Sundance: The Ice Lounge cometh

Lots of posh enviro stuff, but no celebs 2

I got a press release a few days ago inviting me to the "Ice Lounge," an "exclusive" green event at Sundance that promised me Lindsey Lohan, Josh Hartnett, and Justin Timberlake. All I had to do was make a reservation, since it was in a "gated" area.

After doing that, I thought I was well on my way to touching more celebrities. But then I tried to find the place, and after an hour of wandering in the snow from chichi resort to chichi resort (including one so exclusive I literally could not find the door), I gave up.

Then I was hanging out downtown with some renegade biofuel enthusiasts (more on that in a future post) yesterday, when I saw some other exclusive green-tinged event I wasn't "on the list" for. I asked them if they knew anything about this mythical house of ice in which famous people gathered. As if on cue, a shiny silver Lexus hybrid SUV pulled up beside me, and the lady pointed. "Just hop in there. They'll take you up."

The car window rolled down and the driver told me to get in -- and to help myself to some chocolate, which was sitting in a basket on the back seat. It was like a spy movie, except I'm not a spy and they usually bash their teeth in when they get in the Lexus, not offer them candy bars.

So off I was whisked, along with two annoying film guys from New York, stuffing chocolate bars into my bag as we rode up through the mountains.

We finally arrived at the ice house in the sky ("which will melt when the event is over, leaving no trace," according to organizers), which was prominently emblazoned with the logos of sponsors.

I spent a while milling through the place, and though I found some delicious trout balls, I didn't see anyone famous. The Lexus folks reported that Tom Arnold had been by yesterday, and that he'd been pretty competitive in their hybrid virtual racing game. Jena from The Conservation Fund reported that Josh Hartnett already came, saw, and carbon neutralized, and Heather Graham had stopped in and made a big donation too.

According to an anonymous member of the event's catering staff, not many famous people had actually stopped by, despite the promises of the press release. Only lots of people who wish they were. "We've had a lot of A-list hangers-on," she reported. "Some of these folks have been here for hours. I wish they'd leave."

The lounge didn't have the promised celebs, but it did have plenty of cool eco-gear, from clothing to fancy cars to carbon offsets and bamboo flooring, allowing everyone there who was not me to buy their way to carbon neutrality.

Kate Sheppard is Grist’s political reporter.

Advertisement
Advertisement
  1. caniscandida Posted 11:28 am
    22 Jan 2007

    "trout balls"?Kate, you must return, if you can ever find the place again on your own (mighty unwise of you to leap into that chocolate-filled motor car: "Would you like some candy, little girl?  Would you like to help me find my lost puppy?").  Surely you do not believe that business about how the ice palace "will melt when the event is over, leaving no trace"?  Clearly, there is a big story in this for you: a murder has been committed; everyone will deny that the ice palace ever existed, let alone that any such event as you describe ever took place there; there will be suggestions that the chocolates in the motor car were drugged; nevertheless, you will persist, and go over the mountain with a fine-tooth comb; and, assisted by a friendly wolf and a mustang filly, both doomed to be slaughtered, you eventually find the damning clue.
    And by all means, insist on getting an appointment to interview Josh Hartnett.  If you are lucky, you might get to observe him while he is being carbon-neutralized.  Carbon-neutralizing Josh Hartnett, in fact, must be a quite memorable experience.  Why, that shot in "Pearl Harbor," where he is up on top of his airplane, doing maintenance, wearing a skimpy t-shirt, and he looks down underneath his armpit, sent me crashing to the floor in a swoon.
    Cut!  Print!

    Chickens are our cousins!

    So are other sensitive animals!

    Enough is enough!

    No more factory farms!
  2. DarkFaculties Posted 8:09 am
    23 Jan 2007

    I'm disappointed to hearthat more celebrities were not in attendance. If the time-honored technique of political carnival can't sexify global warming as a hot (entendre intended) cause-célebre for Hollywood trendsetters, I don't know what the world's coming to.

Add a Comment

You are not logged in. Thus, you cannot post a comment. If you have an account, log in. If you don't have an account, well, by all means go make one! Meet you back here in five.

Hello, Visitor!    Why not register?

Advertisement