DIY Guide to Santa Cruz

DIY GUIDE TO SANTA CRUZ
(an incomplete list of independent local projects)

Meaningful projects begin with people who are motivated to put into action their desires for the kind of world in which they want to live. The more we create our own projects that are apart from and in some cases pose a direct challenge to the dominant institutions, the more vital and meaningful our world(s) will be for us. Here is a short list of some of these kinds of projects in Santa Cruz.


Anarchist Library
Need a good radical history book to curl up with in the rainy winter months? Or a great book on anarchy to take with you to the beach during the summer? Need respite from the ho-hum assigned reading in your classes? Visit the Anarchist Library where you can check out radical books that might not be available in the local library. The collection covers such diverse subjects as anarchy, Situationists, history, politics, fiction, ecology, indigenous studies, feminism, psychology, and a small collection of zines. Also, current grassroots and radical events are posted. At the Sacred Grove, 924 Soquel Ave.

The Bike Church
Community Bike Shop and Tool Cooperative
http://www.santacruzhub.org/bikechurchfrm.html
You need not be a mechanic to use the Bike Church's do-it-yourself repair facility; people of all aptitudes make use of the shop. Church ministers (mechanics) are there to help and get as involved in the repair of your bicycle as necessary. We encourage people to learn by getting their hands dirty - familiarize them- selves with the machine that they rely on to get them from place to place. The Bike Church is part of The Hub at 703 S. Pacific, Downtown. 425-2453.

Food Not Bombs
http://www.geocities.com/santacruzfnb/
Food Not Bombs offers community meals open to all, as an opportunity to build community, reclaim public space, protest hunger, poverty, militarization, and all forms of oppression. Serving two days a week: Sundays 4pm @ San Lorenzo Park, & Wednesdays 4pm @ the south end of the Farmer's Market.

Free Radio Santa Cruz - 101.1 FM
http://www.freakradio.org
Free Radio Santa Cruz has been on the air for over 10 years without a license. We broadcast 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, in defiance of federal regulations. We go on the air to produce & broadcast a diversity of programs that are simply unavailable on corporate controlled stations, to bring local control & local accountability to our community media & to challenge corporate control of the airwaves. FRSC is part of a growing micro-radio movement. On the air at 101.1 FM & live stream link at website.


Free Skool Santa Cruz
http://santacruz.freeskool.org
Free Skool offers a variety of classes in homes, open spaces and community centers all over Santa Cruz. Free Skool is a decentralized and completely grass- roots effort, a collection of locals who’ve decided to act collectively and autonomously to create a skill- sharing network, a school without institutional control. It is an opportunity to learn from others and share what we know, to help create self-reliance, vital communities, and beauty in the world. Free Skool calendars are distributed widely in various public places around Santa Cruz and at website.

Guerilla Drive-In
http://www.guerilladrivein.org
Santa Cruz Guerilla Drive-In is an outdoor movie theatre under the stars that springs up in the fields and industrial wastelands. Beyond showing great movies and bringing a broad community together, part of our mission is to help reclaim public space and transforming our urban environment into a joyful playground. GDI also lends support to other projects. Every other Friday. Summer series at the railroad tracks at Fair Ave. on the Westside & Winter series at the Bike Church.

Santa Cruz Indymedia
http://indybay.org/santacruz
Web-based local news and info source, focused on local issues and the direct impact of larger issues on our community. The Independent Media Center is a network of collectively run media outlets for the creation of radical, accurate, and passionate telling of the truth. We work out of a love and inspiration for people who continue to work for a better world, despite corporate media's distortions and unwilling- ness to cover the efforts to free humanity. Santa Cruz Indymedia is an autonomous chapter of the Independent Media network. Online.

Of course there is much more going on around town than this short list encompasses. Keep your eyes and ears open; talk to others (word of mouth is the best way to learn about what’s-going-on) and look for flyers around town (a great DIY way to spread-the- word). Also, if you discover that there is that vital something not happening here, then do-it-yourself and spread-the-word (collaborate with allies with similar passions). Let’s joyfully tear down the world around us and create something wonderful in its place.