B'MORE FAIR

Update:

2009-04-15T13:14:00.001-07:00

The B’More Fair is this Saturday and it looks to be an amazing day of celebration and building a collective vision to secure justice and human rights in our City.

- Saturday, April 18 Noon – 4PM

- followed by the Human Rights Zone March to the Inner Harbor

- Carroll Park (Washington Blvd and South Monroe)

HIGHLIGHTS

Main Stage Concert...

- Purpose of Praise

- Hip Hop Congress

- Son Jarocho

- E the Poet

- Carolyn Malachi

- Dream Nation - Marching band extraordinaire!

Interative Tent...

- Urban Debate League

- Armando & Ryan

- Songs of Social Movement

- Militant Advocates

- Youth as Resources

Teachers' Round Table

Puppet and Prop Making

A Kid’s Zone run by Kids for Peace

Prometheus Radio (bring a portable radio along to hear the live low-powered FM broadcast from the fair!)

Info tables of over 40 social justice organizations working in Baltimore.

B'More Fair - April 18 - 12 noon - Carroll Park

2009-04-11T10:43:00.000-07:00

With less than a week to go... we hope to see everyone at the B'More Fair on Saturday April 18. The fair will be followed by the United Workers Human Rights Zone March. The fair starts at 12 noon. The march starts at 4 PM. Join us at Carroll Park! See you there!

Mass Outreach Saturday April 11

2009-04-08T12:52:00.000-07:00

We are doing another outreach day this Saturday, April 11th. Join us in getting the word out about this amazing celebration of community power!

We will all meet at the Waverly Farmers Market to gather fliers and coordinate. We will be handing out fliers and talking with the people from your city about the event. From there, folks will go to either Lexington Market, Hollins Market, the North East Market, or stay at the Waverly Farmers Market. We will spend the early afternoon promoting the B-MORE FAIR at each of these locations.

If you have any questions or would rather meet at one of the other market locations rather than going to Waverly first, please call Ryan (number below) and let him know so we can send someone with fliers out there.

WHAT: Another Mass Outreach Day!
WHEN: Saturday April 11th, 11 am to 3 pm
WHERE: Meet at the Waverly Farmers Market, 32nd St & Barclay St.

CONTACT: Ryan Harvey at 410-733-6867

Download the Flyer

2009-04-03T13:15:00.001-07:00

Download, print and distribute the pdf version of the B'More Fair flyer.

Looking for Some Useful Stuff... You Got It?

2009-04-03T06:50:00.001-07:00

We all know that this fair is about generating community power – but we can't make that happen unless we can generate some electrical power!

Because there are no electrical plug-ins available to us at Carroll Park, the B-More fair is currently seeking generators that we can use to power our concert, food vendors, radio broadcast, and other interactive events at the fair. If you or your organization has access to a generator that you'd be willing to loan to the event, please contact Cricket at carrison1234@gmail.com.

We are also looking for loans of around 60 tables and 150 chairs. If your organization has folding chairs or tables, we will arrange to pick them up and return them to you the weekend of the event.

Additionally, please us know if you can bring some battery powered radios to the fair, so that we can hear Prometheus Radio's live low-power FM broadcast while it's happening.

Mass Days of Outreach - THIS weekend!

2009-04-03T06:48:00.001-07:00

This weekend we will be coordinating mass days of outreach to spread the word about this fantastic event. This is a great opportunity for folks to get involved who don't have much time to devote, but care about our city and our communities. It's also a great way to get familiar with parts of the city that you may not know much about!

SATURDAY April 4th: Meet at 4PM at the United Workers office (901 Hollins St). From there everyone will split up into cars and go to designated neighborhoods of the city to post fliers in local businesses and in public spaces.

SUNDAY April 5th: Meet at 1PM at the United Workers office (901 Hollins St). This day we will focus more on giving out fliers in popular public spaces such as the Inner Harbor and Lexington Market.

Everyone is welcome to come for however much time they are able to give. If you can't come one day, come the other day!

WE ESPECIALLY NEED PEOPLE WHO HAVE CARS THEY CAN BRING!

Tape, staples and fliers will be provided, but please bring your own if you have any to spare.

Update on Programming

2009-03-19T12:58:00.001-07:00

Although, the music, workshops, and tablers are not finalized, it is shaping up to be an exciting showcase of Baltimore and the regions rich grassroots and artistic community. For a musical line-up there will be a marching band (possibly two!), Son Jarocho, hip-hop, gospel, spoken word. There will be children's activities, a puppet making workshop, a public debate held by the Baltimore Urban Debate League and much more.

