A Better Day - (3rd annual Progressive Fest Illinois) Saturday, September 20th 9a-4:30p

http://www.better-day.info/

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Palatine Conference Fosters Grassroots Efforts Toward Peace, Justice, Sustainability.

Palatine, IL - September 3, 2008 - When it comes to the large problems facing humanity, how can one person make a difference? A Better Day 2008 offers answers by bringing together distinguished speakers, activists, and community organizers for a day. The public is invited to learn and discuss the issues, make connections, and get involved in any of dozens of social benefit groups.

A Better Day 2008 takes place Saturday, September 20, from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Countryside Church Unitarian Universalist, 1025 N. Smith Street, Palatine, Illinois.

This open, non-partisan event offers three tracks of activity: speakers, an exhibit of local organizations, and breakout sessions in the church classrooms. Jim Kenney of Common Ground will give the morning keynote, “Peace is Possible”. Other speakers will address social and economic justice, sustainable living, support for our veterans, and ways of dealing with our differences. Exhibitors in the conference hall will include environmentalists, advocates for economic reform and social justice, and local peace groups.

Programs will emphasize personal involvement. Program Committee member Kat Doyle says, "We want to tell everyone, you can do something! Working with other people for a good cause is a great way to make friends, discover skills you never knew you had, and just have fun."

A Better Day 2008 is sponsored by the Adult Faith Development Council of Countryside Church Unitarian Universalist, Palatine, Illinois.

Contact:
Hal Snyder, M.D.
A Better Day 2008 Program Committee
224-678-6188
hal@better-day.info
http://www.better-day.info

What Is A Better Day?

• A one-day grassroots gathering about peace, justice, and the environment.
• A chance to network with people who are concerned about the way things are going and are determined to make a difference.
• A day of learning about the issues from organizers who are at the forefront on matters of global and interfaith fellowship, social justice, and sustainability.
• But most of all - a day to kick-start your participation in any of twenty or more local action groups - or if you are already involved, a chance to make new connections and reach out to the community.

A Better Day was inspired by Fighting Bob Fest, the annual Wisconsin extravaganza that brings thousands of fired-up progressive speakers, organizers, and rabble-rousers to Baraboo every September.

Morning Session

9:00-9:30 Doors Open, Registration

9:30-10:00 Opening

• Rev. Hilary Landau-Krivchenia: Welcome
• Hal Snyder: Getting the Most Out of the Day

10:00-10:45 Keynote by Jim Kenney: Peace is Possible Common Ground

11:00-12:00 Health and Education, Social Justice

• 11:00-11:20 Melanie Schikore Andina: Social Justice Through the Arts
• 11:30-11:50 Victoria Weiley: Living Within Your Means; Means Simply......Living

Lunch Break - 12:00-1:30

Afternoon Session

1:30-2:30 Sustainability

• 1:30- 1:50 Bruce Bendix: Defining a Sustainable Future Eco Squared Consulting
• 2:00- 2:20 Jay Womack & Paul Sorci : Green Roof Wight & Company

2:30-3:30 Supporting Our Veterans

• 2:30- 2:50 Dirk Enger: Our Veterans; Our Community Midwest Shelter for Homeless Veterans
• 3:00- 3:20 Christopher France: Understanding PTSD Iraq Veterans Against the War

3:30-4:15 Panel: Dealing With Our Differences

• Vid Axel - Non-Violent Communication Living Action
• Jay Becker O'Neil World Can't Wait
• Catherine Caporusso Chicago Area CodePINK, Northwest suburban NOW

4:15 Closing by Rev. Hilary Landau-Krivchenia: Taking A Better Day Forward

Groups Working to Make a Difference

We hope you'll use A Better Day as a chance to network. Joining a social benefit organization is a great way to make new friends and discover your hidden talents. We are opening Atherton Hall to tables for more than 20 organizations.

