Official website: http://www.organicplanetfestival.org
Our mission is to share creative solutions to the world’s environmental challenges and to celebrate the beauty of the natural world.
We are committed to empowering our community by sharing organic food and environmentally friendly goods and services while featuring educational presentations and exhibits, uplifting music, and children’s activities in a festival atmosphere.
We strive to Inform, Entertain, and Inspire.
We envision:
…a world in which organic, non-toxic, and Earth-friendly products are the standard
…a world in which the practice of environmental stewardship is the norm
…a world in which the health of the planet’s ecosystems is protected for future generations.
We hope to see you there!
All the folks that would like to join us in our fourth annual festival to help CATs, Californians for Alternatives to Toxics and their fight to eliminate toxic chemicals and pesticides from our environment.
There are going to be many exciting features we have presented before and there will be new features and processes !!
We would really like to hear from people that want to help improve the festival next year. Your level of interest is simply yours and maybe we can accomplish a really fun task.
The fourth annual OPF will be Sunday, August 24th, 2008!
Prezident Brown-
Fitz Albert Cotterell was born in the green hills of Clarendon, Jamaica. As "Junior Ranking," a name his mother gave him, he would grab the mic and chant away at schoolyards and country dances. As a teenager, he was known as, "Slim Brown," a name given to him because of his strong resemblance to a dee-jay style of his long time idol, U Brown. Like a father, brother, and close personal friend, U Brown is a great inspiration to Prezident Brown.
The biggest and most formative influence for the Junior MC however, was producer and sound system operator, Jack Ruby, prominent in the Ocho Rios music scene at that time. Ruby saw something special in him. He took the fatherless Slim Brown under his wing, renamed him Prezident Brown and appointed him resident M.C. of his Hi-Power Sound System, travelling world wide.
After the sound system era changed following Jack Ruby's death in 1989, he began recording with Grove Music, who later founded Irie FM in Jamaica. After that, he recorded with Roof International, Courtney Cole's label. Eventually it was Barry O'Hare's label, X-Rated (now World of Music,) that provided a home base for Prezident Brown and helped launch his career in Europe.
X-Rated took off just as a massive roots revival swept across Jamaica, washing gun and slackness lyrics out of the dance halls, paving the way for conscious reggae music. Of course Prezident Brown was bound to rise in that kind of climate. He is a champion in the new roots and reality consciousness. He entertains, informs and inspires. His message is pure rasta conscious vibes.
By 1995, he flooded the market from all sides, he was freelancing without a break. He was bringing out boom-tunes on the X-Rated label, among others like Digital B, Black Scorpio, Mango and Star Trail. He recorded the song, "Blow Your Nose," with Everton Blender, (an artist, with whom, he has toured Africa and Europe.) Prezident Brown also recorded on Tony Rebel's Flames label. (It should be noted that his style is frequently liken to that of Rebel's.) Prezident was also featured in the song, "Black And Proud," on the Steel Pulse album Rage And Fury. He has recorded with numerous other reggae legends as well. Barry O'Hare's X-rated label produced two albums, Big Bad and Talented and Prezident Selections, (distributed on the Runn label.) After a third album, Original Blueprint, (produced by Digital B, now licensed by VP Records) he continued to release singles. His fourth album, To Jah Only, (on the highly regarded Ocho Rios label, Kariang,) was then produced. In 2001 he started working with Jahmani Productions. That summer a month long tour took Prezident Brown all over the US West coast and Southwest. Prezident Brown and the Orchestra of Judah, Unleash the Lion tour happened summer 2002. This nation-wide tour included 46 shows.
Reggae On The River and Sierra Nevada Music Festival were some of the his "highlights". Jahmani Productions (US) and Chet Records (Europe), along with Kariang and World of Music (JA) are working together in efforts to bring even more recognition to this talented artist worldwide and bring his musical blessing to the people. The albums, Prezident Brown Showcase, Vol. One & Two, are a product of this collaboration. Both of the showcases combined contain four CDs and 63 timeless tracks. Showcase Vol. Three executively produced by Jahmani Productions is another double cd set it has 28 tracks and contains a brand new compilation Prepare Ye The Way and a live album Prezident Brown Live Recorded at the Renagade festival at Mt Shasta from The Unleash The Lion Tour in 2002. Prezident Brown toured U.S. in September and Europe in October of 2003. The “Generation Next†album, produced by Chet Records and distributed by Sony Europe was released in 2003. Since then he has also released several singles. Currently Prezident Brown is working on a new album to be called “Journeyman†to be released in 2007 by Kariang, as well as Showcase Vol.4. He will be touring Europe in the summer of 2007. Prezident Brown's music speaks a universal language. All of his albums and singles will remain timelessly beautiful and his fourth album, To Jah Only, features one of the most spiritually devoted songs in reggae history, "To Jah Only." His music is echoed overseas and his talent is unequivocal. All of his albums are a must for anyone who loves reggae music.
Prezident Brown is an artist driven by a sense of mission and purpose which dictates that he "edutains" (heightens the consciousness of a people) as much as entertains. Prezident Brown is eminently qualified for the role in which he is seen as a vessel from which flows the healing effect of his musical staple...
