It’s the last day of January and subsequently the last day of my January eco-challenge to adhere to the principles of The Compact.  Nothing new, other than food and medical necessities, for one month.

So how did I do?  Well, those of you that have been following me all month long know that I cheated.  Once.  A bought a book for a little girl’s birthday.  One of my readers emailed me to pat me on the back but also to suggest that I should have considered buying a used book for the gift.  That way I could have given the gift of a book without buying anything new.

And now that I’ve had some time to think about it, that is absolutely what I should have done (Thanks, Heather!)  My reasoning at the time was that this young lady doesn’t have much, so I wanted her to have a gift that was all new and all hers.  But to be completely honest, she would still have cherished the book, whether it was brand new or gently used.  And that’s what really counts.

So now that the month is over, you’d think I’d be itching to hit the stores, right? Wrong.  That, I would say, has been the biggest plus of this month of not spending.  It taught me to think differently about the things I need to buy and the things I could do without.  And just for the record, I really wasn’t prone to impulse purchases and unnecessary spending to begin with.  But after a month of doing without extra things, I know I could do without a lot longer.  And that’s such a big plus.

So I’ll skip the shopping trip tomorrow, and maybe even for the next few weeks.  Will I ever buy anything new again?  Certainly.  But not as often.  And not as eagerly.

And definitely not if it’s plastic.  (Check back tomorrow as I launch my Plastic-Free February eco-challenge.)

So here’s the deal.

A young girl that I know is having a a birthday this week.  Not a good enough reason, you say?  Normally, I would agree.  Handmade gifts.  Gift cards.  Repurposed gifts.  Any of these options would have made a perfectly acceptable birthday present for a young girl.

But this girl has been through a lot the past few years, including losing her dad in a car accident and moving in with her grandma (along with her two younger siblings) after custody was taken away from her mom.

She’s a great kid, but sometimes it’s hard to coach a smile out of her.  So I really wanted to make a big deal about her birthday.  And yes, I know that love and caring doesn’t come from a store.  I know that I could have knitted her a scarf or baked her some goodies and still stuck with my eco-challenge mission.

The fact is, I probably will do those things, but I also wanted her to have something else.  A book.  A fun book, that would be all hers.  One that would put a smile on her face and remind her that she is loved everytime she picked it up.

So that’s my big confession.  I bought a brand-spankin’ new book for a little girl who needs a little something special this week.

I’m curious to know what you all think.  Did I negate my January mission?  Or can I let this one lapse slide?

For starters, my four-year-old computer came down with a virus.  And not just any old virus, but I real whopper.  I couldn’t get on the internet.  I couldn’t open programs.  And I certainly couldn’t open my expensive anti-virus software program (yeah, the one that should have prevented this virus from sneaking by.)

As I mentioned, my computer is already old, so the temptation was really high to just give up before I started and head to the store for a new one.  The Compact crossed my mind.  But let’s face it, when your computer is your livelihood, a borrowed computer just isn’t gonna cut it.  And as I work every single day on my computer, posting goodies here and on my family blog over at MNN, I knew I couldn’t wait until this month’s Compact commitment was over.

But I did make a commitment, and I couldn’t just disregard that either.  So I rolled up my sleeves and dug in for a long haul of unwinding this virus from my computer.  After 6 hours of working on it on my own, I reached a point beyond my mediocre computer skills and headed to the home of a computer savvy friend to finish the job.  The result?  One whole workday was wasted, but my computer was saved, and it will (hopefully) continue to limp along with me for another few years.

Of course, no sooner did I get my computer humming again then I found out that our 6-month old television had gone kaput.  Seriously.  It was like an electronic uprising at my house!  But I can live without a TV a lot easier than I can live without my computer.  So I’m in no rush to beg, borrow, or steal a new boob tube.  I’m still trying to figure out whether or not it’s under warranty.  If it is, we’ll get it fixed.  If not, we won’t.  But we won’t replace it either. This new TV was a gift from family.  And while it was a welcome gift, it was never something that we couldn’t live without.  Instead, we just broke our 10-year-old 13 inch out of retirement and returned it to its place of honor in the living room.

So I’m 2 for 2 this week on my January challenge.  But I can’t help feeling that there might be something else right around the corner.  These things happen in threes, right?

I thought our first week of the The Compact would be a breeze.  I mean seriously, we have barely put away all of the stuff from Christmas yet, how could we possibly need anything new?  I almost felt guilty doing this eco-challenge in January.  HA!  I faced my first conflict on January 2nd!

