Race Riot! Tour Recap: Philly! @ The Wooden Shoe on Sept 25, 2012

The second day of our tour went “smashingly” for two reasons: we got in a car accident on the highway in New Jersey (eep!) and our event later that night at The Wooden Shoe in Philly was rad! Wooo!

Thankfully the car accident wasn’t that bad - no one was hurt and the van rental has insurance on it. Even luckier: the vehicle is still running smoothly with just a few dents on the side, which gives it more character anyway. We move forward <3

Because of the car accident, we were about 30 minutes late to our own event at The Wooden Shoe! When we arrived, we scrambled to unpack our tabling materials and multimedia presentation elements.

Several people had been waiting for us since 7pm, so Osa’s friend read to warm up the crowd while we quickly prepared to begin. No time to unwind after the accident - just straight into the reading! RAAAH!

Anna Vo went first, just as she did the previous night. It’s rad that she’s not afraid to be the first reader - that can be nerve-wracking for some folks. Daniela has a photo of her reading on her “good” camera but she’s having memory card issues, so here is Anna after her reading, using Daniela’s camera.

Osa Atoe read after Anna. We only have high res photos and video, no cellphone pics, so here’s a photo of Osa after her reading, having a convo with an attendee. That attendee is originally from Florida and commented on how many Philly transplants are from Florida.

After Osa’s turn, guest reader Sonrisa Rodriguez-Harrison read from her zine Hair Stories and also showed amazing, just-discovered and never-before-shared-with-the-public photos of her experience being a roadie for the band Purple Rhinestone Eagle when they toured Europe.

We have hi res photos and video of her reading, but for now here is an image from her multimedia presentation of her tour photos (super tease!):

Sonrisa shared some advice for anyone who wants to be a roadie:

- It’s ideal if you have a drivers license because the band needs help with driving, but it’s not required in every situation (she didn’t have one and still went to Europe!).

- Be good company, that’s a big part of your role (boosting morale, etc.).

- A good way to begin is to just befriend your band of interest at shows, help them out at venues and build a relationship (let things happen organically).

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Mimi read after Sonrisa. We are super excited to share high res photos and video of that and some of the Q&A, but for now here’s a photo of the audience. Thanks for coming, y'all!

Cristy C. Road was the last person to read. She shared some excerpts from her upcoming graphic novel, SPIT AND PASSION, along with projecting her original artwork from the book.

Here’s a photo of her in action, making everyone laugh.

After the reading portion was complete, folks mingled and purchased zines from POC Zine Project. They also took away many of the free zines we had to offer.

Joohyun, one of the POC attendees, just moved to Philly yesterday! We’re psyched to be their first zine reading experience in the area!

Lucid Strike shared some helpful zine and collective info with Daniela, founder of POC Zine Project.

Cristy C. Road surprised the crowd by giving away Race Riot! tour posters! Some folks even asked for them to be signed - that was a treat.

Here are two POC attendees happily showing off their free Race Riot! tour buttons.

Lookin’ good! <3

Just before we left, Jesse (who helped us organize the event at The Wooden Shoe) took a group photo of all of us Race Riot! tour members, along with Sonrisa.

Back, from left to right: Sonrisa, Osa, Anna, Mimi

Front, from left to right: Cristy, Daniela

Thanks again to the folks at The Wooden Shoe, Jesse (who also hosted us overnight <3) and everyone who came!

One of the things Daniela brought up during this event: If you’re interested in learning more about the poverty zine that POC Zine Project will be publishing later this fall, click here. We need support with signal boosting the call for submissions.

Next stop on our tour: Pittsburgh - at the Mr. Roboto Project - TONIGHT at 7pm! If you’re in the area, come through!

ABOUT POC ZINE PROJECT

POC Zine Project’s mission is to make zines by people of color easy to find, distribute and share - community and activism through materiality. We are touring through 12 cities from Sept 24 - Oct 7.

STAY INFORMED

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All tour dates: http://bit.ly/PeEgaR

TOUR RECAPS ARCHIVE

Oct 7: Death By Audio - Brooklyn

Oct 6: University of Maryland + Brickhaus - College Park and Baltimore

Oct 5: St. Stephen & the Incarnation Episcopal Church - Washington, D.C.

Oct 4: University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh

Oct 3: Skylab - Columbus

Oct 2: Rachael’s Cafe - Bloomington