August 1: Pittsburghs Fifth Annual Anarchist Picnic!

Join in a community celebration of anarchism as we prepare

to confront the G20 Summit in September

Saturday, August 1 at 1:00pm to 6:00pm
Overlook Shelter, Schenley Park

The Pittsburgh Organizing Group invites you to our fifth annual Anarchist Picnic on Saturday, August 1, 1PM-6PM at the Schenley Park Overlook. There will be food, games, and more. Bring a dish to share. Kids are extra welcome and we will be providing childcare this year.

For the past four years the Anarchist Picnic has been the largest explicitly anarchist cultural event in Pittsburgh, bringing together 100+ people active in a wide variety of resistance projects. It has been a day to celebrate an uninterupted history of struggle in this country, in which anarchists have played an important role. This summer we will be continuing this tradition as local communities of resistance mobilize against the G-20 meetings that will take place in our city in September. We hope this years’ picnic can be a space where folks can come together, re-energize, and build solidarity for the serious struggles ahead of us.

Since the announcement that the September G-20 summit would taking place in Pittsburgh, many anarchists have been working to develop frameworks for anti-authoritarian actions, prepare medical and legal support, talk to our neighbors, and get out our message about the G-20 and the reasons for our actions and tactics — all amid the usual corporate media misinformation about the aims of the G-20 and those who would dare challenge the state. We know from past experience with summit protests and other large street demonstrations that we have a lot of work ahead of us. Inevitably we will face attempts to villify us in the corporate media, harrassment and violence from law-enforcement and a potentially expensive and grueling legal aftermath.

But past experiences also show that our movements are best at facing down and surviving repression when they have strong roots, strong ties, and strong support from and within local communities. As an anarchist group, and as people who practice and support direct action we want to build solidarity and supportive relationships with other already radical comrades, whether they call themselves anarchists or not, and with our other neighbors, friends and family in the places where we live and work who face the same grueling struggles we do. We want this year’s picnic to be an opportunity for people to come together, build existing relationships and learn more about anarchists and anarchism, and so we welcome all friends, supporters, and anyone else who is interested and friendly.

In struggle,

Pittsburgh Organizing Group
pog@mutualaid.org
www.organizepittsburgh.org