The annual Leeward Community College Family Fun Fair, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, is going green. Besides games, interactive exhibits, food and entertainment, the free event focuses on ecoeducation, sustainability and environmental responsibility. There's drive-through/drop-off recycling as well as a car show with energy-efficient models. New this year: a Local Food Market with baked goods, seasonings and organic produce; 455-0524.

SAVE THE PLANET

BUY A HANDMADE NECKLACE — AND SAVE AN ELEPHANT

Green can be gorgeous, especially when it's a colorful necklace of natural dyed tagua, a seed from a palm tree found along the Pacific Coast of South America (called "vegetable ivory" for its sheen when it dries), found at the Honolulu Academy of Arts gift shop. Tagua has been worn by indigenous peoples for centuries to display rank. Today, it offers an alternative to cutting down rainforests and killing elephants for their tusks. The necklaces ($25-$90) were handmade in Colombia; dyes were derived from regional fruits, flowers, leaves, seeds and roots. Gift-shop admission is free.

— Paula Rath

FINAL WORD

"Sleep is like food for the brain, only served on a mattress instead of a plate. While we would not think of eating off a dirty dish, we lie on a mattress without any assurances of safety, and with no knowledge as to what chemicals we are breathing."

— Walt Bader , author, "Toxic Bedrooms: Your Guide to a Safe Night's Sleep"