"SLASH OIL" EVENT -- June 26, 10:30 a.m., Ocean Beach, SF

(NOTE: The general information immediately below will be updated between now and June 26. The organizer's running blog follows the general information.)





THE BOTTOM LINE

You are invited.

On Saturday morning, June 26, approximately two thousand people will gather at 10:30 a.m. on Ocean Beach in San Francisco for a peaceful exercise in democracy and community. We will lie down on the sand, arranged into a sprawling “Slash Oil” image which will be photographed from an overhead helicopter. (Imagine the above "Slash Oil" sketch tipped "right side up" and created on a spot about 200 yards up the beach from where the "IMPEACH!" image was created.) We expect images and stories from the event to be featured in the mainstream news media and to blitz the Internet. Anyone who attends the event will receive an "overhead" postcard. Please join us.


TIME:

Please aim for a 10:30 a.m. arrival, and please ARRIVE NO LATER THAN 11:00 a.m. A helicopter will arrive overhead at 11:25 - 11:30 a.m. and remain for approximately fifteen minutes. At similar past events, late arrivers have, to their great disappointment, found the helicopter nowhere to be seen and the participants already dispersing.


LOCATION:

On the sand of Ocean Beach, at the western end of Golden Gate Park. The stairways at Ocean Beach are each numbered, and where Fulton Avenue intersects Great Highway, look for Stairway 13. (The site is approximately 200 yards north of the Beach Chalet Restaurant and a third of a mile south of the Cliff House.)


POSTCARDS:

To receive a professional, original, over-sized postcard featuring a photo taken by the airborne photographer, simply fill out an address label (available on site) and leave it with a volunteer holding a “Postcard Addresses” bucket. Allow at least two weeks for delivery by US mail.


MONEY:

The event is free.

The cost, roughly $3,000, is being paid by the organizer (that’s me, San Francisco cab driver Brad Newsham) and he would love to be reimbursed. If you want to help out, please simply drop a donation in the address label bucket. Donation or not (no one is keeping track), anyone filling out an address label will receive a postcard.


SIGN-UP:

Having people “registered” attracts news media and helps propels the story and images out to the world. The Internet is a given, but we’re also aiming for the next day’s fat Sunday newspapers, major tv networks, CNN, plus news media all over the world, where people are interested in America’s response to the Gulf catastrophe. Please register here.


TRANSPORT, CARPOOL:

San Francisco MUNI buses service Ocean Beach. If you drive, please try carpool with friends who are coming.


PARKING:

There is usually ample free parking at Ocean Beach on a Saturday morning. The Hands Across the Sands events have been attracting a lot of attention, so my best advice: come early.


THE IMAGE:

We’ll arrange ourselves into something much like the attached sketch (click on it to expand). The exact size will depend on the number of people signed up. With 1,000 people, the image will be approximately 250 feet across -- if larger numbers sign up, we'll expand the image size. (The organizer has strong doubts about being able to color-coordinate the image, but several people have encouraged him to attempt this, and he’s mulling that over. More to follow as date approaches.)


BRING: A blanket, tarp, poncho to lie down on. Water is a good idea.


BACKGROUND:

This event is an outgrowth of the Beach Impeach events organized by Brad in 2007. Each of those events attracted between 1,000 and 1,500 people of all ages and shapes and shades. The overwhelming atmosphere was peaceful, playful, and very moving and memorable. As dead-serious as the Gulf crisis is, expect to have fun on June 26.


FUTURE:

Brad is planning for a similar event each year, near the summer solstice (calendar shows a full moon on June 26 at 11:32 a.m). If any “excess” money is received this year, he’ll use it on future events. If you are (or if you know) a teacher looking for a real-life project for your class to take on, please contact me. I’d love to “hand-off” this project to an appropriate group.


Thanks, and hope to see you soon.

Brad Newsham
newsham@mac.com
415-305-8294


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