From the Queen’s Quill: FSP News from da Prez
It has been a busy summer here in the Free State: festivals, conferences, and many, many new movers. Welcome home!
I thought it might be helpful for you to get updates straight from the horse’s mouth, so, herewith, my first blog post as president. First, though, let me address the whole “Queen Quill” thang. Yeah, you say, what’s up with this monarchy crap, Madam President? OK, I admit, it is an insider joke, but by way of background, when I organized my first Porcupine Freedom Festival in 2009, an FSP volunteer, Amy O’Brien made me a beautiful African quill crown. From that flowed the moniker “Queen Quill,” and it stuck. So, no, for those of you who are wondering, I’m not hellbent on creating a voluntary monarchy in the Free State, but if you want to get in on the joke, buy your “Long Live the Queen Quill” tee today! Funds go to support FSP outreach.
Speaking of the Porcupine Freedom Festival, man oh man! PorcFest 2011 was held in June, with record attendance. We estimate more than a thousand attendees spent a week at Roger's Campground in Lancaster.
One of the great things about PorcFest is you get to hang out in a casual environment with folks like Roderick Long, Stefan Molyneux, Jacob Huebert, Bob Murphy*, The Rose Family, Ernie Hancock, Adam Kokesh, Ian Freeman, Mark Edge, the Liberty on Tour guys, and Jordan Page. We hosted gun etiquette classes and shooting events. The Liberty Ladies cook-off was once again a great success. Congrats to first prize winner Gail Domenico for her yummy Tortilla Soup. The official film debut of the documentary Libertopia took place--well worth a watch! The crew from the Bardo Farm did their annual Pig Roast. Agora Valley was packed with free marketeers selling their wares. Thanks to Fr33 Aid, a non-profit mutual aid organization for their first-class medical assistance. Buzz's Big Gay Dance party was bigger, gayer and dancy-ier! UNCE, our first ever rave, was held on Saturday night after the third annual Soap Box Idol. Congratulations to SBI winner Emily Sandblade whose “Top 10 Reasons the Mafia is Better than the Government” was met with a standing ovation. The Porcupine Freedom Festival stands as testament to our ideals of personal responsibility and freedom. Thanks to everyone who came. Hope to see you again next year... and, bring a friend!
My heartfelt thanks goes out to the 2011 PorcFest organizers, Sovereign Curtis and his team. Their tremendous effort and hard work made PorcFest 2011 the most successfully attended Free State Project event to date. Curtis did a phenomenal marketing job, introducing new recruiting programs like the PorcFest convoys and the Bounty Hunters. He also launched PorcFest's first ever Kids Carnival, and the Celebrity Roast, where brave souls roasted Stefan Molyneux. Take a gander at the photo below to appreciate the growth PorcFest has experienced (use the vehicles at the top of the hill as your measuring stick). Who plans to bring another bus next year? Just make sure it is packed with new attendees!
Building on this growth, Jason and Sharon Osborne will be spearheading PorcFest next year. This husband and wife team will bring a balance of “fun" and "family” to PorcFest 2012, which will be held at Roger's Campground from June 18-24, 2012. Mark your calendars today!
Guess what? Liberty Forum is baaaaaaaaack! The illustrious Chris Lawless and his team will once again be organizing this amazing liberty conference. Save the date: February 23-26, 2012 at the Crowne Plaza in Nashua, NH. Chris is already hard at work on getting a stellar line-up of speakers. Expect more announcements soon.
NH State Representative Mark Warden and I attended Freedom Fest in Las Vegas in July. Our booth was right next to Peter Schiff's! The FSP presentation “Liberty is Moving: Why the Free State Project’s Goal of Concentrating Activists in New Hampshire Is Working” was well-attended and well-received. I was surprised to discover there are still folks in the liberty community who have not heard of the FSP--there is always more work for us to do! We saw old friends and met many liberty luminaries, including Peter Thiel, Jim Bovard, Butler Shaffer, Doug French, Doug Casey, and others. We hope to cultivate meaningful long term relationships with them.
Over the next two months, the Free State Project will be heading to LibertyFest NYC in September and to Libertopia in San Diego in October. We will have speaking engagements and booths at both. We even redesigned our marketing materials for a fresh new look. Thanks to Linda Lagana, Mark Warden, and Adam Sloan for their help. Download it here.
I’m pleased to announce that the FSP has a new Treasurer. Seamas O’Scalaidhe, a longtime FSP supporter, takes over from retiring board member, Cathleen Converse. Thanks goes out to Cathleen for her years of work on behalf of the FSP. And a warm welcome to Seamas!
We are also hard at work on other projects: starting a local “Friends of the Free State Project” campaign, building a “booth-in-a-box,” overhauling our website (no more crashing when we're featured in the big leagues!) and even a pending bit-coin project. Thanks to the dedicated IT team for making this happen.
As you know, there's no such thing as a free lunch and good outreach has a price tag. We need your help! Your support means we can do more, which means more movers, and your chance at Liberty In Our Lifetime. Where does the money go? It covers things like printing, servers, postage, accommodation and travel expenses. Hate the TSA and got frequent flier miles you would like to donate? Contact me--thanks again to Ofer Nave for sending us to Vegas!
Your support is vital to our continued success. PLEASE DONATE to help us achieve Liberty in Our Lifetime. Want to stay involved? Consider VOLUNTEERING. Thank you!
Have an opinion? Got feedback? Email me: president @ freestateproject.org.
Catch y’all on freedom’s flip-side,
Carla Gericke
President, Free State Project
*OK, I totally suck. When I originally said "Tom Woods," I meant "Bob Murphy," who is the ONLY zombie I will ever welcome into my home when the Z-calypse comes.