We expect members or official representatives from the
following:

• Students for Animal Defense (College of DuPage)
• Greater Chicago Caucus
• Citizen Action/Illinois
• Social Action Committee, CCUU
• Green Sanctuary Committee, CCUU
• National Organization for Women – Northwest Suburban Chapter
• Northwest Suburban Peace & Education Project
• Chicago Area Code Pink
• Working Families Win
• Holistic Moms Network
• Sierra Club – Northwest Suburbs Region
• ACLU
• A+ Illinois
• Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights
• Illinois Coalition for Justice, Peace, & the Environment
• World Can't Wait
• League of Women Voters
• Iraq Veterans Against the War
• Illinois League of Conservation Voters
• Common Ground
• Illinois Maternal & Child Health Coalition
• Alliance for the Great Lakes
• Midwest Shelter for Homeless Veterans

Getting the Word Out

Invitation (updated 9/02)

Mindmap (updated 8/29)

Registration form (save $2 by registering in advance at CCUU)

What is A Better Day? (updated 8/29)

Help Us Publicize the Event!

About US:

The team behind A Better Day arose from the joining of two groups.

For two years, 2006 and 2007, some of us helped organize the Illinois Progressive Fest in Big Rock, Illinois to bring together progressive candidates and activists working to put people before profits and restore the social contract in our government. In 2008 we formed the Progressive Fest Illinois (PFI) committee to work on non-partisan annual events going forward.

The Adult Faith Development Council of CCUU (Countryside Church Unitarian Universalist) in Palatine includes persons dedicated to uplifting the human spirit and working with organizations in the community to promote peace, justice, and sustainability.

email: info@better-day.info · media contact: Hal Snyder 224-678-6188

Both groups were interested in bringing together speakers, activists, and the public for a day of learning and networking. We decided to pool our efforts to bring you A Better Day.

The schedule is beginning to fill in...

I'll post details when available. The theme for the 3rd annual Progressive Fest Illinois is "A Better Day."

Dan

Al Gore's Climate Challenge Speech

Update...

PFI / ABD organizers,

Here's a note summarizing status:


Next PFI/ABD meeting is this Thursday (6/19) at CCUU, 7-9 p.m. Room assignment TBA.

Current tasks.

1. Find keynote speaker(s).

2. Build teams for things like:

Volunteer coordinator
Tabling
Classroom allocation
Food & beverage
Publicity & outreach
Advance registration (?)
Fundraising (?)


Progress to date.

1. The new name of "A Better Day 2008" was suggested for the event. Response to this name has been extremely positive when people hear it. Let's stay with it. A creative team is working on a consistent look for printed literature and web content.

2. The Internet domain "better-day.info" is reserved and placeholder content is up. There is a Facebook group "Progressive Fest Illinois".

3. We have an initial flyer suitable for use with speaker invitations and outreach to local progressive organizations.

http://better-day.info/Flyers/ABetterDayInvite060708.pdf

4. PFI will be listed as co-sponsor with CCUU/AFD for the event (thanks, Bob!).

5. Initial time and space allocation for the day is done. There is time for four major segments in the sanctuary, about one hour each (two segments before lunch and two after lunch): Peace / Health and Education / Sustainability / Veterans. We may want to adjust depending on keynote speakers.

6. Lunch may be handled by church volunteers as a fundraising activity.

7. There is interest in tabling and/or sponsorship from: CodePink, NSPEP, Americans for Democratic Action, Working Families Win, Holistic Moms, NOW, and the Greater Chicago Caucus.

8. Keynote speaker invitations are pending.

Why I Posted About The Green Festival

...First of all, it's not the Green Festival for the Green Party, it's the Green Festival for environmental sustainability, featuring tons of educational speakers and business exhibitors.

I wanted to show that there is a large contingent of people in the Chicago area that have Progressive values who may not even realize that's what these values are.

I also wanted to show what's possible with consistent effort and good planning.

Some day, Progressive Fest Illinois may look similar in photos and we're all looking forward to that time.

There are a lot of us around - and networking is what PFI is all about.

Regards,

Dan

My Trip To The 2008 Chicago Green Festival

For starters, I got off to a late start - one of my oldest friends was in town after a couple of years in Spain, so we were out together visiting and shooting pool until close to 1:00 am, by the time I got to bed the night before, it was close to 03:00.

