The Yard, formerly the site of Issue Project Room, is shaping up to be quite the site for community happenings. I just got word of this October event.

Here’s the press release about  Party for the People, an event on Saturday, October 6, 2007  1pm-9pm at The Yard located at 388-400 Carroll Street (between Bond & Nevins) in the Gowanus neighborhood of Brooklyn:

Brooklyn, NY – Party for the People, a celebration of community empowerment designed to build community awareness and engagement, will take place at The Yard in Gowanus on Saturday, October 6, 2007.  Free to the public, this Brooklyn-based event will feature workshops covering various modes of community participation as well as performances by socially active musicians and spoken-word artists.  Prominent activists and local community leaders will give presentations on different elements of social involvement.  Throughout the evening, a wide range of Brooklyn-based community service and activist organizations will maintain involvement opportunity displays. 

Party for the People employs a unique approach to community organizing which brings together social activists and service organizations from various geographic areas of Brooklyn, as well as different fields of social service, to celebrate in the name of community development and social progress.  Participants will include featured speaker New York City Councilman Charles Barron, performers such as M1 of Dead Prez, Stephanie McKay, Judah Tribe, Mental Notes, the Readnex Poetry Squad, Blitz the Ambassador, Vocab, American Hero, Safahri, and Head-Roc.  Organizations such as Brooklyn For Peace (formerly Brooklyn Parents for Peace), Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, the Red Tent Women’s Project, Brooklyn YWCA, Idealist.org, Innocence Stolen Innocent Still Foundation, Trees Not Trash, Center for Anti-Violence Education, the Audre Lorde Project, Groundwork* and others will be present to provide information about their programs.

This event offers the opportunity for newcomers to Brooklyn as well as long-time residents to become more socially informed and active in their communities.  Workshops will provide information about current local issues and initiatives.  The showcase of speakers and performers will serve to inspire and empower people to become involved.  The exhibiting local organizations will give people direct access to ongoing programs in Brooklyn. 

Party for the People is produced by a collective of grassroots activists and organizers working together toward the common goal of triggering community awareness and deepening people’s connections with and contributions to one another.  The organizers of Party for the People believe that the revival of community values on a local scale sets the stage for greater societal progress.  Party for the People aims to create a space for the acknowledgement, development, and celebration of community participation.

To join forces with the Party for the People organizers, participate in the event, or simply obtain more information, contact:  Chief Organizer Stephanie Rooker at stephanie.rooker@gmail.com or 917-623-4388.