While the turnout was about half of last year’s, the event itself was in many ways more of a success.  The project of making the festival a reality was carried out by many more people this year, from those who met to nail down the details of getting the park set up to everyone who showed up the day of and brought their own touch to the festival made this event what it was.  It was a joy to watch it unfold as such and it seems we may be getting better at what we do.

Several groups came with tables and literature for attendees to browse and take home.  There was a lending library, an On Our Own Authority! Publishing book table, a display from the Open Door Community, and a table packed to its edges with zines.  Kelli’s Childcare Collective brought a table for the younger crowd complete with coloring books and bubbles, and SWARM had a freshly painted newspaper box on display.

Early in the evening there was a puppet show on resisting grand juries and how to practice good security culture.  Nearly everyone at the park packed the seating in front of the stage (crafted just for the show by a local anarchist) to watch the homemade puppets tell their story.  The crowd laughed along with the puppets’ jokes while one of the smallest audience members played a game of hide and seek with the puppeteers behind the curtains.

Following the puppet show a workshop on Eviction Blockades was given by a member of the local group Occupy Our Homes Atlanta.  After that the crowd grooved into the night to tunes from We Few, Indigo Violence and Georgia Slim and Danny Red from I Want Whiskey.  There was a tiny hiccup in our celebration with a visit from the local police, but in good fashion, they were surrounded, phones and cameras were put into action and Cop Watch did their thing.  Needless to say, we finished the night strong with good music and good friends.

While we had a great time at the festival, it is important to remember that this fun, light-hearted event is a small part of May Day.  Anti-capitalists across the globe celebrate May Day, in their own and varied ways, and it is crucial that we remember that this wide range of actions build capacity to resist the oppressive evils of capitalism.  Luckily, it is getting easier every day to plug into ongoing anarchist projects in the city for anyone who is interested.  We hope you are.

Coan Park is located at 1530 Woodebine Ave, Atlanta, GA 30317.

If you need help finding the Really Really Free Market on May Day, then be sure to head straight for the welcome table and we will be able to let you know where everything is.

If you would like to help make May Day happen this year, come to this meeting! It is located at Joe’s Coffee in East Atlanta, 510 Flat Shoals Ave and will take place on Wednesday, April 24 at 7:30pm.

At the last two meetings, we decided on a number of areas to work on:

• Food
• Literature and Tabling
• Really Really Free Market
• Sports
• Music
• Workshops
• Outreach

These areas all have bottom-liners and groups of people dedicated to working on them. If you would like to get involved, this meeting will be a great place to start, as we will finalize a list of tasks and materials that will be needed for May Day and will cover anything that is not already complete. If you’re not able to make it, please email us at info@maydayatlanta.org and let us know that you would like to help out.

See you there!

If you would like to play music, do a workshop, bring zines, do crafts, or plan any kind of May Day event and want to coordinate with others, come to this meeting! It is located at Joe’s Coffee in East Atlanta, 510 Flat Shoals Ave and will take place on Wednesday, April 10 at 7:30pm..

At the last meeting, we decided on a number of areas to work on:

• Food
• Medical
• Literature and Tabling
• Really Really Free Market
• Sports
• Music
• Workshops
• Outreach

These areas all have bottom-liners and groups of people dedicated to working on them. If you would like to get involved, this meeting is a great place to start. If you’re not able to make it, please email us at info@maydayatlanta.org and let us know that you would like to help out.

We will help promote any anti-capitalist events happening that day, so this is also an opportunity to spread the word about what you’re doing.

See you there!

If you would like to play music, do a workshop, bring zines, do crafts, or plan any kind of May Day event and want to coordinate with others, come to this meeting! It is located at Joe’s Coffee in East Atlanta, 510 Flat Shoals Ave and will take place on Wednesday, March 27 at 7:30pm.

Please come with concrete ideas that you would like to implement. This will be a relaxed atmosphere and a great opportunity for finding others to work with you on your project.

We will help promote any anti-capitalist events happening that day, so this is also an opportunity to spread the word about what you’re doing. Lastly, feel free to email us at info@maydayatlanta.org.

See you there!

4-10pm: Free Food
4-8pm: Really Really Free Market
5:30pm: Puppet Show: Grand Jury Resistance and Security Culture
6pm: Eviction Blockade Workshop
6:30pm: We Few (live music)
7pm: Solidarity Unionism Workshop
7:10pm: Indigo Violence (live music)
7:50pm: Georgia Slim (live music)
8pm: The Matrix Movie Showing
10pm: Goodnight!

====================

This May 1st, May Day Atlanta will host a cookout from 4-10pm in Coan Park. The address is 1530 Woodbine Ave, Atlanta, GA 30317. We will bring the food, you bring the rest! It’s International Workers’ Day, and we want to commemorate it by coming together and sharing good times.

Last year we had a wonderful festival with live music, food, workshops, a Red vs. Black soccer game, and a film showing. Let’s make 2013 one to remember!

If you would like to play music, do a workshop, bring zines, do crafts, or whatever, please do so and let us know! We will add it to the list of events and projects happening in the park that day.

