[van-announce] Community Events Digest

[SFPIRG]

COMMUNITY EVENTS DIGEST 
== Social justice events happening around town= = 


*** Events at SFU Burnaby *** 
1) SFPIRG AGM and Tar Sands Speakers (Feb 10) 
2) FOOD INC Film Screening (Feb 11) 

** Special Listing of Olympic Resistance Events *** 
3) Olympic Resistance and Community Events (16 different events, Feb 5-20) 

*** Other Events Off Campus *** 
4) To Be Free: A Celebration of Black Heritage on Salt Spring Island (Feb 5) 
5) A fundraising gala and cultural evening for Haiti Earthquake Action Relief (Feb 6) 
6) Sustainability Workshops (Feb 6-7) 
7) Solidarity is Sexy (Feb 11) 
8) 19th Annual Women's Memorial March (Feb 14) 
9) Redistribution of Wealth: Economic and Environmental Justice from Indigenous and Faith Perspectives (Mar 5-7) 

*** Other Announcements * ** 
10) Vancouver to Ottawa by bike: The Otesha Project (Summer 2010) 
11) Girls Action Foundation Zine Seeking Submissions 




**compiled by SFPIRG, SFU's student-based social justice resource centre. 

http://www.sfpirg.ca. To have your event included in the next digest, send a 

text-based email announcement to sfpirg (at) sfu.ca. ** 


1) 
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SFPIRG AGM and Tar Sands Speakers 

Wednesday, February 10, 3:30-5:30pm 
MBC 2290, SFU Burnaby Mountain (note: new room) 

FEATURING 
Clayton Thomas Muller 
Indigenous Environmental Network 
Clayton, of the Mathais Colomb Cree Nation, is an activist for Indigenous rights and environmental justice. Recognized by Utne Magazine as one of the top 30 under 30 activists in the United States and as a “Climate Hero” 2009 by Yes Magazine, Clayton is the Tar Sands campaign organizer for the Indigenous Environmental Network. 

Eriel Tchekwie Deranger 
Rainforest Action Network 
>From the Athabasca Tar Sands to the World Olympics - How Canada continues to subjugate the Indigenous peoples of Canada. Eriel will discuss the devastating impacts of the Alberta Tar Sands and how the same profiteering corporations are green-washing their reputation by putting forward millions of dollars to sponsor the Olympics Winter Games. 

Learn also about what SFPIRG's been up to this past year as your on-campus resource centre for social and environmental justice...and get involved! 
Full Details, including AGM agenda: http://www.sfpirg.ca 

All events are wheelchair accessible. Childcare and other subsidies available. For more info call 778-782-4360. 

Facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/inbox/?tid=1120349788512#/group.php?gid=2445942367&ref=ts 
Facebook event: http://www.facebook.com/inbox/?tid=1120349788512#/event.php?eid=290748212649&ref=ts 

SFU students especially encouraged to attend, you are all SFPIRG members! 



2) 
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FOOD INC Film Screening 

Thurs Feb 11th, 2:30pm 
Maggie Benson Center, MBC 2296, SFU Burnaby 
Beverages and snacks provided. 
Free. Donations accepted for the Vancouver Humane Society. 

Voice For Animals" is a new SFPIRG action group that is striving to create awareness of the ill-treatment of animals. To kick things off we are providing a FREE movie showing of Food Inc. http://www.foodincmovie.com/about-the-film.php. How much do we really know about the food we buy from the supermarket and serve to our families? 

If you are interested in joining our group please e-mail us at voiceforanimals at sfpirg.ca 



3) 
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OLYMPIC RESISTANCE AND COMMUNITY EVENTS 

- Friday Feb 5 till Monday Feb 8: Indigenous Peoples Assembly in Secwepemc Territories. For Indigenous people only. For information email nymcommunications at gmail.com. Full callout posted at: http://mostlywater.org/indigenous_peoples_assembly_2010 

-Fri Feb 5th, 6pm. A Theft of Olympic Proportions .Join us for a dinner and a grassroots community discussion on the impact of the 2010 Winter Olympics on our province, region and communities. @ the Organizing Centre for Social and Economic Justice. 672 E. Broadway (at Fraser). Hosted by the Organizing Centre for Social and Economic Justice, the Alliance for Peoples Health, the OC Labour Committee and the Bus Riders Union. allianceforpeopleshealth at gmail.com 

- Saturday Feb 6. Empowerment 2010 Tour at the HD Lab (1814 Pandora St). Performances by The Outspoken Wordsmiths, Testament, Illogik and El Vuh. Doors at 8pm show at 9pm. $5 to $10 suggested donation no one turned away. A benefit for the Vancouver Media Co-op. 