At any rate, I got up late in the morning and started planning my itinerary in the festival guide.
(You can see more about the Green Festivals all over the country at www.greenfestivals.org )

Embedded here is a photo slide show from my trip to the fest. (Uses shockwave flash)




For those of you who may not be able to view the slideshow, there is a web album of the photos here: http://picasaweb.google.com/AquarianM/2008ChicagoGreenFestivalAtNavyPier

A few highlights:


The main fest exhibit area - about four football fields, I'd guess.


Yours truly at the fest:


The Chicago Skyline as seen from Navy Pier:



The Navy Pier Ferris Wheel after dark - this is around 200 feet tall:



I stopped in and watched the first hour of the Patchamama Alliance's
symposium entitled "Awakening The Dreamer" first off in one of the 3rd floor lecture rooms. You can check out an electronic version on their site, I believe. It was an interesting synthesis of the bigger picture formed by sustainable economy, energy, ans society. I'd recommend it.

After wards, I roamed the booths checking things out.

I picked up some organic lime shea butter at the Trillium Organics booth for my wife Saren - she loves the stuff for skin lotion, and says there's nothing better out there.

I also got her a four ounce pump spray aluminum bottle of citrus eucalyptus spray as an organic bug repellent from Blissoma aromatherapy.

For our friend Jim, I got a note pad made out of Mr. Ellie Pooh paper. This paper is a soft, fibery, acid-free paper made from...elephant dung from Sri Lanka. Apparently, the elephants in Sri Lanka trample the farmers' crops, and so they get upset and shoot them. One way the farmers can make up the elephant damage is by making paper products out of their pooh. According to the brochure, each one produces around 500 lbs of the stuff per day, and it's all veggie and almost pre-processed perfectly for paper making.

To note, there were several other types of treeless paper at the fest; one was made from some kind of bush in Nepal that you can take most of the leaves from each year, and it grows back.

For My wife and I both, I got some red African bush tea, otherwise known as Rooibos. It is of course organic, and caffeine-free. It also tastes very nice. I'm drnking a cup as I type this for you. I got it from Eco Teas.

For myself, I picked up a set of authentic Tibetan prayer flags.



According to the label, the tradition is that you hang them outside in the breeze with a specific event in mind, such as the birth of a child, the beginning of a journey, etc. The prayers written on the flags are prayers of prosperity and success. It is believed that the prayers are carried away on the winds. As the flags become weathered and the prayers can no longer be read, the prayers are believed to have been delivered.

I also stopped by Calvert Funds to get some advice on setting up an IRA that does socially responsible investing. They're going to work out an appointment for ,me to come into their office (which is right in my train station) and look over what I can do.

All in all, I really wish I could have stayed longer.

Now as to getting to the fest, since it was on a Saturday and I got out late, I had to drive downtown - I have a night-limited parking pass for one of the ramps downtown, but on the weekends I can be in there around the clock. However, my parking space is at least four miles, possibly five, from Navy Pier. I walked. There and back. On the return journey, it was after dark and raining. Not horribly hard, but a constant medium-light rain. Needless to say, by the time I got back to the truck, I was pretty damp. (Just so you know, my pickup is V6 and 2
two-wheel drive. I'm 6'6" and 330 lbs, so I can't fit in the majority of smaller vehicles. )

Altogether, it was a great and happy day.

Regards,

Dan

Big Changes In 2008...

There are some serious changes in store for Progressive Fest Illinois 2008.

First, Progressive Democrats of Illinois will no longer be the hosting organization for PFI. This is a voluntary decision made by PDI members in the interest of non-partisan outreach to all Progressives, regardless of political party.

Progressive Fest Illinois has become its own organization, in order to open this event to all Progressives. We will welcome volunteers regardless of party affiliation.

Also new for 2008 is our event date. Progressive Fest Illinois will be held all day on Saturday, September 20th, 2008.

Additionally, it has been suggested on numerous occasions and by many individuals that we should host PFI closer to the city - meaning the City of Chicago.

To that end, we have accepted an invitation to hold the event at the Countryside Unitarian Universalist Church of Palatine. This is a huge change and will likely have a major impact on the capabilities, scope, and size of the event this year. We are very much looking forward to working with Countryside Unitarian Universalist Church of Palatine, and are hoping for even greater success in 2008, as Progressive Fest Illinois becomes a staple on the yearly event calendar of Illinois and visiting Progressives.

