Dear fellow activists and friends,
Here is a quick update on Wild Idaho Rising Tide (WIRT) activities, before a tar sands oriented newsletter in a few days.
We are now on Twitter: Follow us at WildIdahoRT.
Wild Idaho Rising Tide and our allies are ready for a non-stop #FearlessSummer, full of events expanding the movement against extreme energy, with powerful convergences, training camps, and actions for a livable future! On our new website page, a calendar lists and links to activities in the Northwest region and in which WIRT activists will participate, including emerging solidarity actions with our comrades across the continent. Visit this constantly updated events page often and get involved in grassroots resistance to the root causes of climate change! For more information about nationwide Fearless Summer initiatives, view the Energy Justice Network calendar.
Oil/Tar Sands Speaker Protest (April 17)
The last time that the Alberta tar sands industry visited Moscow, we blockaded it, hurled protest signs at it, and gestured at its escorts. We were nicer this time but no less insistent that it is wrong and that it should stop its pillage immediately. See the photos and descriptions of WIRT’s latest action.
Bidder 70 Screening & Tim DeChristopher Discussion (April 22)
Thanks to each of you for attending and/or assisting the simultaneous, nationwide screenings of the documentary Bidder 70 and the live-streamed discussion with Utah climate activist Tim DeChristopher on Earth Day. Almost 40 people participated locally in this seminal show and conversation hosted by WIRT and Gathr Films in Moscow. As anticipated, Tim’s question-and-answer session inspired climate activists and community members continuing our struggles against dirty energy development in the Northwest. KRFP Radio Free Moscow recorded and aired Tim’s talk during the April 22 Climate Justice Forum radio program, about an hour later on the same evening. We offer our gratitude and congratulations for a successful event and encourage you to listen to Tim’s incisive and insightful, first public appearance after almost two years in federal prison and watch the following videotaped excerpt.
Tim DeChristopher: Clip 1 Next Step in the Climate Movement (May 2 Bidder70 Film video)
Missoula Direct Action Training Workshop (April 28)
WIRT and our Montana colleagues postponed this workshop until sometime this summer.
Moscow Farmers Market WIRT Booth (May 4 to October 26)
We are seeking volunteers to advance our weekly outreach, education, and activation efforts in Friendship Square, between 8 am and 1 pm every Saturday until late October. Please contact us if you can lead or assist this crucial interface with our amazing Moscow community.
40th Annual Moscow Renaissance Fair (May 4 & 5)
Please join the Moscow Volunteer Peace Band and WIRT for two special occasions that celebrate spring and the years of admirable community spirit and service contributed by Moscow residents and WIRT activists. Congratulations to this year’s Ren Fair Queen and King, Dianne and Bill French, who have vigilantly safeguarded our precious but precarious, regional, ground and surface water through the Palouse Water Conservation Network. And, of course, ExxonMobil minions disguised as police arrested Bill on August 26, 2011, for his valiant participation in a grassroots blockade of an Alberta tar sands equipment transport.
Meet us at 9:45 am on Saturday morning, May 4, at the Veterans Memorial Arch, on the corner of Third and Monroe streets in Moscow, for the annual Royal Processional Parade. This promenade honors and welcomes the new King and Queen as they walk along the East City Park path from the arch to the Peter Basoa Main Stage for coronation and speeches. In the unseasonably warm Palouse sunshine, Bill and Dianne’s friends and fellow activists enthusiastically anticipate ushering in their emerging reign.
Event organizers have also invited all previous Moscow Renaissance Fair royalty to dress festively and appear on stage to be recognized before the start of the 2013 Ren Fair Parade through East City Park on Saturday, May 4, at 3:30 pm. Perhaps for the first time ever, many of the prior kings and queens, including several core WIRT activists, will officially join this year’s parade. WIRT has borrowed some animal costume hats for the species-inclusive occasion and is seeking volunteers to wear them and accompany the royalty in this community performance.
Word to Your Mother (May 11)
In the Riverfront Park Lilac Bowl of Spokane, Washington, on Saturday, May 11, between 12:30 and 3:30 pm, Spokane Coalition Builders and a dozen other regional organizations are hosting a Mother’s Day celebration as a follow-up rally to the February 17 Forward on Climate event that Spokane area citizens held in conjunction with the largest climate change rally in U.S. history, staged at Washington DC and various locations around the world. Focusing again on climate issues and raising awareness of challenges facing Mother Earth, the gathering will feature brief rally speeches by local advocates and elected officials, drumming and a round dance led by the Idle No More Drummers, and a free concert by local bands.
Reverend Dr. Todd Eklof of the Unitarian Universalist Church will emcee the rally and speeches by Spokane City Councilman Jon Snyder, Walter Kloefkorn of Progressive Democrats of Washington, Mike Petersen of The Lands Council, Bart Mihailovich of Spokane Riverkeeper, Deb Abrahamson of the SHAWL Society, Renee Holt of Idle No More, Helen Yost of Wild Idaho Rising Tide, and community leader Bart Haggin. Throughout the afternoon, attendees will be treated to music by Starlite Motel, Lucas Brookbank Brown, the Idle No More Drummers, and at 2:30, the Real Life Rockaz. Word to Your Mother is sponsored and organized by the aforementioned groups as well as Backbone Campaign, Center For Justice, Coal Free Spokane, Occupy Spokane, Save Our Wild Salmon, Sierra Club, Spokane Coalition Builders, and the Spokane Tribe. Join us next Saturday: carpools to Spokane depart the WIRT Activist House at 10 am and return by 6 pm.
WIRT Activist House Party (May 18) (website excerpted)
Paradise Ridge Field Tour (May 19)
The Paradise Ridge Defense Coalition, Palouse Prairie Foundation, and Idaho Native Plant Society invite you to join us on a field tour of sites along the proposed U.S. Highway 95 E-2 alternative alignment on the west flank of Paradise Ridge. On this Sunday, May 19, tour starting at 2:00 p.m., participants will view areas with ungulate habitat, spring wildflower blooms, and native Palouse Prairie. For this event, we are inviting the general public as well as the Moscow mayor and city council, Latah County commissioners, Idaho state legislators, and the press. Attendees will meet and carpool from the parking lot of the University of Idaho Arboretum, 1200 West Palouse River Drive. After the planned field tour, we will also lead a hike toward the top of Paradise Ridge, for participants who wish to enjoy more wildflowers, parklands, and views of the Palouse countryside. We gratefully anticipate your involvement in this field tour.
The Paradise Ridge Defense Coalition works to ensure and enhance the public safety, environmental integrity, and natural aesthetics of Paradise Ridge and its environs. Coalition members include local citizens and the Palouse Audubon Society, Palouse Broadband of Great Old Broads for Wilderness, Palouse Environmental Sustainability Coalition, Palouse Group of the Sierra Club, and Wild Idaho Rising Tide.
Wild Idaho Rising Tide
P.O. Box 9817, Moscow, Idaho 83843
WildIdahoRisingTide.org & on facebook & Twitter
208-301-8039
Wild Idaho Rising Tide 