The Green Party Association of Fredericton will be hosting Green Party of Canada leader Elizabeth May at an upcoming event meant to highlight local green and sustainable innovation.

The garden party will bring together local companies and organizations to speak along with May about what makes them green and innovative on Aug. 27 at The Ville Cooperative. Organizations involved include Locavore, Off Grid Ales, Canuevo and the Falls Brook Centre.

Event organizers and association members Tom McLean and Bob Ogilvie say they’ve had a lot of interest in the event and May’s keynote in particular.

“There’s a lot of interest in Elizabeth May for sure. She’s always a draw,” McLean says. “People want to hear and meet her because she is such a dynamic persona and obviously she speaks her mind quite frankly and well in terms of what’s happening.”

Ogilvie says the event is a great opportunity to engage with the community on issues of innovation and green economy.

“Economic development is a major problem that New Brunswick and all of Atlantic Canada is facing so that means that the innovation economy is an important part of how we galvanized ourselves,” he says.

“We want sustainable jobs we can keep here or we can create ourselves as opposed to being at the whim of some outside corporate economic force, which is going to mystically save us.”

McLean says self-reliance, one of the pillars of the Green Party, is one aspect the event is meant to highlight. He says they hope attendees walk away with the realization that there are green and innovative companies right under their noses.

“The fact that local innovation is happening, it’s sustainable growth, it’s low-impact ecologically and it’s something that obviously the Green Party supports. That’s the underlying theme,” he says.

“As the Green Party, the whole idea behind this type of growth in the economy is that it supports our values. We want to bring more recognition to the fact that the Green Party is here and that we’re trying to promote these values and try to push an agenda that would further them in the area and across Canada as well.”

Olgivie says this type of event is a great way to do that. He says May will speak on the importance of growing a green and sustainable economy in Fredericton, inspiring attendees.

“We’re really stepping up. It also signals to the calibre of how much we’re organized and focused about where to put our efforts and reminding everyone there’s a better way to do this,” he says. “We’d like to remind everyone that green resilient solutions are possible, they’re already happening now and if you want, you can be part of that change.”