Our newest chapter, located in the most northern part of our state, had an interesting  weekend last week, decided to take an opportunity to table at a music festival in northern Kentucky. The festival is located at the longest continuing operating drag strip in the country, and is a diverse collection of self-described beardos.

Many, due to the nature of the festival, the feel of the music, and the sense of community, have dubbed the festival a yearly "Woodstock in Morningview", although members felt that perhaps "Bluegrass Bonnaroo" was a more appropriate nick name for the Whispering Beard Festival. Regardless though, this was a curious crowd that brought in people from all over the state.

The Northern Kentucky chapter used this event as a chance to let people the destruction of Mountain Top Removal, giving away buttons that said I Love Mountains and Stop Mountaintop Removal, selling KFTC t-shirts, books about the destructive practice, and cds.

All weekend members were talking to beardos (some familiar with our work, some not), and running into members from all over the state. There were members from Whitesburg set up talking about their music and art, and directing their customers to our booth about some of the issues facing Eastern Kentucky. There were other members who came up by chance and picked up unscheduled shifts at the booth, and directed as many of their friends over as possible.

Each member had their own approach. Some waited as people came by to look at the signs asking people to stop mountain top removal, some stopped people to hand them buttons, some pointed people to a map detailing the overlap between poverty and strip mining, and still some stopped any willing to show  the photographs showing the destruction of paradise. As member Scott Goebel told many prospective members, "Are you familiar with the John Denver song 'Almost Heaven, West Virginia?' Well, here's a picture of a home where people thought they had Almost Heaven, and ended up with Almost Level."

By the end of the weekend the Northern Kentucky chapter recruited 25 new members, raised over $250, and put over 90 people in touch with our great organization. Here, surrounded by good bands, friendly faces, and a number of beards, the Northern Kentucky chapter found fertile ground to begin growing new power.

Yesterday, Saturday, May 15 was a pretty unremarkable day in most respects.  For us, collectively as Kentuckians For The Commonwealth, there wasn't anything singularly huge on the calendar, but we decided to try to compile quick stories about a lot of little things that happened throughout the day and present them as this - A Day in the Life of KFTC. 

At 7 a.m. KFTC members in northern Kentucky came together outside of Ockerman Middle School in Florence to start setting up tables for the big Relay for Life yard sale.  Alex Searles organized the KFTC table, but eight members participated in all, selling items that they donated to the  cause and passing out information about KFTC.  They also invited those interested to the big NKY KFTC Chapter Formation meeting on Tuesday.  By the end of the event at 4 p.m., they brought in $150 and made a lot of key contacts with new people.  Members also left with KFTC Voter Guides to hand out over the next few days.

At 10 a.m. the KFTC booth at the Butchertown Art Fair in Louisville got rolling.  Many of the candidates for mayor were there and most of them dropped by the KFTC table to say hello.  The event was in a neighborhood where KFTC does a lot of work, so many people at the festival  recognized us, and cheered for KFTC.  It gave a lot of our members who don't volunteer with us every month a chance to drop by and plug into our work.  A few people said they'd been meaning to join KFTC and took membership envelopes or joined on the spot.  Others asked about voting locations and we made lists of people to call back on Monday with that information.   Nine hours later, at 7 p.m., we packed up and headed home. 

At 10:30 a.m. a workshop started at the Pine Mountain Sustainability Symposium on "Steps Towards Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy" the workshop was facilitated by KFTC leaders Carl Shoupe and Roy Silver, among others.  This was just one of many events our members participated in throughout the powerful three-day conference designed to bring together specialists, practitioners, educators, and organizers to share their experiences and learn about model projects throughout southeastern Kentucky.  The symposium included hands-on trainings, workshops, woodland hikes, and garden tours with local and regional experts working on food, energy, and forest issues.

At noon, Tyler Birdwhistell and Bethany Baxter met in downtown Georgetown to go door-to-door in the Scroggin Park Housing Authority neighborhood - passing out KFTC Voter Guides and letting people know where their voting location is.   After about two hours, they had covered half of the neighborhood, which was enough for a couple of us to come back the next day and finish it up in an hour and a half. 

"I ran into one woman who is a former felon - so she'd had her right to vote taken away from her when she was much younger.  She told me the she worked for years to get her right to vote back and that she almost gave up a few times.  But she got them back during the Patton administration and has voted ever since." - Tyler Birdwhistell

At 3 p.m. a small group of KFTC folks visited the Peace and Global Citizenship Fair at Bluegrass Community Technical College in Lexington.  It was a great event organized by BCTC’s Students for Peace and Earth Justice.  For our part, we canvassed the crowd with a big stack of KFTC Voter Guides, asking people to cast an informed vote on Tuesday.  Kudos to BCTC’s Students for Peace and Earth Justice for putting together a great event that is getting a bit bigger every year. 

At 4 p.m. the Madison County KFTC members kicked off their Spring Friendraiser, with more than 70 people enjoying a potluck, cornhole and games, a great silent auction, live music by Mudpi, a short program about the awesome work of KFTC, and apparently a game that involved more than a little rolling around in the mud.  Members brought in $700 in donations and had a lot of fun before winds picked up and a hailstorm heralded an early end to the event.  We'll likely have a separate blog entry on this exciting event in the next few days, so stay tuned.  

