Annual Malaysia Fest Celebrates Culture, Conservation, and Community

To celebrate Malaysia's Independence Day on Saturday, August 15th the Malaysian Association of Georgia will host its annual Malaysia Fest at Zoo Atlanta.

With Zoo Atlanta as a venue, event attendees will have a unique opportunity to observe Southeast Asian wildlife exhibited there and to enjoy a simulation of the tropical Malaysian environment. In addition, this year's Malaysia Fest is a "green" event, featuring wildlife conservation efforts, recycling, and low carbon initiatives by event hosts. The event will make use of recyclable materials and will use as few non recyclable materials as possible.

The festival has two main components: exploration of the Zoo's exhibits during the day (10 am - 5 pm) with children's activities and cultural activities and events, and an evening on the Panda Veranda with a Malaysian-inspired earth-friendly, completely vegetarian buffet and a recreation of Malaysia's most well-known Night Market, Pasar Malam.

This event is open to the public. For more details and to purchase tickets, please visit www.Malaysia-GA.org. Zoo Atlanta will be open to the public for normal business hours during the festival.

Recycling Cell Phones For A Good Cause

Let's face it -- we go through cell phones like water these days. They're easy to buy, easy to lose and the continual upgrade in technology makes them obsolete the next day. Throwing a cell phone in the trash is an environmental no-no, so not recycle it?

A number of organizations either repurpose the phones for use for the elderly, battered women and other people in need, or safely recycle them and offer the money to worthy causes.

Until October 31, you can donate your old cell phone for recycling and help the Red Cross. Just go to this link for more information.

The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International is using cell phone recycling to help raise funds for gorillas. You can bring your phone to Zoo Atlanta. Follow this link for more information. 

The online Charity Guide offers a full array of organizations who will accept old cell phones. Check this link for all the details.