Also due to the venue for this year, electioneering and partisan advocacy will not be allowed during the fest. This year, we need to keep it strictly to the issues.

The itinerary for Progressive Fest Illinois will now begin rapid development, and updates will be posted to this page regularly.

Please check back often, and we look forward to a fantastic year for Progressivism in Illinois for 2008!

Thank you for your visit,

Progressive Fest Illinois Staff

A Bit of PFI History

Progressive Fest Illinois is an idea originally conceived of by Dr. Hal Snyder - and inspired by Wisconsin's "Fighting Bob" fest.

Our first annual Progressive Fest Illinois was held in Big Rock, IL at the Marvel Davis farm, in October of 2006. Attendees included Gubernatorial candidate Rich Whitney of the Green party, John Laesch and Ruben Zamora, both Democratic candidates contending for the US House IL 4th district seat formerly held by Republican Denny Hastert. (Interestingly, Marvel Davis's farm is only a mile from Denny Hastert's farm.) It was also attended by several members of Progressive Democrats of America - Chicago, and of course, at least 15 members of Progressive Democrats of Illinois, the little organization that put this thing together after endorsing Dr. Hal's idea.

The second annual Progressive Fest Illinois was also held at the Marvel Davis farm in October, 2007. Attendees included John Laesch, again contending for the Illinois 14th seat, Christine Cegelis, former IL 16th US House candidate, Code Pink, Women In Black, and multiple PDI members.

A bit of the 2007 Itinerary courtesy of Vote Chicago:

"

Progressive Fest Illinois

.

The location is the Marvel Davis Farm — 47W066 Jericho Rd. in Big Rock, about one mile south of Denny Hastert’s place in Kane County, IL. Take either US Hwy. 30 or IL Rte. 47 to Jericho Road near Big Rock and Sugar Grove, turn north - it’s about 6 or 7 miles down on the right-hand side. Look for the sign. (Call 815-483-8878 for help.)

Speakers list and other information below the fold.
Speakers include the following:

• Dan Stafford, PDI, “Sustainable Housing”
• Hal Snyder, PNHP, “Affordable Health Care for Everyone”
• Christine Cegelis, Greater Chicago Caucus, “Progressive Politics in Illinois”
• Dirk Enger, Midwest Homeless Shelter for Vets, “Looking After Our Returning Veterans”
• Mark Burger, Illinois Solar Energy Association, “Solar and Wind Power in Illinois”
• Julia Field, Code Pink and Jay Becker O’Neil, World Can’t Wait, “Dissent and Direct Action in Today’s Political Scene”

There will also be guitar music by Merv Collins, progressive poetry open mic, and more. The full schedule is here.

Admission is free, but you can register here just to give the organizers an idea of how many will be coming. Bring a picnic lunch — no food will be available at the event.

Madison Capital Times stories on Progressive Fest Illinois can be read here and here.
-more- "

Marvel Davis's farm is a beautiful setting, rural, with plenty of room and an electrified, two-level 19th-century renovated barn for use. Marvel Davis was kind enough to allow PDI to hold this event gratis, and we are all very grateful to her for those years.

A big thank you to all who made PFI a success in those two first years!

Welcome to Progressive Fest Illinois

Progressive Fest Illinois is an annual event for Progressives of all political persuasions. It is intended to celebrate Progressivism, forge bonds between Progressive individuals and organizations, and raise the visibility of Progressive values and presence in the great State of Illinois.

Very soon, details about the 3rd annual Progressive Fest Illinois will be appearing in these pages, along with some past history of the event.

Progressive Fest Illinois is a non-partisan event where members of any political party are welcome to attend. The idea is simply to find common ground on issues, and move forward with what most people agree on.

Progressive Fest Illinois welcomes and encourages the attendance and participation of individuals and organizations representing all races, religions, cultures, and ideologies who have an interest in peaceful, sustainable, and equitable progress in the State of Illinois, the United States of America, and the world.