Fun at the Fair

Earlier today I stopped by the 4th Annual Green Lifestyle Fair in Westbrook. The hall was abuzz with hundreds of visitors including the young and old and all ages in between. There were over 60 exhibitors of everything from green building and energy efficiency products to agricultural and local products showcases, and representatives from many area advocacy groups, plus a book fair, raffles, and other fun stuff.

A couple of the exhibitors were from Middletown. One of these was Middletown Monitor / Solatube with information about heaters, tankless (on demand) hot water heaters, skylights and solar attic fans. Also from Middletown, Consulting Engineering Services (CES) for the past 15 years has provided Sustainable Design services to public and private sector clients throughout Connecticut, including involvement in the Clark Residence Hall at Wesleyan.

My favorite discoveries were:

CT Farm Fresh Express -

"Delivers farm fresh goodness to your door!
We believe in eating local. We believe in supporting our CT Farmers and small business in general. We are, after all, a small business ourselves. We deliver locally grown, mostly organic, fresh vegetables, fruit, dairy products, meat, baked goods, CT maple syrup and local honey, directly from local farms and producers right to your door."

I say, why pick one or two farm stands to visit when you can shop dozens of them right from your home. In addition to the usual farm store bounty, the wonderfully descriptive website of CT Farm Fresh Express might just introduce you to some things you won't find elsewhere, such as such as sorrel, shiso, chervil, celeriac, sunshine squash, buckwheat shoots, and claytonia lettuce, and all of it grown right here in Connecticut.

Common Good Market

"Dedicated to offering an outstanding selection of high quality products for the home made by New England artisans and craftspeople. We believe that buying locally produced products whenever possible can help us all by creating a more environmentally and economically sustainable future for our region. We know you want to buy locally and we are confident that you will value the exceptional quality and 100% guarantee that comes with every item we sell."

The ReCONNstruction Center

A materials clearinghouse, the center converts donated and salvaged items into charitable dollars. It was created in order to reduce the waste of natural resources through re-use of building materials. The center sells the materials at affordable prices allowing them to be a community resource and to help owners and landlords maintain affordable housing stock, reduce landfill waste, and generate revenues which are used to support other non profit organizations like Habitat for Humanity, Susan G. Komen Cancer Foundation, and the New Britain Chapter of Rebuilding Together. Individuals can donate unwanted building materials, or shop for new, used, antique, and surplus building materials in the 6,500 square-foot showroom and warehouse in New Britain.

Thanks to the Shoreline League of Democratic Women for presenting this fun and educational fair!