Arts:Earth Partnership and NextAid Present
Synergy = Music + Sustainability
A Consciousness Raising Event in Los Feliz
Saturday, August 4, 2012 | 4pm – 11pm

LOS ANGELES, CA – July 13, 2012 – A fresh idea in collaborative fundraising will take place on Saturday, August 4, 2012 at a private home in Los Feliz from early afternoon until late night.  Synergy = Music + Sustainability is an innovative, multicultural, experiential event to help raise funds for two dynamic, solution-based nonprofits based in LA: Arts:Earth Partnership (AEP) and NextAid.  Music and arts producer, Jonathan Rudnick (theLIFT/Noise Pop Culture Club/Giant Step co-founder) is at the helm bringing the best talent Los Angeles has to offer to this consciousness-raising event. The fundraiser will run from 4:00 to 11:00pm and is taking place at Synergy House, a beautiful Mediterranean/Spanish historical eco-home with detached studio space and a lagoon pool just east of Hollywood off of Franklin Blvd.  The exact location will be revealed upon ticket purchase.  Tickets range from $20 to $50 and are available at www.synergy-la.eventbrite.com.

A feast for the senses, attendees will experience an eclectic mix of live music, exciting DJs, performance art, delicious African foods, a lagoon pool and fun activities for the kids, creating a stimulating atmosphere to feed the soul. The purpose of the event is two-fold: to create an inspiring atmosphere where good people can come together and find their synergies: values and ideas they have in common, to feel connected, powerful and positive in the face of today’s environmental and humanitarian challenges, and at the same time, benefit two organizations pooling resources and sharing proceeds. Synergy = Music + Sustainability intends to set an example for a new kind of fundraising event.

The program features an exciting line up of performers & artists:
• GlobeSonic Sound System – DJs Fabian Alsultany and Derek Beres – http://www.globesonic.com
• String Theory Productions – http://www.stringtheoryproductions.com
• DJ Nnamdi – Radio Afrodicia, KPFK – http://www.afrodicia.com
• Amadou Fall / Ame Kora – Senegalese Kora player – https://www.facebook.com/amekora
• Marissa Guzman – Juicy Lucy Records – http://juicylucyrecords.com
• Jose Marquez – Tumbé /Tribe Records – www.serenityinsound.blogspot.com
• DJ Bendewish – PushGallery/Heartbeat Collective – http://soundcloud.com/jasonbendo/june-bloom

Joe Hernandez-Kolski (HBO Def Poet, “Mr. Sunshine”) will act as Master of Ceremonies for the event.  Atmosphere and visual installations by Rocio Mariposa, VJ Vhilm and VJ Theory.  There will also be live art by Ngene Mwaura, African face-painting and ceramic art by Wawi Amasha/Mami Afrika, unique artifacts by “Africa by Design,” plus a silent auction. The event will feature delicious African cuisine and desserts by Chef Kache Mwaro and Jikoni Catering.  Square One Organic Sprits, O.N.E. Coconut Water, and Steaz organic/fair traded green teaz will provide drinks.

Both NextAid and AEP work with the arts community to mitigate some of the planet’s most pressing environmental and societal problems with tangible projects.  Funds raised will be used to further implement AEP’S environmental sustainable certification program in Los Angeles targeting cultural facilities.  NextAid will use the funds to finish construction of a sustainable youth workshop in Nairobi, Kenya.

About Arts:Earth Partnership –
Arts:Earth Partnership (AEP) has been in existence since 2008 and has created a user-friendly green certification program specifically for the arts sector and cultural institutions. Endorsed by the cities of Los Angeles and Santa Monica, both have adopted AEP’s standards into their “official” Green Business Certification Process.  Funds raised at the event will help AEP certify more facilitates in the greater Los Angeles area and lower the negative environmental impact of the cultural sector.  The money will also be used to implement the Los Angles Arts Environmental Impact Report (LAAEIR), a project that gathers data about the environmental impacts of arts organizations in the greater Los Angeles area. www.artsearthpartnership.org

About NextAid –
NextAid is a 10-year old Los Angeles based nonprofit organization that harnesses the power of music, specifically electronic dance music, to support sustainable development projects that serve children, youth and women in Africa. Currently, funds raised are going toward the completion of the Kawangware Vision Centre (KVC) in Nairobi, Kenya.  KVC is a youth-driven, locally created and managed organization that runs an ecological business making silkscreened gift bags out of recycled paper for the tourism industry. www.nextaid.org

Event partners and media sponsors include Fusicology, Green Festival Los Angeles, Green Galactic, USGBC-LA, Universal Rhythm, Nu-Soul Magazine, LA Green Drinks, Indie Printing, Serendipity Arts and Motion Audio.

For more information, images, or to request interviews, please contact Green Galactic’s Lynn Tejada at 213-840-1201 or lynn@greengalactic.com.