The 2010 August Work Party is coming up soon!
Warm greetings from the Beehive Collective!
We are gearing up for the August Work Party! You are receiving this letter because you contacted us with your interest in participating. We know you’ve been waiting all month for a more detailed response from us concerning this. We wanted to let you know that we are behind schedule in contacting you, but with good reason.
After two years of hard work, research, collaborating, and touring we have finished our new poster project.... “The True Cost of Coal”! We spent the past three weeks printing thousands of posters, rolling them in tubes with loving care, and presenting them for the first time at this year’s United States Social Forum in Detroit, MI. Expect a press release in the next few weeks that will give you a sneak peek at the adventure we've been having (and look forward to sharing with you!).
This moment is a special one in the history of the Beehive, and as we head back to our home in Machias, our minds are turning from the massive feat we just accomplished and to the coming work party. We’ve got an amazing experience planned for our 2010 volunteers starting August 1st and ending with the 5th annual Blackfly Ball on August 21st.
If you’ve decided that this work party is for you, please fill out our confirmation form! This will secure your arrival, and we can begin to get ready for you!
CLICK HERE to fill out our final confirmation form!
We look forward to working with you!
What will we be doing, exactly?
Each week will revolve around one of our graphics campaigns including field trips, guest speakers, full-fledged beehive presentations at our community center, and collaborative image-making workshops.
We will also be spending time participating physically in manual work shares (working on the grange, working on beehive infrastructure, collective living tasks, working outside in the sunshine, and helping out members of the community), as well as skill-shares, fires, games, and cooking for everyone!
Our work party has a five day rotation each week with weekends off. This means during our time off bees and volunteers will enjoy bicycle rides to the coast, hikes on rocky Maine shores, games, relaxing (perhaps in our wood-fired sauna), and all kinds of adventure!
When can I come?
Our work party is tailored for your summer schedule! The party begins August 1st, and goes until our 5th annual Blackfly Ball on August 21st! If you can come for the whole month, great! If you can only come for a few days or a few weeks, that’s cool too. All we need to know is when you are coming.
Please fill out our confirmation form to let us know...
CLICK HERE to fill out our confirmation form!
What do I bring?
For starters, we don't have enough room in our buildings to house all the people who are planning on coming. So we ask you to bring your tents and sleeping bags and become citizens of our yard and garden tent city! If you do not have access to these things, don't worry, we will help you out.
We suggest durable clothes you can get dirty in, a good raincoat (really), boots (for working and/or hiking… closed-toes shoes, at the very least, are a must), a swim suit (if you poo-poo public bathing in the buff), and whatever else you feel comfortable in.
If you have any tools you would like to share or bring (drills, powertools, screenprinting screens, trampolines) contact us and let us know! Chances are you'll find a reason to use them!
Other that, an extensive packing list will be sent to you after you fill out our confirmation form.
How do I get there?
Our house is located in Machias, ME. This sweet town near the coast is only half an hour from Canada, and generally considered to be pretty far up there! Most people drive to reach us, and there are planes and busses that transport people to our nearest town Bangor, or to the closest American city, Portland.
We've set up a ride board for the Beehive Collective on ridebuzz.org... please post on it if you are offering or seeking a ride to Machias during the month of August.
Don't hesitate to call us if you can't work this out!
CLICK HERE to visit our rideshare board!
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What is expected of Work Party volunteers?
If you decide to come, you can expect to chip in a little honey for food (we ask at least 3$ a day, 20$ a week, or $90 a month, and welcome additional donations to keep our Hive buzzing). You can expect to join our meal rotation, and to help prepare large vegan meals in tandem with other folks (and our library of cookbooks!).
Like a true Beehive, we like to throw-down in the work ethic department, and will ask you to commit to long days (with ample breaks & fun field trips) and to showing up for the projects you choose to participate in. And while we always do our best to be clear and organized with each of our projects, the nature of the Work Party is somewhat improvisational- with many of our projects depending on weather and lots of folks coming and going (sometimes with suprise guests with expert skills to share!), we ALL have to practice patience, flexibility, and collective-mindedness.
Volunteers are also expected to follow our simple GROUNDRULES.
If you break ANY of these groundrules, expect that we may ask you to leave immediately.
1. Absolutely no violence or intimidation of any kind (verbal or physical) against any bee, volunteer, or member of our town.
2. No stealing, shoplifting, vandalism, possesion of illegal substances, or ANY other kind of illegal activity. This is also non-negotiable! When you are here with us you represent the beehive to our community. Please be on your best behavior to show respect for our neighbors, and to continue to make the town glad that they let us settle in their homeplace. Not to mention, folks, our house is literally two doors down from the police station. Please do not put our lovely place in danger for any reason!
3. No Pets! Sorry guys, we already have an animal or two who has made a home out of our house, and any more than that is more than we can afford or handle. You gotta leave your travel dogs, rats, cats, birds, and turtles safely home with a sitter before you come visit! If this prevents you from coming, please contact us!
4. Respect the hive as a safe space for all kinds of people! We at the beehive know that while we all share the human experience together, we are also all quite different! We embrace those differences and have made a space that respects all kinds of people regardless of age, gender, size, race, class, fashion choices, or hair color. Joke, comments or comments that refer to any of these differences in a negative way are not okay!
5. Please COMMUNICATE WITH US if any of these things are confusing! We are always open to conversation, and living collectively and consentually are concepts that are new to many people. Never feel scared to ask a bee for clarification, and we will thank you ahead of time for being honest and open with us while we are opening up our lives and home to you.
The 5th Annual Blackfly Ball!
 This year we will be celebrating the 5th annual Blackfly Ball! Our workparty volunteers are pivotal during the last week of the workparty in helping us prepare for a 600+ person dress-up dance party for all! This celebration happens yearly to commemorate the 5th anniversary of the re-opening of our very own historically restored community center , The Machias Valley Grange Hall! This beautiful building is over 100 years old, and has ben lovingly restored and tended to by beehive volunteers over the past 5 years!
Mark your calendars and be sure to pull your best fancy dress, suit, jumpsuit, costume, or full spandex dance pants out of the closet!
Is it true? The True Cost of Coal!
Yes! We are done! We are launching the official press release and media packet to magazines, organizations, radio stations, and the entire internet in the weeks leading up to the Work Party. If you would like a sneak peek at some photos and info, check out the Coal Blog!
CLICK HERE to visit the Coal project Blog!
Remind me again, how do I confirm my arrival?
All you gotta do is fill out the confirmation form!
CLICK HERE to fill out our confirmation form!
We are looking forward to seeing you and sharing an amazing summer experience!
JOIN US on FACEBOOK and TWITTER!
The Beehive has jumped on the social networking wagon! We are now on facebook and Twitter. Would you like to know what cities we are visiting in real time? Perhaps you want to know where we will be next so you can tell your penpals to check us out? Sign up for updates about our exciting adventures and ways to interact with us!
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