That was when I headed out to the store to do my weekly grocery shop and found myself reaching for the Sunday paper.  Let me tell you a little something about myself: I LOVE the Sunday paper.  I love stretching out on the floor to catch up on the week’s news, gossip, and cultural events while sipping a cup of tea and nibbling on scones (of course, I’m a mom with two young kids, so it never actually happens like this, but I love the IDEA of this image nonetheless.)  I love the crossword puzzle.  I love handing my daughters the kids page.  I even like looking at the coupons (although for some reason they never seem to have coupons for organic, free-range chicken or 100% post-consumer waste toilet paper.)

Anyhow, what I’m trying to impress upon you is how much I love the Sunday paper.  But I don’t need it.  And since it doesn’t qualify as food or medicine, I realized I would have to give it up.  If I really wanted to catch up on the week’s news and events, I could always read the paper at the library (but not on Sunday, when the news is actually new.)  So with much dismay, I put the paper back and headed on with my shopping.  But it got me thinking.  I can give up the paper for a month.  That’s no problem.  But for a year (or longer) I’m honestly not so sure.  I would do it if I had to, but if I don’t have to, then isn’t it worth it to hold on to life’s simple pleasures?

My next conflict arose two days later when I realized that two birthdays were coming up in January and I would need to figure out a way to give my friends presents without buying anything new.  Actually, I had already purchased a gift for Friend A in December, when I was in Christmas ordering mode.  So even though the gift had not yet arrived, it had been bought and paid for in the month of December.  Was this cheating?  It sure felt like it.  But since is was too late to cancel the order, I decided that it would be silly not to give her the gift.  Still, it gave me a good idea of how much more challenging this challenge would be to maintain over time.

I am happy to report that I stuck to my eco-challenge guns for Friend B.  Instead of hitting the stores to buy a bag of stuff, I baked him a pie and gave him a gift card to a favorite local restaurant.  New stuff purchased = nada.  Hooray!

Overall, I think our first week of The Compact went well, even though it brought a surprising number of challenges. Any suggestion on how I could have done it better?

Let's Go Shopping? Not for my family! We're giving up stores (IRL and on the web) for January.

As I mentioned over the weekend, I am embarking on a new venture this year – a year of eco-challenges in which I try to live by the principles of various challenges (think plastic-free, vegetarian, 100-mile diet, etc) for a month.

I’m staying flexible on exactly which challenges I decide to try, because I want to get some feedback from you on what would be most useful to read about.  I do have a few ideas on the challenges I’d like to try.  The “Show Us Your (Plastic) Trash” challenge is one of them, so that’s on the lineup for February.

For this month, I’m going to try “The Compact.” For those of you that aren’t familiar, The Compact was initiated as a New Year’s resolution by a group of San Francisco Bay who pledged to buy nothing new for a year, with a few exceptions allowed for medicines, underwear, food, and certain other items, relying on borrowing, bartering, and secondhand purchases to meet their needs.

There are just 2 rules:

#1 Don’t buy new products of any kind (from stores, web sites, etc.)

#2 Borrow, barter, or buy used.

So that is my family’s challenge for January.  Nothing new.  Right now, in the afterglow of the holidays, the last thing I want to do is go out and buy anything new.  But I know that once we are all back in the full swing of work, school, extra-curriculars, birthdays, dinner parties, and other social events, it will be challenging to do without.  I’d love to hear your thoughts and ideas for making this challenge work  and even your criticisms if you think they are constructive.

I’ll check in in a couple of days and let you know how it’s going!

Photo: x-ray delta one/Flickr

Wal-Mart is about to change the way we go shopping.

As the world’s largest retailer, Wal-Mart has earned quite a reputation for their rock-bottom price tags (and the questionable strategies they use to attain those prices.)  But in the future, those price tags may also be accompanied by another label…a green label that gives consumers information about the product’s carbon footprint…the energy and water used to create it, and the pollution left in its wake.

Wal-Mart is apparently on a mission to determine the social and environmental impact of every item it puts on its shelves. And it has recruited scholars, suppliers, and environmental groups to help it create an electronic indexing system to do that.  Their goal is to create a universal rating system over the next 5 years that scores products based on how environmentally and socially sustainable they are.  And down the road they hope that other retailers will adopt their green labeling system as well.