If you are interested in coordinating our efforts, please consider emailing us at info@maydayatlanta.org.

This will be a fun atmosphere for Atlanta’s anti-capitalists to enjoy themselves as a community. In that spirit we would like to help coordinate and promote other initiatives in our city to act and come together on May Day.

Date: Saturday, Sep 29 7pm-10:30pm
Location: 1630 Paxon St, SE Atlanta, GA 30317
Contact: info@swarmatlanta.org

SWARM will be raising funds to cover initial costs for obtaining a community center space. Their target is $150! Be sure to visit the concession stand.

We will be showing The Hunger Games: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1392170/.

We’re having an INTERNATIONAL call in day to support Georgia Hunger Strikers THIS MONDAY!!!

NUMBER TO CALL!
Brian Owens, Commissioner, GA Department of Corrections, ask for his administrative assistant Peggy Chapman

478-992-5258

After four weeks, according to the families of Miguel Jackson and Preston Whiting, they are weak from hunger and subject to fainting spells. But they seem to believe they have little to lose. They are, a letter from one of them asserts, ‘starving for change.’ There were originally ten of them, but some may have been transferred out, and some other prisoners joined the strike. We hope to have clearer information tomorrow.

They are demanding access to proper hygiene, medical treatment for their numerous and severe injuries, many of which were inflicted 18 months ago, the restoration of their visiting and communications rights, and access to their meager personal property. They and their attorneys insist that the Georgia Department of Corrections follow its own published procedures requiring a status review of every inmate in punitive isolation every 30 days. They further insist that such evaluations be public and transparent so as to preclude the possibility of prejudicial conduct on the party of prison officials.

Please join us in showing support for these brave individuals putting their lives on the line to take a stand against injustice, here is a script that you can use:

“Hi, my name is ____. I am calling on behalf of the inmates on the hunger strike in the Georgia Classifications and Diagnostics Center, in Jackson Georgia. Basic human rights , as well as the rights outlined in the standard operating procedures of your prison, are being denied to these inmates. I want the prisoners to regain access to their meager personal property, to receive medical attention for their numerous and severe injuries, to get their full visitation and communication rights, to get access to proper hygiene, and to be allowed their 30 day reviews which will prove that their solitary confinement in unnecessary, unlawful, and cruel. I want you to stay the execution of Warren Hill. All state executions are shameful; murdering a mentally disabled man is barbaric. Brian Owens, the people stand for fair treatment of prisoners. You have a chance to redeem yourself. Meet our demands, the prisoners demands, the demands of the people.”

Again, the number to call is Brian Owens, Commissioner, GA Department of Corrections, ask for his administrative assistant Peggy Chapman.

478-992-5258

If you’re feeling talkative, feel free to hit up the people below as well and let them know how you feel!

Warden, GA Diagnostic & Classification Prison, Butts County GA
770-504-2000 or 770-504-2006

GA Department of Corrections Ombudsman
478-992-5367 or 478-992-5358

Georgia governor Nathan Deal
404-656-1776

We will be meeting at the West End Marta Station this Monday, July 16th at
9AM to carpool the the Department Of Corrections in Forsyth and demand that
Chairman Brian Owen see that the needs of the prisoners are met.

After four weeks, according to the families of Miguel Jackson and Preston
Whiting, they are weak from hunger and subject to fainting spells. But they
seem to believe they have little to lose. They are, a letter from one of them
asserts, ’starving for change.’ There were originally ten of them, but some
may have been transferred out, and some other prisoners joined the strike. We
hope to have clearer information tomorrow.

They are demanding access to proper hygiene, medical treatment for their
numerous and severe injuries, many of which were inflicted 18 months ago, the
restoration of their visiting and communications rights, and access to their
meager personal property. They and their attorneys insist that the Georgia
Department of Corrections follow its own published procedures requiring a
status review of every inmate in punitive isolation every 30 days. They
further insist that such evaluations be public and transparent so as to
preclude the possibility of prejudicial conduct on the party of prison
officials.

Please join us in showing support for these brave individuals putting their
lives on the line to take a stand against injustice.

facebook event: http://www.facebook.com/events/152344534889698/

Time: Sunday, July 22 7pm-10pm
Location: PushPush Theater, 121 New Street, #3-14, Decatur, Georgia 30030
Contact: info@maydayatlanta.org
Facebook: RSVP Here (if you have a Facebook account)

This will be the second film in the A-Team Film Series. And it will be awesome. Robert Rodriguez, the director, also directed Planet Terror and Sin City, so if you haven’t seen Machete yet but enjoyed those films, you will likely be enthralled by this awesome film. Here is the description:

“After being set-up and betrayed by the man who hired him to assassinate a Texas Senator, an ex-Federale launches a brutal rampage of revenge against his former boss.”

PushPush Theater is just one block from the Avondale MARTA Station.

Be sure to invite your friends!

If you would like to stay up to date on future events from May Day Atlanta and from other related groups around the city, please email info@maydayatlanta.org to get on our mailing list.