Burning Man-sponsored disaster relief effort

[the mole]

Mission Statement:

The Second Line is a long-standing, long-dancing New Orleans tradition; best known as the band that follows funerals, somber on the way to the grave, joyous and celebratory on the way back.

Inspired by this fine tradition, Third Line is a rapidly expanding hurricane relief organization, with a core comprised of New Orleans residents and entertainers, and a vast network of friends who also want to help. Primarily we are a circus, which will provide entertainment relief (in the form of circus acts, a mobile film theater, puppet shows, and music) and children’s day care (with an educational focus on creating their own children’s circus), although we seek to fulfill other needs as we see fit (e.g. housing, clothing, etc.).

As our network has grown we have also begun to realize a new, much more serious set of issues: the general news media is failing to report what is basically criminal negligence. And so our mission has expanded to include the following two goals: 1. the dissemination of alternative and repressed news reports (including reports that government officials have been denying New Orleans residents the access to evacuate as well as confiscating food and water supplies), and 2. the aiding of citizens still inside New Orleans by any and all means necessary.

Our membership, which has been constantly growing in number, currently includes individuals proficient in a vast number of areas including emergency medical care, day care, information and media technology, and more, not to mention arts, music, and entertainment. With the cooperation of The Burning Man organization and Red Cross we helped to raise over $30,000, about $4500 of which has been put towards our endeavors, the rest of which may also go to us, Red Cross, or other relief groups. Whether or not we are allowed further funding will likely depend on us showing results.

In any event, we are actively seeking support in the form of participants who whould like to join us in Houston, either as entertainers or laborers, as well as donations of materials and/or funds to aid our mission. Please contact us if you’re interested in participating in any way.

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So anyway, we’re now in Austin, Texas, networking with refugees and some folks who want to volunteer, doing some circus performance, and developing more ideas. Lots of people seem interested in helping out, and everything is running smoothly. We’ll be heading down to Houston on Sunday or Monday, where we will create our semi-permanent base, and from which certain members of our group will be going into New Orleans to help with clean-up/rebuilding/medication/evacuation/etc.

If anybody would like to help out, either from home or in Houston, please contact me (e-mail: [email protected]; phone: 808 344 0719). We now have a network of people and organizations varied enough to find a place for virtually any sort of volunteer, from entertainers to laborers.

Here’s our web site: http://thirdlinecircus.com (which is still very much ‘under construction’ at this point). Soon it should have alternative news reports, links to help or get help, footage of our efforts, updates on our progress and upcoming events, etc.

Besides volunteering you can also help the relief effort by donating, either to us or other worthy organizations. To donate to Third Line just go to PayPal.com and make your donation to [email protected]. Maybe folks can reply to this post with links to other good organizations…

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there has now been some media pressure for the burning man organization to "do something". with the third line circus, they have done something, and with your support, it can be something much more impactive. this is how burning man has gotten involved and now it is up to us to follow their lead.

[the mole]

It has been decided that we must alter our mission statement. This is, hopefully, the final draft:

The Second Line is a long-standing, long-dancing New Orleans tradition. Best known as the band that follows funeral processions, it is somber on the way to the grave, joyous and celebratory on the way back.

Inspired by this fine tradition, the Third Line Circus is a rapidly expanding hurricane relief organization based in Houston, Texas. Comprised of a core of New Orleans residents and entertainers, we are supported by a vast network of friends who want to help as well. Primarily, we are a circus. In this capacity, we provide entertainment relief in the form of circus acts, a mobile film theater, puppet shows, and music. In addition, we plan to provide a children's day care which teaches children to create their own circus. We also seek to fulfill other needs such as housing, clothing, etc.

As our network has expanded, we have targeted two other important areas to include in our relief efforts. First, there is a need to report true, often repressed, stories of the gross negligence, the utter incompetency, and the blatant racism that have characterized the governmental responses at local, state, and federal levels. Second, there is a need to support the relief efforts within New Orleans, from cleaning and rebuilding to aiding any citizens that have remained in the city.

Our constantly growing membership includes individuals proficient in a wide array of skills including emergency medical care, day care, information and media technology, as well as arts, music, and entertainment. With the cooperation of the Burning Man organization (Black Rock City, LLC) and the American Red Cross we have raised over $30,000. At this point, approximately $4500 has gone to fund our endeavors. The remaining funds will be donated to The American Red Cross, other relief groups, or be re-invested in the Third Line Circus.

We are seeking support in the form of participants who would like to join us in Houston, either as entertainers or laborers, as well as donations of materials and/or funds to aid the Third Line Circus. Please contact us if you're interested in participating.