“We have to change how we make and sell products.  We have to make consumption itself smarter and sustainable,” Michael T. Duke, Wal-Mart’s president and chief executive, told about 1,500 of the company’s suppliers and employees on Thursday at a “sustainability meeting.”

I know, I know, it seems a little scary that Wal-Mart may control the future of green labeling.  The potential for greenwashing is astronomical.  But so is the potential that something incredibly good could come out of this.  Let’s face it, nobody else is doing it…and as the mega-giant of world consumption, Wal-Mart is about the only company that could pull this off.

via the New York Times

Photo by

So how do you decide which products will really make a difference?  It turns out that you don’t need to buy green to go green after all.  In fact, the essence of going green is to simply use a little less…and that actually saves you money.  But that doesn’t mean you have to do without either.  Here are 5 great ways to go green, and do more, by using just a little less.

Energy: You don’t need solar panels to go green.  Simply adjust your thermostat by a few degrees “greener” and you could save big bucks and make a substantial difference when it comes to protecting the planet.   Aim for 78 degrees during the summer months and 68 degrees in the winter.

Water:

Do more with less water by multi-tasking.  Use the same water more than once while grooming, cleaning, washing dishes, and playing.  (eg, let your kids play in the sprinkler while you water the lawn.)

Beauty:

.

Fashion:

Driving: Want to get great fuel economy?  Don’t drive!

Take public transportation, walk, or bike whenever possible. When you do need the car, pair up with a friend or a colleague and share rides to work, school, and even the grocery store.   Even if you only do it once in a while, you will save money, decrease the wear and tear on your car, and reduce pollution.

This post is my entry for the

TROP50™ Be a Guest on The Juice contest running over at Blogher.

Photo by karenr

Samantha Harnack, Illinois' Green Parent

As a live long Illinoisan I know that Illinois is as diverse as the Midwest itself. Chicago offers some of the best farmers markets and green businesses around but for those of us who live down state it’s not so easy being green. I’m trying to combat that by giving resources that will help even the most southern counties go a darker shade of green. If I’m missing something that you know of please let me know.

Forums

Green Home and Garden Links, Alphabetized by City

• Davis Caves Construction, Inc. - Builders & developers of earth-sheltered homes since 1977…worldwide (Armington)

• Prairierth Farm - Certified organic grains, forages, vegetables, and meats in central Illinois (Atlanta)

• Rare Earth Diversified Services Inc. - Organic Compost (Barrington)

• Barco Products - Barco Products – Commercial Site Furnishings (Batavia)

• Karen platt books - suppliers of non-gmo seed in book form (Batavia)

  buy movies online download

• SoySafe Products, Inc. - All Natural Non-Toxic Cleaning Products (Batavia)

• G.A.I.M. Engineering, Inc.

   - Durable products, 100% industrial scrap, made in usa (Bensenville, Il.)

• GreenStarfish Inc - 100% Biodegradable dinnerware (Bloomington)

• By the Book Co. - Sustainable Living Sytem (Cabery)

•  – East Central Illinois largest upscale consignment shop. (Champaign and Bloomington, IL)

• Global Energy Designs of Illinois - Renewable Energy – PV, Wind, Hot Water, Hot Air (Cherry Valley)

• A Cooler Planet - An eco lifestyle store from morning to night. Organic mattresses, linens, baby, kids. (Chicago)

• Archimage Architects, Ltd. - Archimage Architects, Ltd. (Chicago)

• Attachment Parenting products from Natural Family Boutique - Attachment Parenting products from Natural Family Boutique (Chicago)

• Bean Products, Inc. - Organic Furniture, Yoga, Meditation, Home, Sustainable Manufacturer. (Chicago)

• Bower Natural Bedding - Organic mattress and bedding store (Chicago)

• Ecopia Painting, Llc - Eco-friendly painting and decorating (Chicago)

• FiltraPro - FiltraPro.com – #1 Home Water Purification Sales & Service: Countertop, Undercountertop water filter (Chicago)

• Global Organic Designs Lifestyle Services (GOD-DESS) - Live Better, Live More, Be More! Earth-Friendly Lifestyle Management (Chicago)

• Green Home Chicago - The Midwest’s preeminent destination for uncommonly beautiful, eco-friendly interior design products (Chicago)

• Green Market Fundraising

   - Green Market Fundraising helps students fundraise with eco-friendly products. (Chicago)

