Starting in 2007, the first Living Earth Festival was a collaborative, self-organized "grassroots" event that sprung up in response to the increasing number of sustainability-related events that focused around Earth day. Community groups partnered with the

city to hold themed performances, clothing swaps and other informal get-togethers open to everyone who cared to participate.

In 2008, more environmentally conscious groups, together with some of the original festival organizers, worked to promote a week-long series of events with the shared themes of sustainability, urban regeneration and cultural evoltution. Extensive cross-participation led to collaboration becoming a major feature of the festival's self-organization.

2009 saw the first invitations to form a "Hub of hosts" made up of enthusiastic community members charged with guiding the development of the festival, strategizing and advising on it's resilience and growth. The very first "GUMball" or General Understanding Meeting was thrown to attract and engage community involvement on a deeper level.

2010 promises to evolve even further as the "GUMball" morphs into "OPT-IN" and more community partners invest their time and associate their related projects with the Living Earth Festival. Check in regularly for updates on this year's development.