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Keeping Santa Cruz Weird: Is Drumming a Crime?

Published on September 10, 2008 in Arts & Creation, Community Building, Police

On September 10th, the City of Santa Cruz took measures trying to prevent the weekly gathering and drum circle in Parking Lot #4 alongside the Farmer’s Market. New mesh fences and several police officers were not enough to prevent Raging Grannies and other free-thinkers from singing, playing instruments, sharing food and reclaiming an important community space under the trees. Police took surveillance photographs, passed out information, and harassed some people, but the drum beats and musical notes continued on for another week. Read More and View Photos

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Ripple Effect at RNC in Minnesota: War Isn’t Nice

Published on September 2, 2008 in Arts & Creation, Government

On September 2nd, thousands of people gathered at the state capitol lawn in St. Paul, Minnesota to engage in trainings, educational workshops, community building activities, music, and art in the name of positive social and environmental change. Featured artists and speakers included Michael Franti, Anti-Flag, Dead Prez, Winona LaDuke, and Medea Benjamin.

Organized by a local nonprofit led by three motivated young progressives, Ripple Effect was Substance’s (the organization behind the event) first step in a series of efforts to manifest a united intergenerational front. These events are aimed at embracing the core values of the environmental and social justice movements, with a collective understanding that the solutions to these problems will require us to break down issue and generational barriers.

Ripple Effect – a daylong festival propelling a new wave of progressive action outside the RNC – went beyond the convention and beyond partisanship to empower and unite a diverse range of people with varying backgrounds and interests. Read More and View Photos

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Operation Bike Nation and The Sprockettes Hit Santa Cruz

Published on July 22, 2008 in Arts & Creation, Bicycles

The Sprockettes, Portland’s all female mini-bike dance team, rolled their veggie oil powered bus into Santa Cruz to give two free performances at the Bike Church on July 22nd. Operation Bike Nation 2008, stopping in bike-friendly towns from Santa Cruz to Seattle, features sex-positive club music while The Sprockettes dance in hot pink and black clothing and do tricks on mini-bikes.

The Sprockettes say their mission is to support and interact with the communities around them, advocate bicycle riding, promote positive self-image for all body types, encourage a healthly and physical lifestyle, and to organize and operate their dance troupe in a collective fashion. Read More and View Photos

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Banner Manifesto on Highway One

Published on July 11, 2008 in Arts & Creation

On Friday July 11th, a group of about 30 people brought together by Youth Coalition Santa Cruz (YCSC), the Resource Center for Nonviolence (RCNV), and the Volunteer Center of Santa Cruz (VCSC) all participated in a project to bring a series of radical and contemplative statements to motorists on Highway 1 during rush hour. Dubbed, the “Freeway Banner Manifesto” by organizers, it was an attempt to display a different message on every overpass from Santa Cruz to Watsonville on Highway 1. The effort was sucessful and 13 different banners were displayed for aproxiamately 45 minutes right in the middle of rush hour. The project was spearheaded by members of YCSC and the other two organizations provided the numerous volunteers necessary for the undertaking. Read More and View Photos

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Gabriela León at UC Santa Cruz: Sunday Walk to the Zócalo of Oaxaca

Published on January 29, 2008 in Arts & Creation, Audio

Gabriela León Vázquez gave an artist talk at UC Santa Cruz on January 29th about her exhibition at UCSC’s Sesnon Gallery, Sunday Walk to the Zócalo of Oaxaca (Paseo dominical por el Zócalo de Oaxaca). She was born in Cuautla, Morelos, Mexico in 1973, and is currently living and working in Oaxaca. The exhibition, on display until March 8th, is a multi-media artistic response to the popular revolt and resistance that unfolded in Oaxaca in 2006 and 2007, including photos from the Peoples’ Guelaguetza (la Guelaguetza Popular) on July 16th, 2007.

The following audio was recorded at UCSC’s Oakes College room 105 and edited into two tracks; Gabriela León’s presentation, followed by the question and answer session. Read More, View Photos and Listen to Audio

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Question and Answer