• Greener People - An online community focused on helping people live greener lives through making better choices. (Chicago)

• Greenmaker Supply Company - Eco-friendly building supplies. (Chicago)

• GreenWerks- Chicago’s Green Contractor - GreenWerks- Chicago’s Green Contractor (Chicago)

• Heavenfresh.com - Air and Water Purification systems (Chicago)

• InterfaceFLOR - Modular floor covering; recycled products. (Chicago)

• Jvon Services - Green Water Softner (Chicago)

• Organic-Composter.com - Compost Tumbler (CHICAGO)

• Printable Promotions - Printable Promotions – Eco-Friendly Promotional Products (Chicago)

• ReusableBags.com

   - High-quality, innovative reusable shopping bags and related accessories (Chicago)

• Rightsize Facility Performance - We are a nationwide provider of pre-owned, refurbished, new and used office furniture. (Chicago)

• Shades of Color Eco Painting for Chicago - Eco Painting and General Construction for Chicagoland Area (Chicago)

• The Greener Cleaner, Inc. - Wet cleaning for clothes. (Chicago)

• The Pollution Solution - Air and water purifiers, environmental consultation (Chicago)

• Wolbrink Architects Chartered - Green Design Build & Sustainable Architecture (Chicago)

• www.World-Shoppe.com - Fair trade gifts and home accents (Chicago)

• envirox LLC - Environmentally friendly non-toxic cleaner employs the power of hydrogen peroxide (Danville)

• My Green Genes - My Green Genes (Dowenrs Grove)

• Globallypure - Raw Milk for pick up – Chicago Western Suburbs (Downers Grove)

• Sun Ovens International - Global sun oven the ultimate solar appliance! bake, boil or steam food naturally with the sun (Elburn)

• Bill Kreitzer - Encapsulated Earthworm Cocoon (eggs) (Elliott)

• E. L. Foust Co., Inc. - Mfr of safe air purifiers and many safe products for home, office, & schools. (Elmhurst)

• Blissful Home, Inc. - Non-Toxic home-caring products formulated with pure essential oils for efficacy and aromatherapy (Evanston)

• Healthy Green Goods - Organic bedding and clothing; bamboo furniture; eco-friendly cleaners. (Evanston)

• Vitality Plus - Vitality Plus (Heyworth)

• Cleaning Green Maids - We Do Details! (Hinsdale)

• Deal Hippie - Green Living Products, Eco-Friendly Shops, Spa & Beauty, Organic Clothes, Natural Skincare, Yoga (Hoffman Estates)

• GreenSpirational Interiors - Eco-friendly, beautiful and responsible interiors (Joliet)

• Midwest Enterprises - Organic Fertilizer for all your growing needs (Lake in the Hills)

• Nature Maid HouseKeeping Service TM - Because We Care! (Lake Villa)

• Cleencups, LLC - The World’s First Anti-Bacterial Disposable Drinking Cups (Matteson)

• Good-Natured Landscapes LLC - Earth friendly landscape design specializing in native plants. (Naperville)

• Eco Achievers - Eco Achievers – enriching education for the sustainable living community (Oak Park)

• Pure Artisan - Artisan Gifts – Stylish and Eco-Friendly (Orland Park)

• Markay Homes Inc. - Building homes using environmentally-friendly materials. (Park Ridge)

• Montalbano Farms - Montalbano Farms grows premium, certified organic produce in the Chicago area (Plano)

• Greentone - Green Design….For your sustainable lifestyle. (Rockford)

• Green Products, LLC - 100% BioBased Cleaners and Degreasers (Romeoville)

• Good Steward Incorporated - Naturally Better (Saint Charles)

• MySolarStop.com - Your #1 source fo solar energy products.Solar landscape lights,solar fountains,solar charger,kites (Saint Charles)

• BioLawn - how green do you want to bee? natural lawn, tree, and landscape solutions (Sandwich)

• Tribal Life, Inc. - environmentally-friendly, vegan, fair-labor, high quality products (Savoy)

• Solarcone, Inc. - Environmentally Friendly Household Food Waste Disposal (Seward)

• New Leaf Interiors - Environmentally Conscious Commercial and Interior Design (Skokie)

• Plus Natural Solutions Worldwide, Inc. - Insect Elimination Naturally (Skokie)

• Solay Wellness Inc./ Natural -Salt- Lamps.com - Solay Health and Wellness Products (Skokie)

•  – Whole foods, rganic produce, vitamins, supplements and natural body care products as well as an in-house bakery, coffee bar, cafe and catering services.

