Michele StuevenEarth Day falls on Saturday, April 22 this year and what a year to celebrate this earth. It’ll be a sunny day in the highs in the 70s and perfect weather for some beach clean-up.
The Annual Earth Day Venice Beach Clean Up takes place from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. They provide all the necessary equipment like trash grabbers, gloves, bags and buckets. To help keep up the energy and motivation levels high throughout the day, the Ecological Servants Project and Earth Angel Sustainable Production Services will be offering tasty, eco-friendly food and drinks that are curated to align with the values of sustainability and eco-friendliness.
If you’d rather keep your shoes on, co-owner and Rustic Canyon Family Wine Director Kathryn Coker and team are inviting planet-friendly winemakers who practice regenerative farming in the vineyard for the Earth Day Regenerative Wine Fair on Saturday, April 22, 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. The walk-around tasting in the outdoor parklet will feature renowned sommelier, writer and winemaker Raj Parr behind Phelan Farm, Centralas owner, vintner and Organic Wine Podcast host Adam Huss and other winemakers, including Camins 2 Dreams’ Tara Gomez & Mireia Taribo, Hiyu Wine Farms’ Nate Ready, Donkey & Goat’s Tracey Rogers Brandt, Pray Tell’s Tom Caruso, Margins Wine’s Megan Bell, Nevio Scala’s Claudio Scala, Mersel Wine’s Eddie Chami and FRES.CO’s Jack Sporer. Wines will be available by the glass or bottle. Tickets are available for $40/per person via Resy.
Cheers to Earth Day at Esters (Jordana Hazel)
A portion of ticket sales will be donated to OOM (Our Only Mission – Earth) which is redefining climate action by creating a new reuse economy. The goal is to eliminate single-use packaging waste in everyday consumer goods, like wine bottles. They’re taking empty glass bottles from Esters to their facility for sterilization before delivering them to local wineries, such as Centralas, for reuse. To serve more restaurants and wine bars in Los Angeles, they need more trucks, so donations from this event will support that effort.
As part of Esters’ ongoing Guest Chef Series, James Beard Award-winning and critically-acclaimed Chef Tony Messina will be at the Surf Clam Pop-Up. Messina moved from Boston to L.A. a couple of years ago to open The Surf Clam, an east coast-inspired seafood concept. He’s taking over Esters for a night and cooking up a playful à la carte menu that blends Japanese and Chinese influences with New England cuisine using local seafood. Sommelier Randall Middleton is pairing wines. Reservations are highly recommended via Resy, but they welcome walk-ins at the bar.
And speaking of reuse, re_ is an LA-based, package-free grocery store designed to make it easier and more affordable to shop sustainably. The idea behind the concept was to do better than recycling and say no to plastic altogether.
re_ first opened its doors on Earth Day in 2020 in Highland Park and is now three stores strong as it approaches its third anniversary on Saturday. The other two locations are in Studio City and Mar Vista. Since its opening, re_ has diverted over 250,000 items of packaging from landfills, close to 10,000 lbs of plastic.
They’ve curated hundreds of the highest quality “re_”fillable bulk goods and zero waste products in an easy shopping experience. You can bring your own containers (just make sure they are empty/clean/dry) or purchase in-store to be “re_”used over and over.
They’ve made the experience accessible via traditional IRL shopping, online shopping for in-store pickup, next-day delivery (Los Angeles area only) and accepting EBT (in-store only). For all the label readers out there, the re_ QR codes on every product provide in-depth product information.
Roof top pool (Courtesy Fairmont Century Plaza)
Fairmont Spa Century Plaza is inviting guests on Earth Day for a soulfully-steeped day in nature and cleansing. The day commences with a complimentary Celestial Twilight Ceremony, available for booking at 9 a.m., 11 a.m., 2 p.m. and 5 p.m., where guests are welcomed with sparkling matcha, illuminating candles and crystal bowls resonating in harmonic tones for an energy cleansing and parting ritual.
Visitors are then invited to the hotel’s Rooftop Pool from 6 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. for an evening immersed in the sounds of Alchemy Crystal Bowls led by Sound and Energy Healer Gwen Gaydos. Priced at $55/person, the event will include mocktails and light bites.
Fine dining in Long Beach with a zero-waste menu (Courtesy Heritage Farm)
To celebrate Earth Day all month long, Fairmont Spa Century Plaza is offering a new couples’ 120-minute Matahari Journey, a romantic interlude to escape the limitations of Earth and feel touched by the magic of the sun, stars and moon. The journey starts in the couples’ suite with a grounding ritual of Tibetan sound bowls and inhalation bowls of red jasper, essential oils and hot steam to open up the sinuses, while therapists perform scalp massages to ease tension. Dry brushing prepares the skin for a Turkish Rhassoul mud ritual, and a detoxifying raindrop therapy massage completes the journey, activating the seven chakras. Libations, hot tea and snacks await in the secluded spa lounge while couples wind down to the sound of rainmakers. The Matahari Journey is available throughout April 2023 and priced at $850/couple.
Heritage in Long Beach offers fine dining with an entirely zero-waste menu. The restaurant is helmed by Chef Phillip Pretty and his sister Lauren Pretty. Heritage’s dishes are sourced from their namesake urban farm, Heritage Farm. More than 70% of the produce for the restaurant is sourced, including arugula, microgreens, carrots, squash, lettuce, mushrooms and farm fresh eggs. The siblings are devoted to cutting their carbon footprint by growing as much of their tasting menu as possible at Heritage Farm. The 7-course, fixed tasting menu – which currently offers a smoked wild salmon tartlet, line-caught Amberjack crudo, and dry-aged duck – does not allow for any modifications so Heritage can adhere to its ironclad zero-waste practice.
Earth spinning a little too fast and you need a hug? The Gentle Barn in Santa Clarita is a national non-profit animal rescue and sanctuary that offers cow-hugging therapy. The Gentle Barn rescues animals and helps individuals who are able to find a sense of calm and emotional relief around animals both large and small in a manner that is different from traditional therapy, but often extremely helpful.
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