All Committee Potluck and Meeting

2009-03-19T12:57:00.000-07:00

B’MORE FAIR officially has a location. A change from the expected location, it will now be held at Carroll Park (S. Monroe St. and Washington Blvd.). The Human Rights Zone March will change its starting location to coordinate with the B’MORE FAIR.

With only a month away from the B’MORE FAIR, the different organizing committees have been busily getting down to the details of the food, music, workshops, and info booths. Although, the Coordinating Committee has been sharing progress back and forth, we thought it would be a good time to suggest an All Committee Meeting. This meeting will be an opportunity to report back to the larger group and to go over the operational plan for the set-up and day of the B’MORE FAIR. If you are not in a committee, but are interested in seeing how you can plug in on the day, feel free to come. It will be a potluck, so come prepared to with a dish or drinks to share!

All Committee Potluck & Meeting
When: Saturday, April 4, noon-4PM
Where: 901 Hollins St.

Location and Time for Fair

2009-03-19T07:38:00.000-07:00

The permit has just been issued and the B'More Fair will be at Carroll Park (S. Monroe St. and Washington Blvd.) from 12 noon to 4 PM. See you there!

Photos from Benefit Concert

2009-02-09T13:14:00.001-08:00

Planning Meeting Update

2009-02-09T13:11:00.000-08:00

This weekend marked the beginning of what from now until the B'MORE FAIR will be non-stop planning and organizing. This Saturday, the second planning meeting for the B'MORE FAIR took place to continue where we left off at the Allies & Advisers Gathering. On Sunday, community allies came out to hear Ryan Harvey, Son of Nun, Gray, Rebel Inc., and Broadcast Live rock the Wind Up Space as a benefit for the B'MORE FAIR.

At Saturday's planning meeting, we came to consensus around a committee structure for the B'MORE FAIR, formed an overarching Coordinating Committee and decided on the colors for the event (purple and white). Those at the meeting broke up into committees of interest and defined the responsibilities of each committee.

If you were unable to make it to this meeting, it is not too late to jump into any of the committees and help with the organizing of the event. There is plenty of work to be done to make the B'MORE FAIR an event that celebrates our shared struggles and effectively builds community power. If your organization would like to participate in the B'MORE FAIR, but are unable to be on a committee, your participation is still welcome and encouraged. Please share your ideas or send a proposal to the Coordinating Committee by emailing or calling me.

For those who are interested in joining a committee, the committees that have been formed are Logistics, Media, Fundraising, Arts & Culture, and Outreach. The Arts & Culture committee in particular could use more creative heads. This committee is responsible for the programming of musicians, artists, speakers, workshops, and events, essentially all the fun stuff.

B-MORE FAIR Benefit Concert

2009-01-27T15:45:00.000-08:00

Sunday, Feb. 8th @ 4:00 PM
Wind Up Space, 12 W. North Ave.
$5

BROADCAST LIVE
Broadcast Live is a one of a kind live-music experience. The mission of the band is to uplift and empower people through poetry and hiphop, brought back to its roots with the sounds of live instruments and rich beats. The music is an entertaining balance of political commentary and superbly-crafted music.

With local artists:
SON OF NUN
GRAY
RYAN HARVEY
REBEL INC

Notes from Philly

2009-01-27T06:05:00.000-08:00

On Saturday morning, eight of us headed down to Baltimore for a United Workers Association Allies and Advisors meeting.

The UWA is a group of “low-wage workers leading the way to poverty’s end” who in 2007 won an over 50% wage increase for workers at the Camden Yards stadium. Their current campaign is to organize all low-wage workers—across sectors and employers—in Baltimore’s touristy Inner Harbor area. On Saturday they brought together groups from around Baltimore and the region to make a plan for a community fair on April 18, which will culminate with a march to the Inner Harbor and an announcement of the campaign’s first target. Together we decided on the name “B-More Fair: Celebrating Our City, Our Voices, Our Way” and one member of our delegation stood up and said we’d be back on April 18th with 50 people from Philly—so don’t worry if you couldn’t make it this time around. Check out these pictures from our trip and mark your calendar for April 18th!

from Labor Justice Blog

Next Planning Meeting - Sat Feb 7

2009-01-24T11:38:00.000-08:00

We made a lot of progress at the Allies and Advisers gathering in laying the foundation for the B-MORE FAIR. The next step is to flesh out plans using the ideas for strategies and committees discussed in small groups. To do this we're holding a working/planning meeting that will focus on deciding on specifics, getting down to details. We'll also create a B-MORE FAIR coordinating committee that will ensure that community organizers from throughout the city have a voice in planning and decision making related to the fair.