• Conscious Balance - Solar and Eco-Friendly Products for every-day living (Wheaton)

• Summer Hill Seeds

   - Summer Hill Seeds – Rare Flower Seeds For Your Garden (Whittington)

• Earth Friendly Products - NOP Certified Organic Essential Oils; cleaning supplies; personal care. (Winnetka)

• W&M Land Corp Organic Nursery and Market Garden - Certified organic seedlings, fresh picked vegetables, fruits and herbs (Woodstock)

Farmers’ Markets

Illinois Farmers Markets can be found at: 

and for anyone in the country, find your local farmers and artisans markets. Go to

 and search with your zip code or by product.

Green Events

May 16-17, 2009
Saturday – 10am – 7pm
Sunday – 11am – 6pm

Navy Pier

600 E Grand Avenue, Chicago

sign up for daily “bites” of general green info or opt for the Chicago “Chibite” for those in Chicagoland.

As a single gal and a park ranger, I had never really thought much before about plastic.  I’m sure I used the occassional plastic cup and I know I carried a plastic water bottle in my hiking gear.  But plastic wasn’t really on my radar one way or another as an issue.

But then came the baby gear.  It seemed that absolutely everything I would need to care for my new baby had to be made from plastic.  Bottles, sippy cups, pacifiers, diapers, car seats, changing table, diaper pail, baby bath tub, toys, strollers,  high chair…all plastic.  And that’s not to mention the various and sundry products that this baby would require: baby bath, baby lotion, diaper cream…all came in plastic bottles.

It suddenly seemed like my world was about to get very plastic, and I did not like it one bit.  But over the years, I have found lots of alternatives to these plastic “necessities.” When it comes to car seats and bathtubs…you’re pretty much stuck with plastic.  But for everything else, you now have a choice.  The explosion in the green marketplace means that you can find tons of baby toys and clothing made from organic cotton and other eco-savvy materials.  High chairs, bassinets, and cribs can be found in sustainably harvested woods.  And the best part is that many of these greener alternatives are now even available in traditional big-box baby stores.  

For other items, like baby bottles, pacifiers, and diapers, you may have to do a bit more digging, but the plastic-free alternatives are there.  Here is the list that I have compiled thus far of plastic-free baby gear.  Please feel free to add and comment to this list as you see fit.  

Baby Bottles

Evenflo: Glass baby bottles.  Evenflo bottles come with either latex (natural rubber) or silicone (plastic) nipples

Born Free: Glass bottles (can also be purchased with silicone sleeve to prevent heat transfer and breakage.) Only silicone nipples.

Sippy Cups

The Safe Sippy: Stainless steel drinking cup (with plastic handle and spout)

Klean Kantene: Stainless steel drink bottle

Sigg: Cute aluminum drink bottles with fun designs for kids

Changing Pads

Organic Wool Changing Pad: from Green Mountain Diapers

Pacifiers

Natursutten: Natural rubber pacifier 

Teethers

Bumble Bee Ring: Organic cottong cloth teething ring

Teething Veggies: Organic cotton “veggies” come in their own crate.

Camden Rose Maple Teether: Crafted from maple wood and finished with beeswax

Tableware

Bambu Mini Me Bowls: Made from 100% organically grown bamboo

Stainless Steel Tableware: Mug, plate, and cereal bowl lined with stainless steel (outer layer is plastic)

Diapers

Disposable diapers all contain plastic in their outer shell and in thier linings.  And many reusable cloth diapers also contain plastic in their fleece linings or covers.  If you want to go truly plastic-free, look for organic cotton diapers like those from Under the Nile or KushTush Organics.  

You may have also heard of the line of bidegradable eco-diapers called gDiapers that are supposedly “plastic-free.” This may or may not be the case.  For now, I can just say that smarter minds than mine are getting to the bottom of this and I promise to report back on their results.

This post is part of the Green Moms Carnival.  This month’s carnival is all about plastic and will be hosted by the one and only plastic-free guru, Beth Terry, of Fake Plastic Fish

.  Check out her site on Tues, April 14th for a slew of plastic related posts!

