Green Drinks is a non-profit organization that meets informally each month in more than 700 cities worldwide to bring together sustainable businesses, organizations, and government leaders who are working to create an environmentally healthy and sustainable future. Sept. 7, Ken and Linda McGurn will host a Green Drinks/Innovation Gainesville Mixer at the Sun Center to celebrate the culture of innovation in downtown Gainesville. For more information on Green Drinks visit http://www.gogreennation.org/

The historic Sun Center now generates 150,000 watts of solar-generated electricity from its rooftop array of solar voltaic panels, making it a natural host for Green Drinks. You can watch the power being generated and dollars being saved on a special monitor in the Sun Center Mall. Food and drink will be available from Maude's or the new BF Diner in the Sun Center. Park in the Union Street Parking Garage on SE 2nd Avenue and get your ticket validated at the event for free parking.

When the McGurns built their first building in 1980, they were already focused on being "Green" long before it was the in thing to do. Their early buildings used half (or less) the energy of other period buildings. Throughout their redevelopment efforts, they have focused on bringing people back to live, work and play in downtown, reducing traffic congestion, recycling old structures and reusing existing infrastructure.

Innovation Gainesville (iG) began as a community initiative to harness innovation to create jobs in health and green technologies and thereby raise the standard of living in our community. iG has transformed into a cultural mindset with hundreds of individuals and organizations working to grow an environment that fosters innovation and success.