All Committee Potluck and Meeting

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

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

Planning Meeting Update

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

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

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

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.