Photo by sean dreilinger      

 

Teri White-Griffin, Indiana's Green Parent

Teri White-Griffin, is a recovery marketing manager. Brainwashed and beaten by the biggest of big boxes, Teri decided to shift her traumatized talents toward a new green attitude.  As Teri’s inner consumer psyche started to heal she heard old fashion advice from a fun loving character named Sage McGreen. Admit it we all hear snarky voices in our head while navigating the new green age of information. Teri’s blended family of 6 children, and 3 grandchildren benefit from a healthy new approach to a sustainable lifestyle.

The Sage McGreen Blog has links to all Teri’s online endeavors and participating forums. Always remember the Sage McGreen motto, “Happiness is a recycled something.” 

Looking for some Hoosier hospitality for your green family? 

Indiana can offer hospitality and more! Known as Mithtohseenionki (the people’s place) by theMyaamia (Miami) tribe, Indiana is the crossroads of America. Believe it or not, there were actually two chiefs of war in native tribal communities.  Beside the male chief there was a female chief.  Her tribal responsibilities included:  tribal supplies, food preparation, large ceremonies, and the behavior within tribe. The region became the 19th state in 1816 with the capital, Indianapolis, planted in the center of the state. Now known as the “Circle City” the city’s circular design around a towering Civil War Monument offers all the amenities for a terrific family adventure. Indiana’s rich tapestry of history and marvelous landscape can re-kindle your passion for life and reset your priorities. Why not explore Indiana?

Here’s what Indiana has to offer:

Healthy Food:

Indiana Organic Food

The Indiana Organic Consumer Association lists 35 fantastic off the beaten path resources to find healthy food for your green family.

Fresh Market

5415 N. College Ave. Indianapolis, IN, 317.259.9270

2490 East 146th Street Carmel, IN, 317.815.1970 

Whole Foods

1300 E. 86th St.
Indianapolis, IN 46240 USA
Phone 317.706.0900 

Whole Foods

14598 Clay Terrace Blvd.
Carmel, IN 46032 USA
Phone 317.569.1517 

Indiana Local Harvest – Farmers Market

65 Pages of real food, real farmers, and real community listings for Indiana

Healthy Eateries:

Yats Cajun Creole Crazy
8352 E. 96th St
Indianapolis, IN

3 Sisters Cafe
6360 N. Guilford Ave.  (Main St.)
Indianapolis, IN 46220

Bazbeaux Pizza
334 Massachusetts Ave
Indianapolis, IN 46204
(317) 636-7662

Eagle’s Nest at the Hyatt
One South Capital Ave.
Indianapolis IN  46204
317 632 1234

Travel and Tourism:

Indiana State Park Inns

Abe Martin Lodge
Located at: Brown County State Park

Canyon Inn
Located at: McCormick’s Creek State Park

Clifty Inn
Located at: Clifty Falls State Park

Potawatomi Inn
Located at: Pokagon State Park

Spring Mill Inn
Located at: Spring Mill State Park

Turkey Run Inn
Located at: Turkey Run State Park

The Fort Golf Resort
Located at: Fort Harrison State Park

Museums

Children’s Museum of  Indianapolis
3000 N. Meridian St.
Indianapolis, IN 46208-4716
317-334-3322

Eitlejorg Museum
500 West Washington St.
Indianapolis, IN 46204
Phone: (317) 636-WEST (9378)

Indiana State Museum
650 W. Washington
Indianapolis, IN 46204
317.232.1637

Conner Prairie
13400 Allisonville Road 
Fishers, IN  46038
317.776.6006
800.966.1836
 

Zoo

Indianapolis Zoo and White River Gardens
1200 W. Washington St.
Indianapolis, IN 46222
INFOLINE – (317) 630-2001

Events:

Full List of Indiana Events and Festivals

Indianapolis is known for racing. I didn’t include any of the racing events because of the impact to the environment. However, racing events are listed in the above link. The races are entirely sponsored by huge corporations that don’t care about their carbon footprint. The street vendors are never craftsman, they just sell junk. If we don’t go, they’ll stop doing it.

New Haven Canal Days
New Haven, Indiana 
June 2-6

Visit Madison 
Madison in Bloom Spring Garden Tour
May 9-10 & 16-17

Bicentennial Street Fair
June 12

Madison Regatta
July 3-5

The boat racing isn’t earth friendly, but you can learn the history of the river and income needy folk artists participate.

Indiana State Fair
1202 E 38th St
Indianapolis, IN 46205
(317) 927-7500

August 7-23, 2009