- Sunday Feb 7. 3rd Annual Poverty Olympics in the DTES. Relay starts at 12:30 at VANDU (380 East Hastings St.), 1-3 pm at Japanese Hall (487 Alexander St) Free, family event. http://povertyolympics.ca 

- Sunday Feb 7. Leave Out Violence Presents youth-led media collaboration (films, photography, and live performances) that focus directly on "What does 2010 mean to you?" Strathcona Park from 5-9 pm. Email: lcyaction at gmail.com 

- Sunday, Feb 7 at 5:30 pm. 2010 Abbotsford Olympic Torch Welcoming Committee at the Abbotsford Exhibition Park, 32470 Haida Drive. Let's make some noise and show them how we feel about their waste of 7 billion dollars while 156,000 children in this province live in poverty. 

- Sunday Feb 7. Women's International League for Peace and Freedom presents a Panel Discussion on Women and the Olympics . Rhizome Café, 317 East Broadway, from 6-8 pm. Free event, donations appreciated. 

- Wed Feb 10- Thurs Feb 11: Olympic Resistance Summit from noon until 10 pm.Workshops and speakers discussing Impact of the Olympics on Indigenous Communities and Land Defence, Corporatization of the Games, Legal Rights, Housing and Poverty Impacts, Creative Resistance, and Struggle beyond 2010. Childcare and Food will be provided. Wise Hall (1882 Adanac St) and nearby Centre For Socialist Education (706 Clark Dr). Details: http://olympicresistance.net 

- Fri Feb 12: Take Back Our City March “Welcome” the 2010 Olympic Torch with Free Games, Free Speech, and Free Food! Beginning with a festival at the Vancouver Art Gallery at 3 pm, followed by a parade and protest to BC Place Stadium. Details, including childcare, at: http://2010welcoming.wordpress.com/ 

- Friday, Feb 12, 2010 at 8:00pm, Legion Hall, 2205 Commerical Drive. We do not like the Olympics Celebration Party ! Lineup: Dreamscene, Legally Blind, DJ Josef, DJ Kinky Kitty, Team YPE Cost: $3 - ($1297 cheaper than a ticket to the opening ceremonies). Nobody turned away. (from the Work Less Party) A once in a life time opportunity to not celebrate the opening ceremonies. 

- Fri Feb 12: Resistance Media Lounge at Rhizome Café, 317 East Broadway at 8 pm. Join the Vancouver Media Co-op for a mash up of protest footage, news, and images from the actions against the Olympic torch and the kick off of the anti-Olympics convergence. http://vancouver.mediacoop.ca 

- Sat Feb 13. 2010 Heart Attack: Street March to Clog the Arteries of Capitalism . Arrive at 8:30 am in Thornton Park (Main and Terminal). This demonstration will respect diversity of tactics and aims to disturb "business as unusual" on the first day of the Games! Details: http://olympicresistance.net/content/2010-heart-attack 

- Sat Feb 13. 2010 Anne Feeney in Concert : "5 Ring Circus Special:" A Performance for the People! Want to take an alternative to the Olympic events around town?? Join activist/singer-songwriter Anne Feeney for an evening of witty, stirring, impassioned political songs. Yes, she'll certainly have something to sing about the 5 Ring Circus in town! Find out more at http://annefeeney.com. $12-$20 sliding scale, advance tickets are recommended. On sale at Rhizome and Little Sister's 

- Mon Feb 15 (ONGOING): Noon at Pigeon Park (Carrall and Hastings). No empty talk, no empty lots! Rally for Homes and Support the Olympic Tent Village . Organized by DTES-based, anti-poverty, and housing rights groups. Visit: http://dtesjustice.wordpress.com/ 

- Mon Feb 15: Vancouver Art Gallery, Gathering at 6:00pm and leaving at 6:30pm. Come out and be part of an a nti-war and anti-militarization moving spectacle . This event is a festive and creative demand for the Canadian government to respect and uphold human-rights, international law, the right to self-determination and civil rights. Organized by Stopwar.ca 

- Saturday, Feb 20. Rally for a National Housing Program from noon-2 pm, north Side of Vancouver Art Gallery. The UN now calls Canada's housing crisis, 'a national emergency.' Come join this rally to pressure the federal government to once again re-establish a national housing program in Canada. Organized by Impact on Communities Coalition. http://www.iocc.ca 



