Show 'n Tell October

Greetings AK FreeSpace extended community,

Its the last Wednesday of the month in Auckland... so what does that mean..?

Its time for another evening of collective learning, DIY education and something a little bit different, and all in the heart of Auckland city! AK FreeSpace presents 'Show 'n Tell' on October 28th, 7.30pm at Cross Street Studios - 27 Cross Street (behind K Road near Upper Queen).

This month come watch, listen and participate in:

- Fun and games: group facilitation techniques

- Film on old sckool projector: 'Surviving the Russian Concerntration Camps: Alexander Solzhenitsyn'

- Carbon Trading 101; explained through interactive means!

(please note slight change from the poster line up.. Philippines update now happening at the November Show 'n Tell)

Show 'n Tell is a regular evening of community-directed education held on the last Wednesday of every month and hosted by the AK Freespace collective. We aim to provide an inclusive space where people can learn and teach in a supportive environment which aims to be fun and empowering for all involved.To present and share a 20 minute max talk email akfreespace (@) gmail.com

See you there!The AK FreeSpace collective

Feast feedback and bike beginnings

Hello,

So the Vegan Feast and Film event was a huge success - thanks to all who participated!

The meal and movie had a 'kiwiana' theme; with nut loaf, mashed potato and gravy, roasties, colslaw and other salads, garlic bread and crumble for desert. About 50 people came to eat their hearts out and then watch the latest Topp Twins documentary 'The untouchable girls'. Laughs a plenty and a thought provoking film involving concepts of community and social change.

The event was a fundraiser to help set up a community bike workshop in Auckland- and this is already underway with free workshops to upskill folks happening regularly in the neighbourhood. The idea is to increase our own knowledge (and resources) to be able to share it with others out there - either at temporary or more permanent space.

Vegan Feast and Film

To celebrate the arrival of Spring and to help us establish a community bike workshop in Auckland, the AK Freespace is hosting a fundraising dinner and movie at 7pm, Friday October 9th.

Come along for a night of scrumptious vegan food, a hilarious local film and great company, all to raise money for a good cause.

It's $10-20 sliding scale so get a group together, and email us at akfreespace@gmail.com to book your tickets for what promises to be an awesome night.

We look forward to seeing you there!

September Show n Tell

The end of the month is nigh which means the next installment of Show 'n' Tell, Auckland's very own community free school, is nearly here.

As always, Show 'n' Tell will be held on the last Wednesday of the month (that's the 30th September) at 7.30pm. However, this month we are having a venue change to Cross Street Studios, upstairs at 27 Cross Street.

Come along to learn about Bhutan (the country), Pop Music Strangers (esoteric musical connections) and Pakeha Rebels (folks from early Colonial Aotearoa).

Show 'n Tell is a regular evening of community-directed education held on the last Wednesday of every month and hosted by the AK Freespace collective. We aim to provide an inclusive space where people can learn and teach in a supportive environment which aims to be fun and empowering for all involved.

We hope to see you there!

Show and Tell!!

So after the success of the dinner and swap a cloths, there was a desire to keep going with a regular event that would serve a purpose in the community and bring people together.

Inspired by similar 'free school' ideas overseas we decided to start a monthly D.I.Y education night called "Show and Tell".

The concept is that anyone can come along and talk about a topic of their choice. Not necessarily something they know a lot about, or something that might usually be classed as 'academic' or 'intellectual' - just anything that one is interested in and keen to share with others.

The first one was in May 2009 and covered the diverse topic range of: Ecology and Dr Seuss, the Free Burma Rangers and Memoirs of a Child TV Star.

Since then they have been happening on the last Wednesday of the month with presenters giving talks with such titles as - Harry Potter and Anti Racism, NZ outlaw George Wilder and the Consice History of Weed.

The final example is an example of a lucky dip topic that is included in each Show and Tell. At the end of the previous months night people can both put forward a topic idea and their name to present a 10 minute talk on a subject selected at random for them. This way those that might want to participate but are stuck for ideas can have one chosen for them that another attendee is curious about!!

The event has been going really well with everyone learning about interesting subjects, having a laugh, and practicing their public speaking skills. You don't have to be an expert or an experienced orator, its a very inclusive supportive environment for anybody to share and grow. They are social evenings, with food and drink to share.

So come along to the next one!! Let us know if you have something to talk about!!

Last Wednesday of the month at 7.30pm. So far they have been held at Cityside but we are set to change venues for September to the Cross Street Studios.. ready for a whole new era of Show and Tell!

Swap a Cloth history

The first Swap a Cloth happened in Feburary- we were all stoked at the turn out - lots of people from the wider community came along for a day of trading clothes, badge making, sewing and mending and treat eating. Oh, and check out the wicked poster!

In May we held another, in the lead up to winter. Again we had a good turn out and told a few more people what we were up too.. and had a mean dress up session with left over clothes at the end!!

With both events left over clothes went to clothing charities and the funds raised have gone into helping establish future projects.

From the past... the Christmas Dinner

One of the first things the Ak Freespace collective did was have a fundraising dinner leading up to Christmas 2008... it was well attended and all enjoyed a vegan feast followed by a screening of "What would Jesus Buy?" a Reverend Billy and the Church of Not Shopping documentary.