Vancouver Voyager: Car Free Days -Informing The Public

Monday, July 4, 2011

Car Free Days -Informing The Public

First of all I would like to wish all my American readers a very happy 4th of July. I hope your long weekend is going well.

When I went to the Car Free Day on Father's Day there were booths set up for organizations to promote their causes.

The Communist Party of Canada was distributing flyers urging people to vote yes to repeal the HST. TRAC - Tenant Resource and Advisory Centre - had a table where volunteers answered people's questions and would sometimes direct them to the next table which belonged to the BC Civil Rights Coalition.

The Purple Thistle is a youth run centre for arts and activism. They are a group of young people who get involved. The flyer I picked up listed the group as 'radical gardeners' that garden in the heart of East Vancouver's industrial district.

Saving our natural beauty and resources. A popular theme at festivals such as this.

This booth caught my attention because it was run by the union I belonged to when I worked for the federal government - PSAC. (That is the Public Service Alliance of Canada)

This booth was not only to show what the PSAC members do for the community but also to promote fair trade. The nice lady behind the table gave me a package of coffee.

These events are also great to promote different health and medical organizations.

Petitions were all around - someone is usually fighting to change something. Which is good. Even if I don't agree with the cause being promoted I like that people not only have an avenue to let their views be known but also have the freedom to do so.

So, as you can see, even though there was lots of fun things to do like listen to music, eat various types of food and many things to buy there was also a social conscience. People trying to get others involved in making the world a better place.