4) 
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To Be Free: A Celebration of Black Heritage on Salt Spring Island 

Friday, February 5, 7:00pm 
Rhizome Café 
Free 

Join Evelyn C White and Joanne Bealy for a discussion and signing of their new book: Every Goodbye Ain't Gone: A Photo Narrative of Black Heritage on Salt Spring Island, a landmark release that details the 150 year presence of blacks on Salt Spring, an island widely held as among the top artist colonies in North America. 
http://www.dancingcrowpress.com/ 



5) 
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“HEAR US NOW” A fundraising gala and cultural evening for Haiti Earthquake Action Relief 

Saturday, Feb. 6 
Michael J Fox Theatre in Burnaby 
7373 MacPherson Ave, (near Royal Oak Skytrain) 
Doors open at 6 pm for silent auction. Live show starts at 7 pm until 10 pm. 

Please join Haiti Solidarity BC members and dedicated artists in Vancouver's entertainment community for an evening with local musicians, dancers, comedians, magicians, other performers & a silent auction. 

All funds raised for earthquake victims in Haiti will be donated to your choice of projects: 
* Partners in Health* Doctors Without Borders* International Child Care(Grace Children's Hospital in Port au Prince)* Sawatzky Family Foundation (SOPUDEP School in Port au Prince) 
Greetings will be heard from Burnaby Mayor Derrick Corrigan and Burnaby-New Westminster Member of Parliament Peter Julian. 

Hosted by Vancouver author and comedian Charlie Demers. Entry by donation. For a tax receipt, $20 minimum is required. 

More information: www.hearusnow.ca or http://www.michaeljfoxtheatre.ca/calendar-events For more info: Matt 778 988 7895, Lisa 604 328 1496. 
If you would like to donate items to the silent auction, please phone the numbers above. Read a front page story in the January 30 Burnaby NOW at: http://www2.canada.com/burnabynow/news/story.html?id=b21d137d-8414-4988-ab09-a16af8a79803 



6) 
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Sustainability Workshops 

Village Vancouver is pleased to kick off our 2010 workshop series with Robin Wheeler on Feb 6th-7th . Her offerings touch on a variety of subjects, including gardening and urban agriculture, food security, community building, and sustainability. 

Robin is the founder of The Sustainable Living Arts School (http://www.ediblelandscapes.ca/), and the author of Gardening for the Faint of Heart and Food Securityfor the Faint of Heart. She lives on the Sunshine Coast, and brings a vast wealth of knowledge and experience with her to each gathering. 

Workshops include:Seed Saving in the City, Edible Landscaping, Intensive Urban Microfarming, Introduction to Medicine, The Whys and Wherefores of food cycles. 

Full details at http://www.villagevancouver.ca 



7) 
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Solidarity is Sexy 
A Vancouver Status of Women volunteer bonanza and solidarity with Haiti event 

Thursday, February 11 
6:00 – 9:00pm 
Rhizome Cafe: 317 East Broadway 
Vancouver - Coast Salish Territory 

Light snacks, return bus tickets and on-site childcare provided. 

Featuring: 
PRESS RELEASE 
Hari Alluri, Nadia Chaney, Sara Kendall, Cecily Nicholson, Cynthia Oka, Naava Smolash & Proma Tagore 

STUART HAMMOND 
Haiti Solidarity BC and the Canada Haiti Action Network 

JOSEE 

CLAREITY 
…and company 

Vancouver Status of Women offers many opportunities for personal growth and skills development through our volunteer program. Experience building liberated feminist community with us! We especially invite allies to join our visionary, volunteer-organized LEAP Childcare Committee, which provides a fun, safe and educational space for a group of kids whose mamas are participating in VSW’s community organizing training project, the Leadership Empowerment Activism Program (LEAP). 
LEAP is dedicated to supporting womyn who struggle with colonialism, racism, poverty, disability, queer identity, immigrant status and single motherhood to become leaders in our communities. The LEAP childcare program shares these goals, and sees childcare as a powerful and transformative space to learn and practice meaningful forms of solidarity and community building. Learn more while enjoying a night of connection, poetry and music! 

http://www.vsw.ca 



8) 
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19th Annual Women's Memorial March 
To honour all the missing and murdered and women in the Downtown Eastside. 