In addition to all of that, members ran voter mobilization phone banks throughout the day in Bowling Green, Louisville, and in at-large (non-chapter) areas of the state, to name a few places, and members passed out KFTC Voter Guides or handbills about the election at events and in their neighborhoods throughout the commonwealth.  

No doubt, our 6,000+ members across the state accomplished an awful lot in the name of social justice on Saturday that will never make it to this blog - conversations with neighbors, writing letters to elected officials, etc.

It's a lot of little things, but this was just one day.  And day after day in community after community, it adds up.  So keep at it folks. 

What can we do tomorrow?

WHAT IS THE DREAM ACT?

The DREAM Act is a piece of practical but fair bipartisan legislation that would help undocumented immigrant youth legalize their status by completing a set of strict criteria. DREAM stands for the Development, Relief and Education of Alien Minors and would apply to immigrant children, regardless of their country of origin, who entered the United States before their 16th birthday, who have lived here 5 consecutive years, who graduate from high school or get their GED, and who have good moral character (no felony charges). Students who fit these criteria would be given a temporary resident status and could move toward permanent residency if and only if they complete two years of college or military service. Students who qualify with the initial criteria would be able to get in-state tuition, get a driver’s license and work legally within the United States. They would also qualify for federal financial aid in the form of loans and work study

The DREAM Act is making great progress! We have 54 of the 60 votes we need in the Senate but we have to keep the pressure up and to do that we need funds! Please come out to El Mariachi Monday May 17th. They will donate a 18% of sales derived from DREAM Act supporters to the DREAM Act campaign. Bring your friends and family, eat, enjoy, write DREAM Act on your check. 

On April 30th, the central Kentucky chapter of KFTC held a chili-cook off friendraiser. What's a friendraiser you ask? Well it's an opportunity to raise money for the organization but with a focus on giving members a chance to hang out with one another, celebrate all of our hard work, and just have a darn good time.

The event was held at the Lexington Friends meeting house on Price street. Six folks entered chili into the contest and nearly forty people came out to partake in the deliciousness.

The chili was fantastic, and incredibly diverse. There were chilis w/ sirloin, turkey and chicken, as well as two vegan options. One chili even had cornbread baked right into it!

I'm not surprised that folks put such effort into their entries considering the prize for first place! The winner of the event took home a copy of the beautiful hard covered book about mountain top removal mining plundering appalachia, a gift certificate for a one-hour massage, and a dinner for two from Stella's Kentucky deli.

Our three wonderful judges that evening are each KFTC members with a keen sense of what makes a good chili. Member Chris Oaks who hails from the Cincinatti area explained to the contestants that what he looks for in a chili is "depth,"while Danielle Boucher who is a newer member and a UK undergraduate explained that she looks for "kick." Our third judge, Marty Mudd who is active on KFTC's land reform committee and also a member of Kentucky mountain justice informed us that he would be looking for a chili w/ "many layers."  

Our winner that evening was long time KFTC member Teresa McReynolds with her sirloin chili. However, in my opinion everyone was a winner considering there wasn't a drop of chili left by the end of the night! In addition to the cook off we also held a raffle. Tickets were $1 and raffle items were donated by several local businesses including Stella's Kentucky Deli, The Morris Book Shop, Woodland Computers, and Charmed Life Tattoo. We also had two professional massages donated by Nishaan Sandhu and Phil Robinson.

It was a rockin' good time and we ended up raising almost $280. Thanks to everyone who came out, to all the businesses and individuals who donated raffle items, to everyone who entered chili, and a special thanks to our intern Jordan Panning for coming up with the idea and organizing the event. We'll be sure to do it again next year!

Rosanne Klarer of Scott County KFTC had a gathering in her home yesterday evening for a fun art project.  The idea was to make light switch covers with themes that show a connection between our power consumption and the environment like beautiful images of mountains, community organizing, or even threats to our planet like Mountaintop Removal mining.

The members plan on selling light switch covers at KFTC events as a fundraiser. 

                     

Third Annual I Love Mountains Old Time Music Showcase!!!!

February 6, 2010, All Ages
$10 (sliding scale, no one will be turned away) to benefit the work of Kentuckians For The Commonwealth

Al's Bar, Sixth Street and North Limestone in Lexington

Music Starts at 9 p.m.
Clack Mountain String Band
Red State Ramblers
Rich and the Po Folks
The Wild Boogers

Special Guests, Kentucky Authors Erik Reece and Eric Sutherland

*** The beautiful poster designed and printed by Cricket Press will be available at the show for sale***

The Central Kentucky Chapter held a fundraiser for KFTC last Saturday at Al's Bar in Lexington. This wasn't just any old fundraiser though, it was a punk rock show! Organized by KFTC member Jack Cofer, the show featured three great bands from Lexington; the Butchers, J. Marinelli, and the Tense Kids. Also joining everyone was the all female punk trio from Chicago, 8" Betsy.

