Really Really Free Market

Carrboro's Really Really Free Market Celebrates 10 Year Anniversary

Saturday, October 4, 2pm
Carrboro Town Commons, 301 W. Main St. in Carrboro
Email: carrbororrfm@riseup.net
Website: http://reallyfreecarrboro.info

On October 4, 2014,  the Carrboro Really Really Free Market, the longest running event of its kind, celebrates its 10 Year Anniversary. Held on the first Saturday of each month, the free market creates a space where hundreds gather to share skills, food, performances and goods without bartering or exchanging currency.

Really Really Free Market supporter Heather Graves said, "The Really Really Free Market is a decade long self-organizing phenomena. There's no formal leadership, board, or organizing body: in the three years I've been involved, the only meetings have been to organize the 10 year celebration."

Anyone is welcome to participate, and the 10 year anniversary has a myriad of activities already planned. Workshops on harm reduction, radical history in North Carolina, and self-defense are confirmed. A children's track of games and story telling will coincide with a variety of  puppet shows, music, and dancing throughout the day. Two local groups that often share food, Food Not Bombs and Prayers and Pancakes, will also be there. Artisans are offering knitting and crocheting workshops and an upcycling DIY area for sewing and alterations in preparation for a Found It at the Free Market fashion show. The Recyclery will be fixing bikes on site all day. There will also be tables of the best in anarchist 'zines from around the world. As well as bringing the usual goods to give away, all guests are encouraged to share a skill or passion. People looking for a way to plug into the 10 year celebration can consult the wish list posted on the Really Really Free Market website.

"We're having a birthday cake contest and a piñata contest! For the next two weeks, look throughout town for piñatas stuffed with instructions on how to make your own," Graves said. "And as for the celebration: expect surprises. We are."

Bring something to share- Take something you need.

Carrboro's Really Really Free Market

Saturday, June 6, 2:30 to 4:00 pm

Carrboro Town Commons

301 West Main Street, Carrboro, NC

First Saturday of every month

Bring something to share--take something you need!

Everyone is welcome at this monthly event at which people share goods, services, skills, performances, stories, crafts, food, games, music, clothing, furniture, plants, and other resources.

In a time of recession and economic crisis, events such as this one are especially important, as they demonstrate how communities can maintain themselves even when the capitalist system fails them. If you are unemployed, facing foreclosure, or struggling with debt, or if you care about others who may be facing these challenges, come participate in building this community infrastructure! We can all prosper with or without the economy, if we base our lives and interactions on cooperation rather than competition.

Better than a yard sale, the Really Really Free Market has no price tags: there is no buying, selling, or exchanging involved. At this market, everything is strictly free. This event is a celebration of the cooperation and gift-giving that make life possible beyond the constraints of market capitalism: it is an afternoon when social status has nothing to do with what you own, and when giving and receiving happen directly rather than being administered through an institution or organization.  As at other Really Really Free Markets across the U.S. and around the world, we aim to create and participate in a world in which resources are held in common, the community meets the needs of the community, and "free" means just that: really, really free.

Nothing is required for participation, but think creatively about the skills you have and could teach, the useful or beautiful things you have and don't need, or the resources you might be able to bring and share.

Because there's enough for everyone
Because sharing is more fulfilling than owning
Because corporations would rather the landfills overflow than anyone get anything for free
Because a beautiful day outside together is better than anything money could buy
Because "free trade" is a contradiction in terms
Because no one should go without food, shelter, entertainment, and community
Because life should be a picnic, but it's up to us to make it one
BECAUSE THERE IS TOO SUCH THING AS A FREE LUNCH