October 18th, 2008

October 18th, 2008
Joe Courter
October 2008

In our early days the Gainesville Iguana once did an April Fools calender to go along with the real one. In addition to various ironic, satirical and joke entries, we had one day where every group in town had their ideal event; all the same day, all the same time.

This October 18th brings that day to mind as we prepared the calendar for this edition of the Iguana. This is a day for progressive and conscious folks n Gainesville to get out of the house, on your bicycle or in your vehicle, and spend the day and evening doing good stuff with other good people. Here is what is an amazing line-up of overlapping stuff:

9AM-5PM. The opening of the Friends of the Library Booksale at 401 N. Main

Street, which runs thru Wednesday.

Noon-4PM 2nd Annual progressive picnic, sponsored by the local Moveon.org chapter at Westside Park. music, food , fun

1PM Pride Parade begins from SW 7th St and goes to the Downtown Plaza where then begins....

2Pm-9PM Gainesville Pride Festival on the Downtown Plaza, with music speakers, food and craft vendors, and information tables. With that nasty Amendment 2 on the ballot, and worse coming in the Spring, this is a time for community solidarity.

3PM-6PM Harriet Ludwig's annual "Surviving the Summer" party at the Wilhemina Johnson Center. Bring something to share as one of the social consciences of Gainesville marks her moving beyond her 83rd birthday. The Wilhemina Johnson Center is at NW 4th Ave and 10th St.

6PM- Midnight A three stage Anniversary Party for the Civic Media Center, marking 15 years of existence for Gainesvilles' non-profit progressive library, organizing space, and seedbed of activism. The CMC would love to see old and current volunteer, members, and friends to come by to eat, drink ,and toast and testify about the CMC during the 6-8period, then settle back and hear the voices of Gainesville's many poets in a special 2 hour set of political and socially relevant spoken word performance. Then at 10PM the musicians take the stage with CMC friends Lars Din, , Little Pterodactyl (Chelsea Carnes) and Cassette (Samantha Jones) Donations, memberships and renewals welcome of course. The CMC is at 1021 W. University Ave.

There might be other worthy things going on, too, but for sure it's not a day to stay home