Over 60 people attended the show and raised $260 for KFTC. Jack Cofer and Katie Meyer spoke from the stage about the importance of grassroots organizing, and why people should be involved in making their communities a better place.

Don't forget to come out for the next Al's Bar KFTC fundraiser, our old-time music showcase on Saturday, February 6. Doors open at 8 p.m., and the cover is $10.

Madison County Premier of Coal Country 

This film by Mari-Lynn Evans and Phylis Geller is a dramatic look at modern coal mining. We get to know working miners along with activists who are battling coal companies in Appalachia. Both sides in this conflict claim that history is on their side. Come and find out for yourself!  This film has been drawing sell-out crowds inother cities.

The Madison County Chapter is screening the film at the Madison County Public Library of Berea (319 Chestnut St.) at 6:30 p.m. on November 19th and also in Room 108 of EKU's library in Richmond at 6 p.m. on November 9th.  The event is open to the public.  Admission is free but donations to KFTC are appreciated.  We hope you can join us!

Almost 100 KFTC members and friends turned out on a rainy Saturday for the Madison County SpringFest. 

The event start off with a reading of the brand new book "Something's Rising:  Applachians Fighting Mountaintop Removal"  from authors Silas House and Jason Howard. 

Folks also enjoyed a delicious potluck dinner that featured locally raised meat and music from loved local band Mudpi. 

A friendly Derby pool and silent auction helped raise fun – and funds -- for KFTC.

"I enjoy having the chance to socialize with members and prospective members in a party atmosphere where there is a minimum of business to discuss.  I think that kind of outreach is as important as all the tabling, phone banking and chapter and committee meetings that we members do throughout the year."  -- Toby Wilcher, Berea.

The event was a great celebration of the strength and work of the nearly 500-member strong Madison County chapter.  Thanks to all who volunteered and helped make the event a success!

8:00am (the next morning, April 18th)

The Festival wrapped up last night around 10pm. All told, we had about 400 people attending at our peak and another 200 people filtering through over the day. The crowd shifted in the morning from a family atmosphere with kids everywhere to a great outdoor bluegrass music festival.

Big thanks to all of the artists who played for free on a Friday, Ramsi's Cafe, Bluegrass Brewing Company, Cherry Bomb, Summer and Star Auerbach and Rainbow Blossom Natural Foods Stores, Ben Evans and YERT, Sustain, George Parker and the Louisville Film Society, Augusta and Gill Holland and the Green Building, Ballou's Rental, RegenEn Solar, Duncan Cherry and MOM's music, and especially to Heine Brother's Coffee and Carmichael's Bookstore. We couldn't have done this without help from our sponsors. If you were among those who bought a t-shirt or are a new member as a result of this festival, you'll join us in thanking the amazing members who worked this festival. It was a great event and we met a lot of new people yesterday. Thank you to all of our members that made it happen. After it is all done with, we stand to make nearly $4,000 through a mix of merchandise sales, raffle sales, new memberships and a percentage of sales Carmichael's Bookstore and Heine Brother's Coffee.

7:30pm

Silas and Jason Howard just finished and were both amazing. They are signing books right now. 

We're up to about 350 people here, it's an amazing crowd. Lots of kids, so bring 'em over if you're not here already.

CSPAN is here to filming the author's readings to air on  Book TV.

6:20pm

Appalatin and Cari Norris have finished their sets. Say Darlin Say is on now.

The program looks like this:

6- 6:30pm- Say Darlin Say

6:30-7pm- Kate Larken (you might have seen her on the CW Louisville today)

7pm- Silas House

7:20- Jason Howard

7:30- Erik Reece

7:50- Supertruck

8:25- Thomas A Minor and the Pickett Line

9pm- Raffle

9:15- Arnett Hollow

Come down and get your raffle ticket. They're $5 and you could win $100 gift certificate to Heine Brother's Coffee, $100 to Carmichael's Bookstore, $50 to Ramsi's, a day at the Races from Rainbow Blossom or a $25 gift certificate to Cherry Bomb.

We're up to about 250 people here, but there is still room for about 400 more. The sun is shining and the beer is cold.

 4:50pm

If you can't make it to Louisville Loves Mountains Festival today/tonight, we'll miss you. For you, we are live blogging the event so even if you can't be with us, you don't have to miss a single detail. 

The day has shaped up to be perfect festival weather, low 70s and nothing but sun. 

If you're driving past, you can't miss the festival because we have the Mountaintop Removal Banner project surrounding the entire block. This project, started by member Whit Forrester, was kicked off with the 2008 5th grade class of Crestwood Elementary. Since then it has multiplied with people adding their piece to the banner at different events.

So far the merchandise table is set up with all kinds of things including bumperstickers, CDs and the specially made "Louisville Loves Mountains" t-shirt. We're pretty stocked and we're ready to fill your order.

More soon.

*If you're coming, public transportation and bikes are the best option.  There is still parking on Rosewood Ave, but I'm not sure about Cherokee Road. If you aren't patronizing Mid City Mall, don't park there, they tow.