How many canned goods does it take to break the Guinness World Record for largest canned food sculpture?  Definitely more licks than it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop… 50,000!  It also takes the hard work of Architect John Brittingham, the Director of the Architecture Graduate Program at Montana State University, and, of course, the dedication of non-profit Concsious Alliance, who partnered with Whole Foods to make the sculpture a reality.  Constructed at the Rothbury Festival earlier this summer, all 50,000 cans of natural and organic food were then donated to a local Michigan food bank.

(elephant magazine and the Rothbury event poster from artist Jeff Wood at the Conscious Alliance booth)

Conscious Alliance is a Boulder based non profit started in 2002 by CU graduates, then students, Justin and Evan Baker.  They partner with bands like Phil Lesh and Friends and The String Cheese Incident, and in return for a donation of canned goods, Conscious Alliance provides concert-goers with a free event poster from visionary artists, such as Kris D. and  J. Garcia.  Over the years much of the food has gone to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, but when Hurricane Katrine hit, Conscious Alliance mobilized in days to donate 30,000 lbs of food and $100,000.  They currently collect food for cities and Indian Reservations throughout the country.  If you are in Colorado, you can find Conscious Alliance next weekend when Sound Tribe Sector Nine plays Red Rocks September 5th and 6th (STS9 donated $10,000 to Conscious Alliance this summer). However, Conscious Alliance goes where there are good people and good music, so check their website to catch them at a variety of events, concerts, and festivals around the country and throughout the year.

(brothers and co-founders Justin and Evan Baker)