Sun Feb 14th, noon 

At noon, we gather at the Carnegie Community Centre Theatre, 401 Main Street (corner Hastings, Vancouver) where family members speak in remembrance. At 1 pm, the march takes to the streets and proceeds through the Downtown Eastside, with stops to commemorate where women were last seen or found; speeches by community activists at the police station; a healing circle at Oppenheimer Park around 3 pm; and finally a community feast at the Japanese Language Hall. 

Details at: http://womensmemorialmarch.wordpress.com/ 



9) 
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Redistribution of Wealth: Economic and Environmental Justice from Indigenous and Faith Perspectives 

March 5-7 
Maritime Labour Centre, Vancouver, Coastal Salish Territory 

Please join an exciting gathering of activists and scholars who are drawing on ancient teachings to inform how we can holistically address the radical challenges of our times. 

Speakers and Resource People include: gid7ahl gudsllaay, Terri-Lynn Williams-Davidson (Haida Gwaii); Rauna Kuokkanen (Samiland/Canada); David R. Loy (United States); Mritiunjoy Mohanty (India/Quebec); John Parker (United States); Pablo Solón (Bolivia); T’Uy’Tanat-Cease Wyss (Skwxw'u7mesh Nation) as well as Chaw-win-is; Na'cha'uaht/Kam/ayaam - Cliff Atleo, Jr.; Stephen Aberle; Azhar Syed; Clifford Azack (Nisga'a Nation); Dolores Chew and Larry Grant(Musqueam Nation) 

The conference program can be viewed here: http://interfaithjustpeace.org/program_2010_specific.php 

Register now and consider subsidizing someone else. Cost $35- $100 sliding scale. Half-day rates available. No one turned away for lack of funds. 

For more information please visit our website at http://www.interfaithjustpeace.org 



10) 
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Vancouver to Ottawa by bike: The Otesha Project 

This summer, a team of motivated and energetic young people, aged 18 to 30, will set off on a cycling and performing tour of epic proportions. You can be one of them. Combine activism, sustainable living, community building, theatre, leadership training and bicycle touring on an Otesha Project bike tour. Watch this video to see what going on tour is like. 

As a tour member you will share in an incredible experience as you live in a mobile sustainable community. You will cycle from performance to performance, connect with communities along the route, brave the elements, and explore all the ups and downs of directly addressing environmental and social justice issues through your every day actions. You will use theatre as a tool for education and changing the world. No bike touring, theatre, or other experience necessary, just a willingness to give it your all. 

The Coast to Capital Tour will bring you across the rockies, the prairies and onto the Canadian shield from June 25th to November 2nd. 

The Otesha Project is a national youth-run charitable organization created in 2002. We use theatre to mobilize young people to create local and global change through their everyday consumer choices. To date, we have reached over 100,000 Canadians directly with our theatre presentations and workshops that inspire youth to re-evaluate their daily consumer choices to reflect the kind of world they want to live in. http://www.otesha.ca 



11) 
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Girls Action Foundation Zine Seeking Submissions 

Are you an immigrant girl or young woman under 25 years of age*? 
Would you like to share some of your challenges and successes regarding immigration? 

The Girls Action Foundation invites you to be part of our new zine! By contributing to this zine, you will be able to share your experiences regarding immigration, the challenges that you faced as well as the successes that made you proud of yourself. It’s an opportunity for you to bring and share some of your critical thinking around the immigration process as a first, second, or third generation immigrant girl or young women, or even as a citizen of the host country. 
Sharing your experiences and stories will inspire many other girls and young women across the country! 

What is a zine? 

A zine is a small, independent magazine. It can be about any subject that matters to you! Unlike all the popular magazines, a zine allows you to express your own realities with your own words, and share your message with other people. 

What do I have to do to contribute to this zine? 

Call us or send us an e-mail to share your interest in being a contributor to the zine or for any other information. You can submit texts, poems, collages, pictures, comic strips, or choose any medium that you’d like to best share your story. In your e-mail, please tell us what you would like to talk about, language of preference, your age and the medium that you would like to use. 

After confirmation of your participation, you have until February 7th 2010 to send us your contribution to the zine. 

If you are interested in contributing to the zine or for any other information, please contact Karima Kadmiri at karima at girlsactionfoundation.ca or 

*contributions of participants of any age are welcome, but priority will be given to the participants of 25 years of age and under. 

Founded in 1995, Girls Action Foundation is a national charitable organization that inspires and supports the empowerment, leadership and healthy development of girls and young women across Canada. Through its innovative programs, research, and leadership to a network of over 200 partnering organizations and projects, Girls Action Foundation reaches over 60,000 girls and young women annually. 
http://www.girlsactionfoundation.ca