Big Fall Harvest at Wheatsville Beat all of your household needs into plowshares, y’all. Don’t give that money
to the man, spend it where it’s needed most — right back into the
community center that heals your soul and psyche and cares for all your other
tangible human needs. Wheatsville Coop, our venerable community hub, gathering
space, and low-stress alternative to the grocery megaliths, hosts their Annual
Community & Non-Profit Rummage Sale, Sat, Sep 28, 9am-1pm. So instead of
mall hopping that weekend, save your spending jones for some folks who could
use your green and offer you some great deals in the bargain: KOOP Radio, Bikes
Not Bombs, Austin Peace & Justice Coalition, and the HIV Wellness Center
are among the fine community pillars which will be selling wares at the event.
478-2667. Get Back Up on That Pony & Ride The fine folks at the Handicapped Equestrian Learning Program (HELP) want you
to saddle up and move on out to next weekend’s Fall Festival Fundraiser, Sat,
Sep 28, 10am-2pm at the HELP grounds, 2908-B Gregg, off Dessau & I-35. The
$2 (adults) and $1 (kids) admissions cover the day’s worth of family fun with
clowns, jugglers, face painting, sand and spin art, fishing, pony pictures, and
treats. The all-volunteer organization, which provides therapeutic horse rides
for children with disabilities, would also love to hear from you if you might
be interested in volunteering for their program. 251-1099.
MANA From Earth Midwives Alliance of North America (MANA) promotes sensible ushering of new
baby people onto this mortal coil. MANA attests, as the actions of centuries of
women before them, that natural childbirth is as safe, if not safer than the
“standards” insisted upon by the modern (mostly male) medical establishment.
Hell, women have been squatting out in the fields, plunkering out new tots
since the beginning of time; so why natural childbirth is viewed as
“alternative” is beyond our grasp, anyhoo… And according to the World Health
Organization (that’s WHO…), the five nations with the best infant mortality
rates use midwife services on an average of 70% of all births. Sweden and The
Netherlands, for example, use mostly midwives and kick the US right in the
stirrups when it comes to successful birth rates. The merry midwives will be
hosting the MANA Conference, Thu-Sun, Sep 26-29 at the Hyatt Regency. The
conference is open to the general public. If your curiousity is piqued, but you
don’t wish to leap in all the way, check out their Saturday Dance Celebration
with Sambe Xe, Sat, Sep 28, 8pm. It’s only $5. 453-0050. What Generation Gap? Out Youth Austin want to show off their new digs at the Cornerstone, 12th
& Red River. They invite you to an Open House & Thank You Party, this
Fri, Sep 20, 5:30-8:30pm.
Next weekend, Out Youth and Parents, Friends & Families of Lesbians &
Gays (PFLAG) will throw their first annual picnic, Sun, Sep 29, 2-5pm at
Waterloo Park, 12th & Red River. 708-1234. TOPS of the Pops Texas Organized Professionals (TOPS) want to show off, too — this year’s
winners of their Rising Youth Awards. They invite you to the TOPS Showcase,
this Sat, Sep 21, 7:30pm.
TOPS is dedicated to public service in youth development; their awards
recognize outstanding African-American youth who possess leadership qualities.
The awards event will feature an original play, The Right One, The Right
Reason, a silent auction, and a dance. 837-7903. That Pioneer Spirit Jordan-Bachman Pioneer Farm welcomes Autumn and the chance to raise some funds
for their historical transport back to 1880s America. The Fall Festival,
Sat-Sun, Sep 21-22, noon-6pm, will make you yearn for sausage stuffing,
whittling, and blacksmithing. You might even feel compelled to join the Women’s
Christian Temperance Union, who will be on hand spreading the “Word.”
837-1215.
This article appears in September 20 • 1996 and September 20 • 1996 (Cover).