June 23, 2002
Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada

5:42pm. As soon as I upload this page... I'm on the road to Portland, Maine. My spaceship is packed and I'm ready to blast off. I'll be spending most of the summer living on Cow Island(see photos below) working with the folks at Rippleffect taking kids paddling. I don't know how often I'll be able to update the site, but I'll try. Have a whicked fun summer!

Burdock!
A Gathering For A Free and Sustainable Future
August 6-13, Starks, Maine

P.O. Box 1582, Portland, 04104, resist207@riseup.net Please pre-register with the above address if you plan on attending. Become a participant in the Burdock Planning Email List: http://lists.distributonomy.org/mailman/listinfo/burdock

Burdock is a gathering for people of every walk of life to celebrate each other, the earth and a sense community on local and global levels. We live in a culture of consumption. At this gathering we hope to break free of that and become creators and producers. We can no longer afford to be only spectators. In that spirit we hope that everyone will come ready to participate and become a part of this gathering. It will be an environment welcoming people to educate each other on practical everyday skills, life issues, ecology and ways to make the world a better place. Burdock will work to build relationships and a sense of community with people from around Maine, New England, the Maritimes, Quebec and the rest of the world. Burdock will be child friendly with workshops and events specifically designed for children. Many people are cooperatively organizing the gathering, with no one person having more control than any one else. The Burdock Gathering will not be affiliated with any government, political party, or corporation. Burdock will be based on mutual aid and cooperation to encourage education, community building and a wicked good time!

Discussions and Workshops: At Burdock, everyone is a participant and we encourage people to bring workshops, skills, music, art, and good food to share with one another. Below is a list of possible workshops; some have facilitators while others are still looking for support.

Do-It-Yourself Skillshare: tree climbing, auto repair, hand sewing, wooden spoon carving, food preservation, parenting and childcare, self health, transportation, self-defense, cheap and tasty cooking, wild foods, free computer software, hands-on renewable energy, bicycle repair, solar cooking, survival, nature crafts, unschooling, home/urban gardening tips, children,s workshops.

Community and Resistance: class, labor, race, age, gender/sexuality, justice, military and weapons industry, technology, stopping sprawl, sustainable forestry, alternative transportation, humanure, industrial hemp, bio-diesel, food production and access, why organic?, problems with agro-business and meat industries, building rural and urban connections, how we pay corporations to take our money, bush family history and connections, who are the REAL consumers?, biointensive gardening, permaculture?, cross-border connections, tenants rights and housing, accessibility and ways to overcome ableism, forest defense, primitivism, direct action skills, security culture, prison labor and the prison industrial complexes, political prisoners, Native American issues and colonization/indigenous rights, decolonization, props and puppets, group project presentations, democracy and capitalism, who and what is the working class, weaning from Wal-Mart, patriarchy, racism, real wealth, anarchy.

The last two or three days will have many workshops and discussions on independent and alternative media, along with workshops on media literacy, television, guerrilla media, and pirate radio. For more information on workshops and how you can become involved with organizing a workshop contact: Dan (ph# 207-642-5161 knotweed@maineindymedia.org) or if not available, Hillary (ph# 207-649-5980 (only after 7pm or on weekends), sterren@brandeis.edu) Heather (fecund@maineindymedia.org) (childcare issues) Hillary (sterren@brandeis.edu, #207-649-5980 - after 7pm or weekends) (Indymedia component)

Music and Art: Burdock is a celebration of diversity and solidarity. There will be different types of music and entertainment throughout the week. Burdock is looking for musicians of (but not limited to): hip-hop, punk, folk, rock, bluegrass, reggae, native and tribal. A solar powered sound system is a possibility for on-site music. A rave is being planned and Burdock is looking for DJs. Folk musician Dave Rovics is already booked (go to davidrovics.com to see/hear more about him), and The Green Anarchy Tour will make a stop at Burdock with a few punk bands: Elder Wrath (ex-Axiom),John the Baker, and Resist and Exist, (find out more about the tour at www.greenanarchy.org.) The Beehive Design Collective out of Machias, Maine is planning to be at Burdock to help facilitate arts workshops and talk about their stone murals and posters (find out more about them at www.beehivecollective.org.) For more information on music and art at the festival and how you can perform or help with organizing or equipment please contact: Nick (ph# 1-207-774-6017, primitive@riseup.net) For the rave, Alasdair (ph#207-649-5980, acpquinn@middlebury.edu)

Camping and Travel: Starks is located in Central Maine approximately 2 hours north of Portland. Burdock will be on a farm in Starks, Maine with lots of fields and woods, and is near a river. There will be plenty of room for tents and adequate parking but you are encouraged to carpool to save resources and space. We are trying to coordinate shuttles to and from Portland and other surrounding areas, so if anyone has a vehicle that they are willing to share for this purpose please contact us. Whether you do not have transportation, or have rides to offer please contact us for information about carpools and vans or directions: Breanna(ph# 1-207-778-3402, breannaannaerb@justice.com)

Food: There will be a communal kitchen that will provide food for the gathering. Because of fire dangers we are asking that people not cook at their own camps unless they have specific dietary requirements that can't be met at the communal kitchen. We are hoping for food donations from the local communities, but funds will be raised to purchase what is not donated and please feel free to bring food to donate to the communal kitchen. Burdock will need help with cookware and utensils, gas stoves and propane, and water for drinking and cleaning. If you can bring your own reusable plates and cups to save costs and waste it would be appreciated! For information about food and how you can donate food or equipment like tables and other furniture, tents, firewood, barrels for compost and recyclables, solar equipment, tools, video equipment, audio equipment, and money contact: Claire (ph# 1-207-674-2358, rutabaga@megalink.net) Breanna (ph# 1-207-778-3402, breannaannaerb@justice.com)

Promotion of Burdock Gathering: We will soon have a poster and a printed flier of this information for you to distribute in your local community. Contact: Jonah (tintin@tao.ca)

Fundraising and Donations: Burdock is free to anyone who wants to come, but we are asking that those who can donate money please do so. Burdock is a grassroots, non-profit gathering and is not being sponsored by any corporations, governments, or political parties, so therefore all donations are greatly appreciated. If you know of any groups or individuals that may be able to donate larger amounts of money and/or equipment please get them in contact with us or pass on their info to us. Dot (207-782-3342) General (resist207@riseup.net, P.O. Box 1582 Portland, Me)