For Immediate Release
January 16, 2009
Contact: Matt Joynt —matt@incubate-chicago.org
Anne Elizabeth Moore — artshowheckyeah@gmail.com
THE UNLYMPICS ORGANIZING COMMITTEE ANNOUNCES
The Chicago Working Group on Extreme Inequality’s Indoor/Outdoor Games: January 31, 2009
Chicago, IL—InCUBATE and person-in-residence Anne Elizabeth Moore, on behalf of the Unlympic Organizing Committee, are pleased to announce the Chicago Working Group on Extreme Inequality’s Indoor/Outdoor Games, a part of the Unlympics sports festival that will engage Chicago residents in active dialogue about the 2016 Olympic bid. The January 31 games begin at 1 p.m. at Washington Park, and then travel to InCUBATE at 2129 North Rockwell. Events include Class-Conscious Kickball, the Fashion Competition, Run Around the Block and We’ll Time You, and the Live Action Role Play Family Potluck Dinner.
The Unlympics looks at highly organized, internationally recognized, massively marketed, thoroughly branded, and extremely expensive sporting events not from a pro or con standpoint, but from a questioning standpoint. The final bid for the 2016 Games is due the International Olympic Committee February 12. Despite estimates that it will cost $100 Million to be confirmed as the 2016 Olympic city on October 2, 2009—which does not include any building costs—city residents will not even have the chance to view the contested bid until its publication on February 13.
The Unlympics invokes the spirit of fun and healthy competition originally the point of large sporting events. Indoor and outdoor games will be held throughout the city. All are open to the public. Many games are all-ages, and most are free to participate—all are free to watch. Rules, final locations, and last-minute changes will be posted to: http://Unlympics.wordpress.com.
Indoor/Outdoor Games take place on January 31 and will include:
1 p.m. GATHER AT WASHINGTON PARK (Garfield Ave. & MLK Dr.)
RUN AROUND THE BLOCK AND WE’LL TIME YOU
CLASS CONSCIOUS KICKBALL
FASHION COMPETITION (Please view rules before committing errors in dress that may disqualify you.)
7:00 p.m. LIVE ACTION ROLE PLAY FAMILY POTLUCK DINNER at InCUBATE (21+, bring a dish to pass, even if you are spectating.)
9:00 p.m. AWARDS CEREMONY (BYOB)
Kickball captains are gathering teams now. Judges, timers, spectators, and passers-by who join in the fun are still being sought. There is also limited space available for LARP FPD players; those with a keen eye, boisterous voice, and difficult relatives to emulate are invited to request a seat at this table by emailing artshowheckyeah@gmail.com.
The Indoor/Outdoor Games are brought to you by the Chicago Working Group on Extreme Inequality. “As fundraising and big time urban planning is underway for the Chicago Olympics,” CWGEI organizer Kristen Cox says, “we see the private sector sideswiping their local philanthropy in order to support the Olympics at a critical time when non-profits need it most. People living in Washington Park, a lower income community of color on the mid-south side, will be subject to displacement due to the Olympic plans. Not to mention parks are one of our cities’ last remaining public goods that many Chicagoans enjoy as a commons, together. It would be a shame to eradicate this green space and displace a percentage of our city who would be left behind because of a quest for power and status.”
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To stay up to date on our events, check http://Unlympics.wordpress.com frequently. Chicago Working Group on Extreme Inequality generates educational materials, performs creative direct action strategies, and promotes public policies that challenge accumulated wealth and power in the United States. www.extremeinequality.org.
Tags: Chicago 2016, Nolympics, Olympics
