(OAKLAND, CA) After establishing itself as one of the leading youth development organizations in the urban green movement, Oakland-based non-profit Grind for the Green has restructured its model, launching G4G Mobile, a partnership with Toyota/Volta and a private investor. “We want to practice the sustainability we’ve been preaching,” says G4G founder Zakiya Harris. “G4G Mobile is our first social enterprise, a hybrid of the non-profit and for-profit models, which uses innovative, eco-friendly approach to create a revenue stream and employment opportunities.”

G4G Mobile represents an eco-evolutionary, entirely revolutionary step for promotions. Utilizing a state-of-the-art solar-powered trailer made by Volta Mobile Solar, which features its own 18,000-watt renewable energy source, G4G Mobile is part sustainable power company, part mobile classroom.

G4G Mobile provides solar power to public and private events, such as lectures, workshops, live performances, demonstrations, promotional giveaways, film screenings, and mobile device data collection. In addition, the trailer can be “wrapped” with promotional messages and images. It’s a natural choice for schools, non-profits and businesses with an eco-sustainability component who want to show they’re serious about going green, yet have fun at the same time.

After making its debut at San Francisco’s Life is Living Festival, G4G Mobile will power August (DATE)’s “Throwdown for the Town,” a collaborative event featuring local environmental, food, and social justice orgs, sponsored by the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights. Future projects include a First Friday block party/exhibition with artist collective/youth development org Community Rejuvenation Project.

“G4G Mobile represents an innovative model of engagement by fusing the gap between micro-enterprise, culture, education and clean technologies,” said Zakiya Harris. “It fits perfectly into the urban edutainment model we have been cultivating since the mid-2000s, which is based around promoting the idea of sustainability, both environmentally and economically. G4G Mobile allows Grind for the Green and our strategic partners to deliver the green movement directly to the communities who can benefit the most from environmental awareness campaigns – it quite literally brings power to the people!”

With G4G Mobile, businesses, organizations, and schools can work together with Grind for the Green on developing eco-literacy workshops and green-oriented campaigns or simply power up their own events with energy from the sun. G4G Mobile is maintenance-free, runs day or night, and features GPS and an online monitoring system. It also creates green jobs for youth of color. Promotional events and marketing campaigns are backed up by G4G’s social media and online promotions team for maximum impact across a variety of outlets.

With G4GMobile, going green can now go anywhere your vision takes you.

On the Web: www.grindforthegreen.com; www.G4Gmobile.com.

Oakland is known nationwide for its reputation as one of the toughest, most urban, and unfortunately crime-ridden cities in America. Yet predicable newspaper headlines announcing the latest outbreak of violence paint a picture of “The Town” which only tells part of the story.

There’s another Oakland , one often overshadowed by crime statistics: a city with numerous progressive organizers and community activists who come together for common causes; a place with a long history of producing innovative indigenous culture; and the home of a community which gives as much love as it receives.

That Oakland—the one rarely seen on TV or read about in newspapers—was on display Saturday, August 14, when the FreshFest brought six hours of peaceful vibes, conscious hip-hop, and eco-sustainability to Mosswood Park. “We wanted to bring the FreshFest to Oakland, because not only does it have a history of community organizing and independent hip-hop, but more importantly, it’s the home of an underserved community, left out of the mainstream green movement, who can benefit most from sustainable green practices,” said event organizer Zakiya Harris. “Also, Oakland is hella fresh,” she added.

Once the site of the annual Carijama festival, discontinued in 2004 after repeated outbreaks of violent incidents, Mosswood—a large park with basketball courts, an amphitheater, and plenty of open, green space in a convenient, accessible location close to public transit and near downtown—has been an underutilized space ever since.

Yet on Saturday, the Park was alive once again with the sound of music—most of it from local hip-hop acts (with the notable exception of the legendary Phife of A Tribe Called Quest, who closed the show). Billed acts included Erk Da Jerk, Holly Saucy, Nu Dekades and Do D.A.T., yet hosts Boots Riley and Ryan Nicole, DJs Twelvz and Pam the Funkstress, and a cavalcade of up-and-coming and lesser-known groups—including Seasunz, O-Zone and J. Millionaire, the Culture Keeperz, and G4G’s Youth Champions—kept the energy level high all afternoon long, ensuring there weren’t any dull moments.

Surprises included an impromptu performance by the Coup, an outpouring of ATCQ classics by last-minute headliner Phife, and an unannounced freestyle by 2009 G4G headliner Mistah F.A.B., who shouted out every neighborhood in Oakland and emphasized the importance of remaining accountable to one’s community.

But FreshFest wasn’t just an ordinary free hip-hop festival. Designed with the specific purpose of bringing green awareness and eco-sustainability to the urban audience, it featured local organizations such as Green For All, Soul of the City, Oakland Green Youth Media Arts Center , Oakland Local, BayLocalize, and Richmond Spokes, who informed Oaklanders on how to green their lives and be more involved on a community level. The Community Rejuvenation Project painted live art illustrating the “toxic triangle” of Richmond, Bayview-Hunters Point, and West Oakland,” while attendees received information on everything from rainwater-catchment systems to community gardens to bicycling as a way to reduce pollution. One booth even offered solar-powered smoothies.

Speaking of solar power, the entire stage show ran on sun energy, courtesy of Mobile Green. And while the music inspired many to dance—some with hula hoops—artist/photographer Keba Konte organized a ribbon-tying art installation featuring the iconic face of Oscar Grant, an unarmed black man killed by police in 2009.

The event not only ended peacefully—proving that it is possible to host a positive hip-hop event in Oakland—but delivered both authentic and conscious hip-hop flavor, often with a green component. “We’re declaring this a win for Oakland , but also for hip-hop as a culture, and green hip-hop as a movement,” Harris said. “We will definitely be back next year.”

Mistah Fab at Mosswood park in Oakland Fresh fest

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