Please mark your calendar with the following date:

Planning Meeting - Saturday, February 7
10 AM to 4 PM
901 Hollins St.

Spring 2009 - Baltimore's Spring of Action

2009-01-24T11:35:00.000-08:00

Spring 2009 will be a spring of action with major events starting March 27 and continuing to April 18. Mark your calendar now for the following events:

City from Below Conference - March 27-29
http://cityfrombelow.org

B-MORE FAIR - April 18
Celebrate: Our Lives. Our City. Our Way.
http://b-morefair.blogspot.com

Human Rights Zone March - April 18 (following the fair)
http://unitedworkers.org

Community organizations, unions, churches and people from throughout the region are organizing and supporting these events.

Allies and Advisers Gathering Starts Planning B-MORE FAIR

2009-01-23T07:02:00.000-08:00

On January 17, 2009 in a church basement in West Baltimore a group of community organizers, faith leaders, union members and people came together to make history. About 90 people from across color lines and language barriers met to plan how to expand our movement by working together in solidarity and unity. The day may not have felt all that historic to those of us who were there as we prayed together, met in small groups, ate soup and sandwiches together, listened to Robert Houston talk about the meaning of the poor people's movement, generated ideas for how to organize a community fair, and reached consensus on the name and theme for the B-MORE FAIR to be held on April 18, 2009. The day may have easily felt more mundane than momentous. But what we did on this day was build our future history, and on reflection that can be nothing less than truly momentous.

The only way that people make history is by carrying out the mundane tasks of community building and collective visioning to create power for purpose. Our purpose is to end poverty, stop oppression, expand dignity and ensure that the human rights of everyone, everywhere are respected. The cleaners at Camden Yards, cooks and dish washers at the Inner Harbor, ministers, union staff and rank and file members, independent media activists, long-time community leaders, labor historians, artists, allies from Washington and Philadelphia, taxi drivers, domestic workers and many others from all walks of life who met at the gathering came together to build our power. We came together to realize our vision that all people are born worthy of dignity and respect. We should never forget how important this kind of coming together is and how essential it is for the right change to happen in ways that sustain life, respect human dignity and extend and expand human rights to all persons.

While meetings like the Allies and Advisers Gathering may not draw headlines or end up in history books, and may seem mundane and ordinary, they are one of the most important tools that people have to build and exercise power for purpose. We should make no mistake of the importance of this gathering. Not only did we lay out a broad framework for a community fair to be held on April 18, but we also did a lot of things that should not go unnoticed. In the margins - between sessions and off the agenda - people connected, shared ideas, made plans, got to better know each other, formed relationships and expanded the power potential of the justice and human rights infrastructure of our city and region. This is how history is built.

The people who gathered on January 17, 2009 are just some of the leaders our city requires to end poverty, expand justice and make our community a place for people to live good lives together. By reflecting on Resurrection City and the history of Martin Luther King's work with the poor people's movement we see the direct connection to the foundation we're building today and the vision of those before us in the long and difficult struggle to make history right for all, including the poor and the powerless. Part of the task before us is to expand our leadership base, which is one of the reasons that we're planning and will hold the B-MORE FAIR.

January 17, 2009, thanks to those who participated in the gathering, marked a single step in a long journey. But no matter how small a step it was, it's a step that must be made for the next steps to follow. And thanks to those who came together this weekend, we are now more ready to make the next step and the next and the next. We do this because there is no other way to build community, no other way to expand power for purpose, no other way to create a movement to end poverty and secure justice and human rights for everyone.

We invite others to join us by taking next step with us. Between now and and the B-MORE FAIR there will be more meetings in church basements and union halls to plan and coordinate how to carry out our vision of human rights for all. Please join us. We committed to mobilize hundreds of people from throughout the region and that means that we have a lot of work to do between now and April. Now is the time for the hard work of reaching out, planning logistics, inviting others to join us, and carrying on more conversations about why it's important that we build history together in this way.