Andrew Diamond
His debut album, Diamond in the Rough, is available at CDbaby.com. ...... The album mixes the sweetness of roots reggae with the toughness of machine driven dance hall. Andrew has included some of Jamaica..s great artists on the album including members of the Roots Radics', Burning Spear's and Damian Marley..s bands, and singers John Junior, Queen Ifrica, and Prezident Brown. ...... Songs include: Special Guest, a do-over of one of Andrew's favorite Gregory Isaacs tunes. Run Around, a song that he did as a combination with Prezident Brown. Real Love, a tune that just busted out; it was written in a matter of minutes from hearing the rhythm, it is also a combination with Ochi Rios singer John Junior. Other tracks on the album include: Naturally, a slow and relentless groove featuring Dwight Pinckney and Flabba Holt of the Roots Radics band, Last Chance, with the Solid Foundation Band on the Real Rock Riddim, and, You..re Mine, an Al Campbell do-over that features lush harmonies by Jah Lu from the group Foundation. ...... Andrew grew up surrounded by music in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, originally a drummer; he did a short tour with the Itals before starting the backing band Solid Foundation. Solid Foundation has since backed artists such as: Everton Blender, Richie Spice, Norris Man, Tony Rebel, Queen Ifirca, Foundation, the Ethiopians and Prezident Brown. Andrew moved to Kingston in 2004 where he lived and worked for two years before returning to the US to reside in Washington DC.
Wisdom
Wisdom’s unique blend of conscious lyrics with live hip-hop and reggae continues to gain attention nationwide. He won the category of “Best Hip Hop/Rap†in both the 2005 and 2006 North Bay Music Awards and was labeled “one of Nor Cal’s favorites†by Urb Magazine (Massv Global Getdown, Dec 2004). He also appeared in the 2006 documentary film “The Indigo Evolution†alongside philosophical greats Ram Dass and Don Miguel Ruiz sharing his views on the potential of gifted children to change the world. Chris Deckker, founder of Earthdance International Festival (www.earthdance.org), affirmed that Wisdom is “one of the most progressive and conscious bands to emerge from the hip-hop culture. Truly an electrifying performance!†Carol Bruno, lead producer of the legendary Reggae on the River festival (www.reggaeontheriver.com), agreed. She beamed: “Wisdom is conscious, lyrical, cutting edge hip-hop laced with reggae dancehall beats… Look out for these guys!â€
Tommy CastroARTIST OF THE YEAR:
Tommy Castro was voted Blues Artist of the Year 2006
by the readers of BluesWax, the largest subscribed blues
publication in the world. Castro took the honor with a record number of first place votes. In expressing his gratitide to all the blues fans that voted for him, Castro said, "I like these kinds of awards best because it is foks that support the music, the average Blues fan that is giving me the thumbs up. That makes me feel great! It's great when industry people recognize me, but when it comes down to it, it's the people who listen to the music that I have spent my life making that really matters. Thank you!"
Some of the musical guests that have performed in past years:
DAVID LINLEY
"David Lindley has been smashing musical barriers and fusing idioms from his earliest days. There’s a wonderful tale about the tie-breaking round in a mid-’60s Topanga Banjo Contest, with Taj Mahal and Lindley as the finalists. To determine the winner, the judges required them each to play a version of "John Henry." Taj Mahal threw down the gauntlet with a calypso-tinged rendition of the old banjo favorite. Lindley met the challenge head-on with an impassioned flamenco-on-the-five-string rave-up, replete with clawhammer rasgueados and old-timey falsetas." By Paul Kotapish
PAN DULCE - 30-piece steel drum calypso community band. These local favorites have recently released their first CD to much acclaim.
CLINTON FEARON AND THE BOOGIE BROWN BAND - Jamaican roots reggae and live dub. Fearon is a living legend of roots reggae, performing and recording with some of the biggest names in the genre since the late 60's.
RAINING JANE - Eclectic rock-folk, with hints of funk, hip-hop and world music. This all-woman band from L.A. features stunning three-part harmonies and occasional surprise instrumentation.
JOE CRAVEN QUARTET - Bluegrass, world music, jazz and beyond. Joe is a multi-instrumentalist extraordinaire who has performed and recorded with many of the biggest names in music, including Jerry Garcia and David Grisman.
APHRODESIA - Super Afro-beat. From Lagos, Nigeria to the San Francisco Bay Area, these Afro-beat explorers take Fela Kuti’s African jazz-funk into the 21st century.
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Allison Rogers spent her undergraduate years at Harvard digging through trash, greening her campus, and finding creative ways to interest her peers in environmental issues.
She was the Harvard Resource Efficiency Program Co-Captain, co-organizer for the 2004 Climate Campaign Conference, a delegate to the United Nations 13th session of the Commission on Sustainable Development and a National Wildlife Federation Campus Ecology Fellow.
After graduating from Harvard in 2004, Allison received a two year Harvard University Management Fellowship to work at the Harvard Green Campus Initiative, where she coordinated the Green Living Programs for Harvard College, Law School, and Business School. Desiring a way to reach out to new audiences, Allison decided to run for Miss Rhode Island with the platform “Go Green! Global Warming Awareness.†She gave a presentation on the issues of climate change based on training she received from former Vice President Al Gore.
On April 22, 2006 (Earth Day!), Allison was crowned Miss Rhode Island 2006. In January, Allison won the “Quality of Life†award in the 2007 Miss America Competition. She continues to promote global warming awareness as she pursues her M.Ed. at Harvard. Her focus is on environmental sustainability education and institutional change.
Chef Ann Cooper, who whips up the delicious healthy lunches enjoyed by school kids in Berekely, and is a national school nutrition expert.
Chef Ann will be at the festival to talk about "Organic School Lunch Programs." Author of several books, she consults on school districts' lunch programs nationwide, sits on the USDA National Organic Standards Board, and is the director of nutrition services for the Berkeley Unified School District.
Other heroes are people who care about the planet, like you!
For more about the Organic Planet Festival or to get involved, call 707-445-5100, e-mail [email protected], or visit:
http://www.organicplanetfestival.org