The Green Miles' Favorite Food Makes Its 2011 Arlington Appearance

The Arlington County Fair is underway at Thomas Jefferson Community Center, which means The Green Miles will once again be on the hunt for fried Oreos:

Beyond the fried Oreos, the fair's booths & exhibits are a great way to connect with the community. If you've been looking to start volunteering, you'll find representatives from dozens of groups happy to talk to you about opportunities. My friend Jan-Michael tweets that you can look out for The Green Miles featured on the Arlington County Fair poster with some friends from the Arlington Community Volunteer Network.

There are shuttles to the fair running every 30 minutes from the Ballston Metro, the Arlington Career Center, and the I-66 parking garage. But (assuming it's not 100 degrees) the fair's location at the geographic center of the county makes it a surprisingly decent walk from many parts of Arlington. It's an especially good idea for those of us planning on downing one if not several orders of fried Oreos. (Note: If there are fried Oreos to be found year-round in the DC area, please do not tell me about them. Regular access to fried Oreos would mean certain death.) 

Finally, you can check out my photo-blog of the 2008 fair from the now-defunct What's Up Arlington.

They're Back: Fried Oreos at the Fair

Don't forget to check out the Arlington County Fair, going on now through Sunday! Look for The Green Miles volunteering at the Arlington Democrats booth on Saturday from 1-4pm.

The photo at right is of my favorite (definitely non-eco-friendly) treat: fried Oreos. They dip 'em in funnel cake batter and deep fry them. Best thing ever. Check out my full photo blog of last year's fair here!

Crabdawgs, And Other Things The Green Miles Enjoyed This Weekend

A few notes from the weekend ...

* If it's below 80 degrees, it's too cool to go tubing. Had a great time at Butts Tubes on the Potomac Sunday, but by the time we got to the pickup spot, I was ready to dry off and warm up.

Of course, The Green Miles couldn't leave the river without doing a mini-cleanup of items that floated past in the water. I grabbed a few floating empty cans, which went in the recycling bin, a few full Capri Suns, which went in the trash, and even a few unopened beers that had escaped their coolers, which will get washed and put in my fridge. I always laugh when people grimace about me drinking a beer I fished out of the river. Floating in the questionable water for 3 hours is OK, but drinking an airtight container that had been floating in that water is gross?

* Ordered a new tshirt. Yes, I'm a treehugging dork. But you knew that by now.

* Spent Friday night manning the ACE booth at the County Fair:

- Just heard of a company called EcoCoach that offers "ideas and tools for you, your organization, and your place of leisure to become more environmentally friendly, healthy, and aware." Check out their website here.

- There's a "Sierra Club and Beer Night" at Carpool in Ballston on Tuesday September 18th from 7-9pm. The event isn't listed on the Sierra Club website, so call 202-237-0754 if you want more details.

- Got interviewed by Jennifer Cipparuolo of the Arlington Video Network on Arlingtonians for a Clean Environment Green Living Challenge. As soon as I find out when it'll air, I'll let you know.

- Crabdawgs = wicked awesome. Combines the tastiness of a crab cake with the crispiness of an egg roll. They're available to order online. According to their calendar, this was the company's last planned visit to Virginia this year, but you can catch them at the Prince George's County Fair Sept. 6-9.

* Watching The Green Mile on FX right now. Obviously one of my favorites. Loved the Stephen King serials, and the film version is one of the few movies that's at least as good as the book. Hard to make a bad movie with Tom Hanks, but it also features some of the best understated actors around -- David Morse, James Cromwell, Bonnie Hunt.

Genuine or Greenwashing: The Arlington County Fair

For this installment of Genuine or Greenwashing, we'll take a look at the Arlington County Fair, going on through Sunday at the Thomas Jefferson Community Center. Growing up in Boston I didn't get to many fairs, so I still get a kick out of rides and pig races and such. And I'm shocked at how many people have not yet discovered the culinary delight that is fried Oreos.

But my favorite part of the fair is definitely the booths inside TJ. Row after row of government agencies and community groups with information about programs you didn't even know existed. If you're new to Arlington or just want to learn more about what's going on in your neighborhood, it's a must-see. The Green Miles will be working the Arlingtonians for a Clean Environment booth on Friday night, so if you're at the fair, stop by and say hello!

On to the question at hand: Is the County Fair genuine or greenwashing? The county's press release hits one of my pet peeves right away, starting off by declaring, "The Arlington County Fair is going 'green'." As I said recently in relation to the new Harry Potter book, giving away compact fluorescent light bulbs does not make you The Lorax. And it was a bit annoying to see them hyping giveaway items as being made from recycled materials. That's a step forward and the reusable bags are great, but as I said about Live Earth, recycled worthless junk is still worthless junk.

But Arlington County should get its due for the many environmental features it's incorporating into the fair, far more than you'll see at most fairs nationwide:

- A game to give away (among other things) bicycles, energy saving devices, and a Toyota Prius.
- Giving away reusable AIRE tote bags made from recycled cotton and plastic bottles.
- Free valet parking for bikes will be available, thanks to a partnership with the Washington Area Bicyclists Association.
- Mobile Commuter Store will be at the County Fair this year with information about Metro, buses, carpools, and many transportation alternatives.
- Arlington Transit (ART) is displaying one of its new buses, fueled by CNG.
- Recycling for cans and bottles available; recycling information and tips will also be available.
- Every department will showcase how it is supporting the Fresh AIRE campaign.
- Fresh AIRE team will be demonstrating and giving away compact fluorescent light bulbs.
- Demonstration of the fire hazards -- and high energy consumption -- of halogen lamps.

I'd love to see more, though. Rather than just recycling bottles and cans, why not use Greenware and have bins for composting? Why not make a renewable energy purchase equal to the Fair's energy usage? And I won't even get into the generators that power the carnival rides.

The bottom line? The effort to make the Arlington County Fair green is genuine, but there's more that could be done at future fairs.

In the meantime, get out and enjoy it! The weather should be near-perfect. TJ is at 3501 S. Second St. with shuttles running from Ballston Metro. The fair is only about a 30 minute walk from Ballston area, but considering it's going to be in the high 80s/low 90s this week, the shuttle may be a better option. And an incentive to ride your bicycle -- there will also be valet bike parking.