Worlds Collide, Sambazon Style

Written by Jill Ettinger, Eastern U.S. Promotions Manager

One of my favorite things is seeing people enjoying themselves. I see that a lot working in the marketing department at Sambazon. Whether it's at a store demo or a big festival with thousands of people, that first-taste-of-acai-smile never loses its power. One of my other favorite things is music - and the way it can put us in such a mood that we have to move our bodies. It's ever so wonderful when these two worlds collide.

As I climbed up to the Great Hill in Central Park last Saturday I could hear the music trickling over the steps as I got closer. Then the crowd appeared spread out on the grass, anxiously waiting for an afternoon they'd not soon forget. This was the 6th annual Festivus, hosted by Electronic Music Umbrella (emu.org) - a non-profit organization committed to bringing electronic dance music to hungry ears - and hips - free of charge.

July in New York City can be unbearably humid, but this Saturday afternoon was about as perfect as they come. The dj’s felt it and so did the crowd of several thousand. Everyone began to move in harmony, a pulsing energy spread through the park and suddenly, my eyes began to notice, everywhere I looked: bottle after bottle of Sambazon.

We donated several hundred bottles for the event along with some other vendors, but all I could see were purple and green bottles on blankets, sticking out of pockets, in hands, being lifted up towards anxious mouths.

I began approaching people who weren’t out dancing and asking them if they knew what they were drinking, many were Sambazon supporters, but a surprising number of people were “first-timers” getting a taste of the magical purple berry in this surreal environment as ambient rhythms mingled with nature. It made me think of what it must be like deep in the Amazon, where the harmonious sounds of birds and critters mingle with the rich scents of the forest as fresh acai is harvested.

It felt like a completed circle - the smiles that surrounded me mirroring the smiles of our happy family in Brazil that keep sharing this incredible superfood with us, and the mission of EMU to also share a gift of another kind with happy dancers. I smiled as I thought of how we get to keep doing this again and again...and again. Then, I started to dance.

-Jill