May Day is a celebration of worker resistance and radical community organizing, and of efforts to build alternative economic and social spaces!
Come join us for a two-day celebration featuring workshops, skill shares, a really free market and an awesome dance party!
Tentative Schedule
Friday May 1st (Skeleton Park)
Time Activity Details 3:00-7:00pm A Really Free Market! Free Stuff, Yellow Bike Tune-Ups, Info booths and a BBQ. Click here for poster 9:00-11:00pm Urban Capture the Flag Meet in Market Square for an awesome game of capture the flag in in downtown kingston. Click here for poster
Saturday May 2nd (AkA Autonomous Social Centre)
Time Activity Details 9:30-10:30 Opening Situating ourselves in an anti-colonial, anti-racist context 10:30-11:15 Introduction to May Day What's May Day all about? Tracing histories of anarchism and radical worker organizing and resistance 11:30-12:15 Resisting the 2010 Olympics Resist 2010 aims to raise awareness of the social, economic, political, and environmental destruction resulting from the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. The primary goal is to educate the community on the interconnection of local anti-colonial, anti-poverty, and anti-capitalist struggles alongside national and international action against VANOC. 12:00-1:00 Lunch Free and fabulous and vegan-friendly lunch provided by Food Not Bombs 12:00-1:00 Creative Tactics While you're munching on lunch learn to make puppets from scrap wood and more! 1:00-1:45 Anarchism and Islam As an anarchist and Muslim, I have witnessed troubled times as a result of extreme divisions that exist between these two identities and communities. To minimize these divisions, I argue, using the Koran, for an anti-capitalist and anti-authoritarian Islam, an ‘anarca-Islam’, that disrupts two commonly held beliefs: one, that Islam is necessarily authoritarian and capitalist; two, that an Islamic interpretation of anarchism and an anarchic interpretation of Islam is 'impossible'. 2:00-3:30 Anti-Classism TBA 3:30-4:15 Break/Death at HayMarket Square Reading Come on down to Market Square to learn about the origins of Mayday through a dramatic reading of the Death of Haymarket Square! 4:30-5:30 The future of labour: Worker Coops? A panel of folks will share their research and personal experiences on worker cooperatives to assess their strengths and weaknesses, and how we might envision alternative organizations of labour that are liberating, autonomous and fulfilling 7:00-9:00 Movie Screening: 69 69' is a Danish film by Nikolaj Viborg that depicts the last 6 months of Ungdomshuset, an underground music venue and radical organizing space in Copenhagen.
The movie includes unique footage from secret meetings, direct actions, riots, everyday life in the Youthhouse Collective and the eviction filmed from inside the house.
Since the premier in October, '69' has toured all over Europe and North America and has won three awards at international film festivals for best new Nordic director, best Danish documentary and an audience award.Click here for poster10:00-1:00 May Day Evening of Fun! Shh! It's a secret
Please note that we strive to make all of our events and activities a safe space for everyone. We will not tolerate any oppressive actions or behaviors,
such as, but not limited to, racism, sexism, classism, able-ism, religious intolerance, homophobia etc.
Skeleton Park is located at 191 Ordance St.
AKA Autonomous Social Centre is at 75 Queen St. (Unfortunately the AKA Social Centre is not currently accessible)
The May Day Collective would like to thank the following organizations and groups for their support: OPIRG Kingston, Coalition for Accessible Education, and Food Not Bombs.
Contact the May Day Collective at KingstonMayDay@gmail.com
Check out the Facebook event here
