In what is sure to prompt some interesting comments and letters to the editor, an article in the Wilmington Star News just came out featuring my partner Kristin and some other folks from Be Your Own Hero. While the writer of the article, Si Cantwell, starts off with a quick sprinkle of the bomb-throwing cliche, it is for the most part a straightforward review of what BYOH is all about.

The anarchism behind the local Be Your Own Hero movement is about decentralizing leadership and giving everyone a say in group decision-making.

…

“I think everybody is an anarchist, to some extent,” (Kristin) Henry said. “There are things they can do every day that are positive and community oriented, that are from the heart.”

Staff photo | Paul Stephen

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: Hero Fest!

Be Your Own Hero Festival Now Accepting Submissions

The 2nd Annual Be Your Own Hero (BYOH) Festival will be taking place in Wilmington, North Carolina September 27th and 28th, 2008. Submissions for workshops, info sessions, skill shares, and musicians are currently being accepted until August 15th, 2008. Volunteers are also needed to help out on the day(s) of the event and/or to join the BYOH Fest Planning Squad.

Please send workshop submissions to herofest@gmail.com with your name, email, phone, organization/collective (if applicable), proposed workshop title & short description, materials needed, and time needed. All other ideas, volunteer availability, and inquiries may also be sent to herofest@gmail.com. We welcome all subjects and we encourage all people to apply, especially those who do not fit neatly into the status quo!

In 2007, Wilmington NC was home to the first Be Your Own Hero Festival, an all day radical Do It Yourself (DIY) Festival held at the Soapbox Laundro Lounge. The Festival included a Really Really Free Market, potluck, workshops, info sessions and live music. 2007’s workshops included: DIY parenting (a radical concept), Basic Bicycle Repair, Truth in Recruiting / Promoting Peace, Social Activism & the Info-Radical, Radical Menstruation, Food Politics, Trans 101: Becoming an ally to transgender people, Unconventional Action: Organizing against the DNC/RNC, and DIY DJ Workshop. Bands included: The Brothels, The Nothing Noise, Gator Country, Prize Winners Collective, NED, and Ghost Mice.

For more information on the Be Your Own Hero Festival and Collective, visit www.beyrownhero.com or contact herofest @ gmail.com.

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Be Your Own Hero Fest Workshop Submission Form

Email to herofest @ gmail.com by July 31, 2008

NAME:

EMAIL:

PHONE:

ORGANIZATION / COLLECTIVE:

PROPOSED WORKSHOP TITLE:

DESCRIPTION:

MATERIALS NEEDED:

TIME NEEDED: choose from 45 minutes, or 1 hour and 45 minutes

The photo shows a stereotypical farmer, plaid shirt and overalls front and center. In the background, a table full of young professionals gathered around a laptop. Welcome to the new picture of a locavore…

An article in the New York Times details a growing trend in local eating, a trend that many would call the Lazy Locavore movement. More to the point, this trend is based on disposable income more than laziness, and injects an unneeded class distinction into local foods.

The article picks up the false argument that local food always costs more, therefore it should be in the realm of the upper classes to purchase it or have it grown for them. Installed gardens (with maintenance packages), home deliveries of pre-cooked local stews and personal chefs may unnecessarily become the new faces of local eating. Attempts to build community based, income-irrelevant food systems have to stay above the class divide and focus on ways to bring local eaters together and make local food attainable to anyone who wants it.