letter to sunfest.

i wrote this letter to sunfest. i was just wondering if anyone agreed/ disagreed with my reasoning.

peace. lauren.

Dear Sunfest Committee,.

First, I would like to mention that I have attended nearly
every annual Sunfest celebration in London since Alfredo Caxaj came to my
public school (Lord Roberts French Immersion).
I am an avid fan and supporter of the continued celebration and
awareness of global culture, which Sunfest brings to the London community.

I would like to address, however, some issues that left me
troubled after I attended the 2007 Sunfest celebration in Victoria Park. It was obvious that the festival did not have
an adequate system for managing refuse or recyclable materials. It is common
knowledge that Styrofoam products are very bad for the environment, taking
decades to biodegrade and acting as potential health hazards for the animals
that make their homes in the park. While taking a break to eat under the shade
of a tree, my friends and I noticed that there was a sizable pile of garbage heaped
up next to it. This is not acceptable. The park is part of our city, our home,
and our earth. The lack of respect shown
to it was saddening.

Even when my friends and I attempted to reuse our plastic
beer cups, we were urged to just 'use another one'. The entire park was riddled with the obvious
lack of concern for the eventual fate of all of the garbage. In fact, from what I observed, there was only
one food vendor distributing biodegradable dishware and cutlery. Our society's
addiction to convenient and disposable goods was in full bloom at Sunfest,
whereas the festival could promote an
environmentally friendly alternative that fits right in with its original
principles of attempting to create a widened sense of awareness about the
global community. The practices of Sunfest could incorporate the beginning of a
new standard of sustainability for the city of London that I believe would be
greatly admired by both the artists and guests at the festival.

My other major concern was the 'big' involvement of
multinational corporations in the festival.
This was very upsetting as, to me, these companies represent the
damaging homogenization that is at the root of so much cultural disintegration.
I do not understand the role that big business conglomerates like Costco,
Western Union, and Domino's, for example, play in attempting to promote
cultural awareness and positive global cohesion. When the performer Lazo closed his fantastic
set at the closing of the festival on Sunday night, he spoke strongly of
community and love and togetherness. Is
the contradiction not apparent?

Also, it did not take long during my stroll around the
vendors of Victoria Park to notice that most of the stores were not offering
goods that encouraged practices of cultural sustainability in their countries
of origin. Items being made in and imported from factories in China, Indonesia,
Taiwan, and Central America were being sold at the festival in the guise of
'authentic' or 'traditional' goods. Only
a handful of vendors promoted products that were obtained by actual fair trade
or fair labour practices. To me, that sends a strong message concerning
Sunfest's commitment to the local and global community.

Overall, I am interested in collaborating with the
organizers of Sunfest to make a difference in how we use our cities public
services (such as the park) in a way that promotes sustainability and more
socially conscious practices.

lauren muffen