The origins of a new-age, alternative-lifestyle, natural-products "Expo," can be traced back to the early 1970s and the days of the Whole Earth Catalog, a widely popular alternative mail order catalog. The Whole Earth Company began the first Whole Earth Expo. By 1975, Whole Earth Expo was an established tradition in the counter culture of the time.

Other shows arose concurrently, with the Whole Earth Expo’s success. In 1982, Alan Goldman began producing shows for the National Health Federation in New York. At the same time, Joseph Cotler had founded the Whole Life Times and worked with Alan to produce an Expo in New York for the Whole Life Times - the first Whole Life Expo.

By 1983, Joseph and Alan were doing shows in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco. In 1986, Joseph sold the Los Angeles market rights to Paul Andrews. He sold the San Francisco market rights to Ken Kaufman in 1986. Both Ken and Paul proceeded to expand Whole Life Expos into cities across the country, bringing Expo’s new-age ideas to a wider public and helping to establish a nationwide community focused on integrative health and cutting edge ideas.

In 1998, Justin Hilton purchased Whole Life Expo’s nationwide rights from Ken Kaufman. These Expos continued under Justin, and at the end of 1999, he sold the entire company to Ayman Sawaf.

Ayman continued to expand the Expo, producing events around the country with a growing number of staff. He began to shift his shows to more of a mainstream, commercial event. After September 11th 2001, Ayman chose to shutdown the Whole Life Expo. Some of the expo staff went on to produce what is now know as Green Fest.

By January 2002, a non-compete agreement between Ken Kaufman and Whole Life had expired. This afforded Ken the opportunity to return to his passion - producing Expos. Ken along with a small, committed staff, brought back its original mix of cutting-edge exhibitors and world-class speakers to create the next Expo. That first year back, Ken had less than four months to put the show together. It took place in April 2002 in San Francisco. Each year, Ken and his tight-knit team went on to produce the New Living Expo. It is now an annual event every April in San Francisco, and is the only event that he does.

Today, having produced successful Expos since his return years ago, Ken and his committed organization once again are creating a whole new standard in the world of Expos. This year, The New Living Expo brings to you ALL workshops, lectures, panels, and exhibits, for one low general admission price of $ 15 for 1 day, $20 for 2 days, or $25 for three days.

In addition to producing the Expo, Ken is increasingly sought after as a consultant for those who are interested in producing events. Today he lives with his wife Corinna, and he is a dedicated parent to his two teenage daughters.

Come be part of our event-making history. Come celebrate and explore with us at the 2011 New Living Expo on April 29th, April 30th and May 1st at the Concourse Exhibition Center 8th and Brannan, S.F.