TEMPE, Arizona - October 5 -

EVENTS: The October 13th Alliance is planning a week of activities and actions around the Presidential debate scheduled for October 13th in Tempe, Arizona. Activities include music festivals, panel discussions, art installations, a free market, film screenings, and marches. Events start on October 9th and continue through October 13th. The list attached provides the time and location for each event planned.

The October 13th Alliance is a diverse, non-partisan, grassroots coalition formed in response to concerns that the presidential candidates will not discuss critical global and local issues during the presidential debates. To correct this fault, the Alliance organized multiple events to address various important issues, including the withdrawal of troops from Iraq, military recruitment of minorities, and loss of civil liberties.

“This is going to be a festival of ideas,” says Beth Swadener. “We are going to have a real diversity of views where people can discuss what is on their minds.”

“Our message is that there are many critical issues not being debated and more than two sides to every story” said Sue Hilderbrand. “Instead of complaining, we are going to create a truly democratic environment.”

Highlighted events:

• Saturday, October 9th, 5 - 10 pm, Democracy for a Change Music Festival: Rally for Awareness. The rally will be at the Student Services Lawn on the ASU campus.
• Mon-Tues October 11th and 12th, 10:30 am, Memorial for War Dead, at Hayden Lawn on Arizona State University campus. The exhibit will include more than 1000 white crosses for each US soldier killed in the Iraq War.
• Monday October 11th, 12 – 4 pm, Free (For All) Market, at Birchett Park in Tempe. Join us for a joyful display of what a truly "free" market would look like while expanding our vision of the possibilities for creating a fair economy. Read some poetry, feed a neighbor. Share what you can and take what you need.
• October 12th, 5:30, “Voices of Dissent” discussion on the Iraq war with Fernando Suarez del Solar (whose son Jesus was killed in Iraq), Michael Hoffman (Gulf War I veteran; Co-founder and national coordinator for Iraq Veterans Against the War) at Neeb Hall, ASU.
• October 13th, 3 PM, “Democracy for A Change” March. The march starts at Daley Park in Tempe and will proceed past the debates at Gammage Auditorium (site of the debates).

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