I went to the second day of the Seattle Green Festival a couple weeks ago. It was basically several rooms with 45-minute speeches/forums and a gigantic main hall with many many booths. All in all it was a good experience, though I did have some complaints. My main problem was that it was too small and too brief to cater to a wide variety of people. By that I mean people just getting into greenosity--whether for financial gain or for the betterment of the planet--on one end, and expert greeners on the other end.
The first speech I went to was given by a former local-news weatherman who now works for Puget Sound Energy, who was there to talk about ways to make your home greener. For some reason I was expecting to hear something new and exciting rather than the same old stuff (e.g. compact fluorescents) mixed with a sales pitch for PSE. The speaker meant well, and maybe the other people there learned some things, but I found it disappointing.
The second speech I went to was given by Chelsea Sexton, the former GM employee featured in Who Killed the Electric Car?, along with a couple other people. It was interesting to hear the optimism of the speakers, but again I didn't walk away feeling like I had learned a lot.
The last speech I went to was from Richard Heinberg, one of my favorite nonfiction writers. He basically did a quick summary of his latest book, Peak Everything: Waking Up to the Century of Declines. I found it enjoyable, and afterwards picked up the book, which he signed for me. I think hearing his speech and having Field Roast's Italian sausage for lunch were the highlights of the day.