Three years ago, the Green Apple Festival was born in New York City to help celebrate Earth Day. The following year, the festival was held in New York and San Francisco and this year is was held in eight cities on April 20th, 2008.  

I was one of the official photographers for the Los Angeles event that was held on the Santa Monica Pier. With Taj Mahal headlining and Ziggy Marley, Juliette and the Licks, Escarla, The Hollywood School of Rock Allstars and a slew of environmental speakers and displays.

The weather cooperated with us, and the day was a great success. From a photographers point of view, the view wasn’t as open and spectacular as in Golden Gate Park, or as stunning as Washington DC, but the music and crowd made up for it.

Santa Monica is one of the “Greenest” cities in America.  They have banned plastic shopping bags and offer special parking for electric vehicles, and one of driving forces behind this is the Santa Monica city Council. The representative at the Green Apple Festival was Bobby Shriver, seen here backstage with Elle Mcpherson.

As the sun sets over the pacific, Taj brought the Los Angeles Green Apple Festival to a close.