Toyota to Blend Art, Music, Environment to Celebrate 10 Years of the Prius
![023_2010_Prius-web](https://www.autoremarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/023_2010_Prius-web.jpg)
Toyota finalized plans for the 10 Years of Prius celebration, an anniversary event that includes several environmentalists, art exhibitors and music performers, as well as the winner of a contest conducted on Facebook.
To mark the occasion, the automaker is leveraging the unique date that comes on Sunday — which happens to be 10/10/10 — to showcase the vehicle’s sales performance and what’s in store for future models.
Set to unfold in Malibu, Calif., Toyota indicated the entire celebration is meant to reinforce commitment to sustainability by the company as well as Prius enthusiasts.
Beyond those elements, Toyota went on to mention the musical guest for the evening is scheduled to be M. Ward. In 2008, Ward was part of the duo known as She & Him, a project he began with Zooey Deschanel. Their debut album, Volume One has enjoyed international success. The automaker noted Ward has collaborated with some of the world’s best musicians including Cat Power, Norah Jones, Conor Oberst and Bright Eyes, Jim James of My Morning Jacket and Neko Case.
Ward is a native of southern California and now lives in Portland, Ore., and drives a Prius.
Another headliner set to appear is Shepard Fairey, an American contemporary artist, graphic designer, illustrator and Prius owner. Toyota noted Fairey emerged from the skateboarding scene became more widely known during the 2008 U.S. presidential election, specifically for his Barack Obama “HOPE” poster. The automaker contends he is considered to be one of the most influential street artists because his work is included in collections at The Smithsonian, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
To build momentum for the event, the Prius Facebook community recently completed a vote and chose southern California’s Martin Esquenazi as the most passionate Prius owner. As a result, Esquenazi and 20 of his closest friends and family members will host the event.
Toyota indicated the event also is set to include:
—Eric Lloyd Wright, American architect and grandson of the famed Frank Lloyd Wright, plans to speak about sustainability and architecture. Wright’s focus is on the evolution of organic architecture and green building design with a design philosophy rooted in the integration of ecology, social responsibility and beauty. In addition to being responsible for a number of restoration projects to his grandfather’s buildings, Wright is also a Prius owner.
—WIRED plans to host a gadget lab featuring the most innovative green tech products on the market. Editors Daniel Dumas and Steven Leckart want to discuss the technologies that range from high-utility home and garden devices to personal electronics and quirky gadgets. Contributing editor Joshua Davis is to share trends in the industry over the next 10 years as part of the event’s sustainable lifestyle workshop series. All also are Prius owners.
—SHFT.com is looking to curate art, music and sustainable design products to be incorporated into the event. Co-founder Peter Glatzer plans to speak to the various ways in which the idea of sustainability has impacted culture in the areas of art, music, new media, product design, architecture and food, as well as produce the gadget lab with WIRED. Officials explained SHFT.com is a new media platform, offering original video series, shopping and a host of resources that speak to a modern, inspirational, eco-conscious lifestyle. Actor/activist Adrian Grenier and Glatzer, along with sustainability/design expert Lauren Gropper, built a platform that’s geared to use media to streamline the myriad of sustainable choices now available and to highlight the cultural shift taking place.
—Reverb.org, a non-profit organization deeply rooted within the music and environmental communities, plans to work with Toyota to help reduce the environmental impact of this event by integrating renewable technologies. Founded in 2004 by environmentalist Lauren Sullivan and her musician husband Adam Gardner of Guster, Reverb.org seeks to provide greening programs for the music industry at large while conducting grassroots outreach to music fans everywhere. Reverb has recently worked with Jack Johnson, Dave Matthews Band, Sheryl Crow, Arcade Fire, Drake and many others.
—British actor and comedian Robert Llewellyn plans to discuss the future of transportation and sustainability. Llewellyn hosts the Web series Carpool in which he interviews guests while driving them in a Prius. The guests are often well known British television personalities such as Ruby Wax, Jonathan Ross, Professor Brian Cox, Sir Patrick Stewart, Stephen Fry, Craig Charles, David Mitchell, Jo Brand, Dame Evelyn Glennie and more. The series also is set to be shown in the United Kingdom on the Dave TV channel in November.
Along with that cast of invited guests and celebrities, Toyota indicated the Prius anniversary celebration also is to include a dinner hosted by Outstanding in the Field.
Founded by chef and artist Jim Denevan in 1999, the OEM mentioned Outstanding in the Field is a roving culinary experience — “literally a restaurant without walls.” The operation aims to create outdoor meals from local markets. Officials said local farmers, producers, culinary artisans and celebrated chefs from the region are scheduled to prepare the meal.
For more details, visit the Toyota Prius Facebook page at www.Facebook.com/Prius or www.Toyota.com.