Revel with a cause: Eco festival in Santa Monica on Saturday

A friend asked me if I was going to the National Train Day festivities at Union Station on Saturday, and I rather grumpily said no. What's the point, when I never get to take rail? One day, when the Subway to the Sea finally gets built out to Santa Monica, THEN I'll celebrate trains.

For Santa Monica residents and others feeling similarly left out by our rail-less-ness on the Westside, there's an eco-ish festival for us on Saturday too! Take the bus or bike over to the "Revel with a Cause" Santa Monica Festival to see and hear world music and dance on solar powered stages, participate in art workshops using pre-loved materials, shop from eco-friendly vendors, and sample international cuisine served with biodegradable foodware.

When: Saturday, May 10, 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Where: Clover Park, 2600 Ocean Park Blvd., Santa Monica
Cost: Free!

The recycled art workshops sound like they'll be the most fun:

• re:Fashion Workshop: Turn newspapers into wearable fashions, then model it on the re:Fashion Catwalk.
• Scratch Art & Spin Art: Learn to DJ with Scratch Academy -- then turn vintage vinyl into art.
• The Nutty Recycler's Amazing Trash Puppetry Factory: Turn trash into puppets!
• People, Cats, Dogs and Whatever Else: Turn old materials from past Santa Monica Museum of Art programs into a collage about you and your pet.

If you don't want to commit to an entire workshop, you can browse the Eco Zone -- booths with eco orgs and vendors eager to help you reduce your carbon footprint. You can also bring old cellphones and other small electronics to drop off for reuse and recycling.

Throughout the day, there'll be performances from a diverse group of musical acts, from L.A.-based 1960s Cambodian pop band Dengue Fever to Romanian folk music group Fishtank Ensemble.

Cyclists will be able to valet park their bikes; bus riders can hop on the Big Blue Bus #8 to be dropped off right at Clover Park. But if you really enjoy fighting traffic and scrambling for a parking spot, take advantage of the free (but never hassle-free) parking.

The urban Motorboarder's backup: Bus + fare card

L.A. girl Kathryn Pope has a goal for 2008: To get rid of her car entirely by June! Follow her de-car-ing adventures.

Busing It. As I was making the decision to go car-free, I read "How to Live Well Without Owning a Car," by Chris Balish (great book). Balish suggests having several backup options for transport when switching to a car-free lifestyle, to be sure that commutes go smoothly, even when the unexpected happens. So, while my Motorboard is fun and makes me cooler than ever, I need other options for rainy days and long distances. My first backup is public transit.

I took my first bus ride because I was angry with my car, not because of my environmental goodness. After failed smog tests, maintenance tickets, and a chunk of metal that started to drag on the pavement as I drove, I was fed up. At the time, public transit seemed like a radical idea -- sheer craziness, in a city where cars are fashion statements. As I stuck my head under the car to inspect the errant chunk of whatever it was under there, I felt just crazy enough to try it. What if it turned out that I didn’t need this pile of metal to get me around at all? What would life be like?

The idea seemed like a great adventure. So I found the Big Blue Bus line 14, grabbed my quarters, and gave it a shot. It turns out that I arrived early for my appointment that day (no need to hunt for parking on Wilshire), and I arrived calmer than usual -- relaxed, actually. I’ve been a public transit convert ever since. I have to say that the bus is a sweet ride, compared with my no-frills car. Not only do I get to read, e-mail, and otherwise keep myself busy while I’m driven around by a professional driver -- I get to do it with climate control. I’ve also run into students and former students on the bus, made friends with strangers, and learned about the history of L.A. from an 88-year-old expert.

So what do you need to know, if you’re a bus novice eager to give it a try? A few ideas:

Use a TAP card and/or Little Blue Card. Fare cards save so much hassle in searching for the right change –- and, as I learned on my first ride, the driver won’t give change if you hand her a bill. The TAP card is still in its infancy, but if you buy one at certain locations in Culver City, you can put any dollar amount you want on your card and use it gift-card style on Culver City and Metro buses. The Big Blue Bus has a card of its own, the Little Blue Card, which you can buy online at the Big Blue Bus website.

Bring entertainment. Buses have to navigate traffic too, and they’re sometimes late or slow. Bring something fun or productive to pass the time, and you won’t find yourself tapping your foot impatiently and checking your watch.

Grab schedules to take with you. Public transit in L.A. is complicated when compared with other cities. It helps to know exactly which lines you’re taking and when the buses are scheduled to come. This will be even easier when we get Google transit in L.A. this summer. Until then, use metro.net’s trip planner and 1-800-COMMUTE.

Start with one short ride. For your first bus adventure, try taking a short ride on the bus that runs closest to your house, rather than starting with a commute to work or another important event. Even if you're not ready to think about de-car-ing just yet, a ride or two on the bus every so often can reduce your emissions, curb your gas-buying, and (although it may sound strange) give you a sense of community and warm fuzzies about the amazing people who live in L.A.

Photo by Kathryn Pope

A.M. Greenlist: Hilarities and adventures on the bus

>> The Bluest Big Blue Bus. Steven Leigh Morris overhears one memorable convo on the #3: "'What you go to jail for?' the driver asks. 'Attempted murder.' Three of the passengers who had been plugged into various listening devices now discreetly remove their headphones."

>> Big Blue Bus #10 triumphs over Metro 439. Will Campbell of la.metblogs races against Bustard of The Bus Bench, twittering and flickring along the way. The BBB made it from Santa Monica to Olive and 7th, downtown L.A., in just 40 minutes -- which again has me wondering why so many people on the westside decide to fight traffic and pay for parking by driving to downtown....

>> In case you missed it: Lots of fun Earth Day stuff's happening around town this weekend. Get dirty, have fun, and turn your kids into little environmentalists.

>> And if you take your camera to those events, share your photos on Your Scene, which has an Earth Day album all set up for you.

>> Conserve water by watering your lawns one day fewer a week, says the Metropolital Water District -- which plans to preach voluntary water conservation via a 13-week advertising campaign to drill that message in. (via LAist)

>> Which reminds me: Late last year, after seeing that voluntary water conservation efforts weren't working, Mayor Villaraigosa said something about instituting mandatory water restrictions. I guess he decided to stick with the voluntary thing....

>> How to really avoid watering your lawn: Go cactus shopping! Faboomama of la.metblogs visits the California Cactus Center and declares it heaven. "One of the first things I did as a homeowner was get some succulents. Not just because of my obsession, but also because of the water shortage thing. Oh and I’m lazy…I don’t like watering and can’t figure out the automatic timer. That works well with the succulents since they only need water about once a week, if that."

>> TIME magazine goes green, literally, swapping out its red border for a green one. My odd question about the cover story: Why does the URL read 2007? (via grist)

Big Blue Bus' 80th anniversary celebration

The above's actually a cake! Santa Monica's Big Blue Bus celebrated its 80th anniversary with music from Blue Notes and cake for all on the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica earlier today.

Perhaps due to the appeal of free cake, an impressive crowd -- including a couple Santa Monica council members and many city employees -- congregated at the celebratory event. Longtime BBB employees received commemorative plaques; one employee has been with the BBB for 40 years!

The big announcement at the event came from Geoff Wardle of the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, who said that the college will work with the BBB to help design new and improved buses. To that end, Wardle said a new blog will be launched to showcase the process as well as to solicit feedback from riders.

Attendees also got to watch an 8-minute film on the 80-year history of the Big Blue Bus, screened in a vintage "New Look" bus. Apparently these were the latest thing in public transportation back in 1959, though the one at the event was built in 1986.

Photos by Siel