Activists plan on showing their support for a worthy cause while having a fracking good time.
A collaboration between New Paltz graduate students Alexandra Wojcik and Aaron “DJ rXy” Kravig and musicians Quitzow, Michael “Brother Suarez” Suarez and Svevo, the Global Frackdown party will be thrown at Cabaloosa’s on Saturday, Oct. 19.
The date is significant because it will be the second annual nationally recognized Global Frackdown, supporting the education and community activism against hydraulic fracturing.
The Global Frackdown party will consist of live entertainment, anti-fracking sign-making and a photo petition that will be sent to Gov. Cuomo. Proceeds from the night will go toward anti-fracking causes.
“This is a really awesome party with a purpose,” Wojcik, Global Frackdown co-organizer, said. “We want to use New Paltz’s hippy, rave, club atmosphere to appeal to another demographic and let people know how we feel about fracking.”
Individuals will be able to attend the event with their own anti-fracking signs or construct signs there.
A photo petition, which will be sent to Governor Cuomo, will depict attendees dressed as their favorite aspects of New York in an effort to conserve and hold sacred the portions of the state that will be compromised if fracking becomes a reality. Wojick said she might dress up like “a raved-out version of lady liberty” because she values her freedom to have a glass of wine from New York State, a privilege, among others, that will not be so easy or safe if fracking takes a toll on the state.
Suarez is one DJ who will be performing at the event, and said that he has had experience organizing these kinds of fundraisers.
“We’re throwing a party for something greater, and when I’ve organized fundraisers like this before, people enjoyed paying because their money is going toward something good,” he said.
Suarez has been spinning on the turntables since he was 15 years old, and his music is “a little lighter and hoppier than what a lot of people are playing,” he said. His plan for the night is to feel out the room and see what the crowd wants to hear.
Another DJ performing at the Global Frackdown, Kravig, is also the co-organizer of the event.
Kravig said ever since starting Rave the Vote, a dance party where attendees can register to vote, with Wojcik a few years ago, he’s been interested in organizing a similar event again.
“I’ve been to a lot of fracking events in the area, and it’s really just a bunch of corny grey hairs who I don’t want to hang out with on a Saturday,” Kravig said. “I hope people come to this event and realize that activism can be fun.”
Kravig recognizes that the Global Frackdown event at Cabaloosa’s has been portrayed in a negative light because of the bad reputation raves have been receiving lately and said that different organizations trying to distance themselves from this event is not a good idea because of the urgency with which everyone should be fighting fracking right now.
“People who are supposed to be in solidarity with one another are being exclusive within their own movement and I think that’s how a lot of really good political movements fall apart,” he said.
Kravig has been a DJ since he was 13 and describes his music as “weird step space disco.”
The most important components of the day, Wojick said, are educating everyone on the dangers of fracking and getting everyone on the same page.
“When we’re all here dancing as a large family, it’s a beautiful community and a safe scene united over the same ideas,” Wojick said. “We need to come together not just to dance and not just to let the beat move through us but to let it move through us for a greater purpose.”