the Rotunda. Workshop attendance is first come, first serve.
 Workshop Titles and Descriptions
Get Back on Your Bike
How to use your bicycle for shopping, commuting, and fun. Adults ONLY.
Solar for Homeowners
Learn the fundamentals of solar including how to select a contractor, understand your quote, and how state and federal rebates and tax credits can offset costs.
Energy Efficiency
How to reduce energy and help with climate change by learning about how to monitor your energy use, home and office tips, rebates and incentives, and how to be an energy champion.
Make Your Own Reusable Bag
Learn how to turn a t-shirt into a reusable bag!
Growing Your Green Business
Come to this exciting panel of speakers to learn more about how to grow your green business including information about San José's Clean Tech Strategy, tax incentives, and micro-lending.
Home Composting
Receive an overview of composting and worm composting for home or office with ideas and resources for getting started.
Young Tree Pruning
Hands-on demonstration of pruning young trees. Participants will learn proper techniques to improve a tree's health and appearance.
Buying a Plug-In Car
Learn about the advantages and disadvantages of plug-in vehicles, plug-in hybrids versus battery electric cars, available tax credits, how to go about getting a charger installed in your home, and how to use your electric-powered vehicle to full advantage.
Green Cleaning
Learn about alternative cleaning solutions that you can make yourself to clean your house while keeping you, your family, and the environment healthy.
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Activities
Earth Balloon — 11:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Explore the Earth from a different perspective – through the interactive 22-foot Earth Balloon! Regularly a traveling school presentation, the Earth Balloon will be stopping at the San José City Hall Rotunda for Bright Green Day.
Art — 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
 Paint side-by-side with professional artists on the Clean Energy Community Canvas hosted by the Pacific Art Collective.
Electric Vehicle Display — 11:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Check out the new Chevy Volt, the Nissan Leaf, the all-electric Toyota Prius, and electric motorcycles from Vectrix.
Face Painting — 11:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Show your Bright Green Day spirit by painting your face!
Environmental Marketplace — 11:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.
- 511 Rideshare
- Acterra – Green @ Home Program
- Bay Area Air Quality Management District
- Energy Upgrade California
- Ennovationz
- Environmental Business Cluster
- General Motors
- Guadalupe River Park Conservancy
- Master Gardeners
- Nissan
- Opportunity Fund
- Our City Forest
- REC Solar
- San Jose Credit Union
- San José Prepared
- Santa Clara County Home Composting
- Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society
- Santa Clara Valley Beekeepers Guild
- Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority
- Santa Clara Valley Water District
- Save Our Trails
- Silicon Valley Bike Coalition
- Silicon Valley Energy Watch
- SolarCity
- SunPower
- SunWize Technologies
- Toyota
- Urban Solutions
- Vectrix/Wattco
- Veggielution
- World Centric
- Work2Future Green Cadre
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Music & Special Guests
Music
The Ings — 11:30 a.m. - 1:45 p.m.
Bringing you acoustic rock, pop, folk, and everything in between.
 Banana Slug String Band — 2:45 p.m. - 3:45 p.m.
Santa Cruz band that brings science and conservation to audiences using music, humor, and imagination.
Aivar — 4:50 p.m. - 5:40 p.m.
Bay Area band that blends rock, ska, pop, and funk music together to create a unique sound.
So Timeless — 6:10 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Bay Area music team with a R&B, Neo-Soul, Funk feel and plenty of passion and heart.
Special Guests
Danny the Dragon — 2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Danny is visiting from Happy Hollow Park & Zoo
Bag Monster — 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.
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 Food Trucks
Reasonably priced food (including vegetarian options) will be available on-site from 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
- Curry Up Now – Indian street food
- House of Siam – Thai food
- Kalbi BBQ – Korean fusion food
- Kara's Cupcakes – Gourmet cupcakes
- MoBowl – Chinese and California rice bowls
 MoGo - Korean-style BBQ- No Way Jose - Mexican
- The Louisiana Territory - New Orleans cajun
- The WoW Truck - Filipino rice dishes
- Treatbot – Karaoke and Ice Cream
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Get a Reusable Bag
 Take the Bright Green Day challenge to earn a reusable bag!
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Download and print the card or pick up a card at the Green Vision booth at the event.
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Visit nine event activities, workshops, or exhibitors to mark off the boxes on the card.
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Exchange your completed card at the Clean Energy Showcase for a reusable bag!
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Transportation
 Help green this event by taking public transit or riding your bike. Visit the VTA website for your public transit options.
Cycling? A free bike valet will park and watch your bike during the event.
Taking transit? Connect with the free DASH shuttle or visit the VTA website for other transit options.
Driving? Free parking is available at the Fourth Street Garage and Third Street Garage. Bring your ticket to the Green Vision booth inside the San José City Hall Rotunda for validation.
*Note that the east-bound lane on Santa Clara Street, between 4th and 5th Streets, will be closed during the event.
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 Zero Waste Event
San José's goal is to reach a diversion rate of 75 percent from the landfill by 2013 and zero waste by 2022. Zero waste events help to reach that goal and protect our health and environment.
Help make Bright Green Day a zero waste event by:
- Using the eco-stations located throughout the site for waste, compostables, and recyclables
- Bringing your own water bottle
- Riding your bike to the event and parking it at the bike valet for free!
- Taking public transit
- Carpooling with a friend
- Bringing your own bag
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Safety
For your safety, absolutely no pets (except for service animals), alcohol, weapons, or illegal substances will be permitted. Keep valuables with you at all times.
A first-aid kit will be available at the Information booth.
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ADA Amenities
To request an accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act, call 408-535-3500 at least 48 hours prior to the event. Spanish, Vietnamese, and Chinese-language services are available upon request. City of San José – committed to open and honest government.
Limited disabled-designated parking is available on Santa Clara Street and Fifth Street on a first-come, first serve basis. You must have a State issued placard to park in these spaces.
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Sponsors
Thanks to all of the event partners and sponsors for supporting Bright Green Day!
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Questions? Contact Amy Chan at amy.chan@sanjoseca.gov or 408-535-8140 |
