Jaya Lakshmi And Coconut Bliss at SF Green Fest Parties 2009

[An update from Jaya Lakshmi, Director of Events and Public Relations...]

Last weekend, we had a blast sponsoring the two Green Festival after parties in San Francisco. I flew down for the weekend from Eugene, OR with Jenya (very cheap flights on Alleigant Air!)

We attended Common Ground Magazine's 35th Anniversary party at 1015 Folsom St. We had a table there along with the other sponsors; we gave out samples and sold bars. Shanna, our Bay Area "Bliss Op" came in with the freezer and other supplies (amazing  how she handles that freezer!).

It was a rockin' party, split into three rooms - my favorite of course was the cozy 'Kirtan' room downstairs, where I performed a kirtan set, and got to sing along with Mukti (thanks to Shanna & Jenya covering the table). Delhi 2 Dublin played on the main stage, and we also experienced some other great bands and fantastic entertainment by El Cirque. We didn't leave the venue until 4 am!

On Saturday night, November 14th, we sponsored the Hamsa Lila party at the Regency Ballroom, along with Earthdance, Lydia's Lovin' Foods, Nutiva, Alter Eco and other vendors. This was actually a benefit for Common Vision. Our spot was in the lobby, and wow, what a scene it was all night long!

It was quite a tribal family gathering - there must have been at least 800 people there. I recognized folks from all eras of the rainbow trail: super fun to serve out Coconut Bliss, constantly, for 8 hours, and at the end we gave the rest of our bars away. It was surreal to see everyone in the whole lobby licking their Coconut Bliss bars! (Hey, special thanks to those who helped us carry the freezer up & down all those stairs!) Hamsa Lila had an incredible re-union show, stronger than ever. 

We'll definitely be back next year, possibly in the Festival as well, to participate in one of the most incredible celebrations of our green economy and neo-tribal culture that happens on the planet...right here on our expansive, frontier west coast where dreams come true!

If any of you out there have links to pictures from any of these events, feel free to leave them in the comments! 

Thank You For Giving US a Night Of Bliss

We were incredibly honored and excited as we greeted friends -- old and new -- at our 2009 A Night of Bliss Benefit, on Saturday, Nov. 7th, at the Eugene Waldorf School.

We opened our doors at 5pm, with people already waiting. We had hoped to give away 24 gallons of Coconut Bliss--we actually had to run back to our office freezers to get more. When all was said and done, we pulled out another 6+ cases! And on a cold, rainy night in Eugene, over 450 people came out to donate their money and time...and eat our endless Coconut Bliss sundaes.

And amazing sundaes they were, in large part due to the sweet, gooey (and organic) toppings! Local natural food companies generously donated their time and their product: organic nuts and goji berries, raw granola toppings from Hummingbird Wholesale, sweet berry sauces from Sweet Creek Foods, luscious hot fudge sauce from PremRose Edibles, granola toppings from Grizzly Brand Granola, carmel sauce from Missionary Chocolates, fruit sauces from Lost Valley Educational Center, and a wonderful hot chai from Mountain Rose Herbs. On the savory end of things, Cousin Jack's Pasty Company (541-686-3211‎) offered locally sourced and freshly prepared pasties.

For entertainment, Jaya Lashimi and friends performed 2 one hour-long sets of kirtan & celtic-inspired music, with female vocalist Wind Song jumping on stage for a final song. And the South Eugene High School Drama Department gave a performance as well.

In addition, we gave away ice cream bowls (exclusively made for this event by local potter Amy Palatnik) to anyone during the evening who offered to appear on camera talking about Coconut Bliss. Amy's work is well known locally, and we're appreciative of her generous artistic contribution to A Night of Bliss.

All proceeds will be donated to four groups who focus on education and sustainability in our community. The beneficiaries of our 2009 event are

• Eugene Waldorf School (who generously allowed us to use their Great Hall),
• Lost Valley Educational Center
• Huerto De Familia
• South Eugene High School Drama Department

Over $2500 was raised -- it will be divided evenly amongst these 4 groups. In addition to the monetary donation (and our donation of Coconut Bliss), we gave our beneficiaries table space to share and explain to others what their groups do.

But we also wanted this event to be more than just "local", and it was. As the night began, Larry reminded us that-- across North America-- many others' "Night of Bliss" parties were already well underway, happening in synchrony with our event. Earlier last month, we awarded 50 Coconut Bliss tasting-parties ("Bliss boxes") to people who sent us their very personal expressions of how Coconut Bliss makes them feel. The winners of our Night of Bliss are listed here:

• poetry and prose entries
• graphical media entries

So, if you participated and 'played' along, how was your "Night of Bliss" experience?

If you have pictures, videos or commentary, leave us a comment on this blog entry. And if you have a Flickr photo account, please join our Coconut Bliss Lover's photo pool to have your photos feed into our pool of Coconut Bliss-related pictures.

We're already looking forward to next year. Thanks for helping us make this vision become a sweet reality and grand success.

PS: Here's our first video from a national winner's "Night of Bliss" tasting party. And here's a blog post of another winner's event.

~Vince