Alongside the carnival rides, cotton candy vendors and agriculture exhibits, this year’s Alameda County Fair is offering visitors a look at the world of “green” living.

The fair’s Living Green Village will feature eco-product vendors, sustainability experts and hands-on programs that educate with a sense of fun. From energy conservation tips to recycled doll making workshops the village is a natural fit for the fair’s mission.

“We are one of the longest running fairs in the country so over the course of 17 days we get over 400,000 people coming here so I think it is our duty to really be in the forefront of education and really be in the forefront of being up with the trends,” said Courtney Townsend, the professional chef and event organizer behind the village. Since 2002, the fair has been hooked up to solar power, topping its barn roofs with panels, and it now has the nation’s largest solar energy program of any non-profit organization. The fair’s racetrack recycles all its manure for use as fertilizer on local farms and the fair has long had a comprehensive recycling program.

Hands-on kids programs will be a big part of the fair’s green living section. “We have a couple of contests where kids can come up to a couple of our tents and have some speed recycling and sorting contests,” said Townsend. “We also have a recycled doll contest that’s going on we call it better than before and so children can come at different times during the day and actually make a doll out of recycled clothes here and then we’ll judge those on Sunday and then we’ll take those dolls and we’re going to actually give them away to homeless for the charity.”

The Alameda County Fair opens this weekend and runs until July 6th. The Living Green Village will be open this weekend only.

For more information on all the fair's green activities visit:

Alameda County Fair – Living Green Village