BCHQ Launch: Bull City Headquarters

Seems like a great time to resurrect the old local blog. Been spending most of my time at my ScienceBlogs.com gig at Terra Sigillata, so it's always nice to come back and sing the praises of the Bull City.

Through my friendship with Catherine Edgerton and Chaz Martinstein of Chaz's Bull City Records, I learned of efforts of find a local community gathering space, in part, to keep Chaz's Southeastern band bookings from falling through the floor of the record store. With the closing of Jo & Jo's Downtown, it became even more urgent that a community space be identified and supported.

Well, Bull City Headquarters (BCHQ) identified space at 723 N Mangum Ave in Durham and the kids have been bustin' ass getting the place in working form over the last month.

From the mission statement:

Bull City Headquarters is a drug and alcohol free community space intent on facilitating creative expression, educational resources and public workshops.

Our mission is to:

*Create an opportunity to bring together neighborhoods through events such as public lectures, lending libraries, and workshops.
*Foster creative expression including but not limited to performance and visual arts, musical events, and gallery exhibitions.
*Offer public service through an organized meeting space, a bike co-op, and a resource center.

Here's the schedule for March 10th as detailed in this week's e-mail:

Hey Folks!

So BCHQ is on the verge of opening it's doors... this SATURDAY, MARCH
10th!
Come out to see the new space, learn a new skill or rock out to some
tunes.
Read on to find out more.

In this e-mail...
1) The Grand Opening!
2) Mural Painting and Artwork Hanging: What's going on at the BCHQ
this week
3) How you can help
4) Thank You!


1) Ta Da! The grand opening of the space is happening this weekend!
If you haven't been by the space, we're located at 723 N. Mangum in
Old Five Points (near UDI and O'brien's Fire Extinguisher).
Detailed directions are at the bottom of this e-mail.

Here's what will be going on at the space:

5pm - "How to Change a Bike Tube"
Bike workshop presented by the Durham Bike Co-op
5:30pm "Mural Painting"
A quick and easy way to paint a mural
6pm - "Our Community: The Future of BCHQ"
A discussion about the future of the space
8pm - Live music featuring:
Beloved Binge, eberhardt, the Future Kings of Nowhere, Dead
Elephant Bicycle, and Mandrin Dynasty!
Also, look out for a possible appearance by a neighborhood
favorite!

Throughout the night, there will also be food, a raffle of great local
donations from places like Pops, Alivia's, the Regulator, Bean Traders
and more!! It's also the opening of "Our Durham," the first art show
at the space.

Come by and share your ideas! Join in the fun! Learn something new!

2) This week is full of prepartions for the opening this weekend.
We'll be hanging the art show, painting a mural and setting up the
stage (Thanks Scrap Exchange!). We have the start of a library,
complete with donated book shelves and a reading area. Folks have been
coming in for work nights to scrap wallpaper, haul out carpet and
paint the floor shiny, shiny blue (Thanks for the paint Clyde!) We
also have freshly painted walls (Thanks Kim and Mel) and a gorgeous
mural (Thanks Catherine).

3) Wondering how you can help? Here are a few ways you can give back
to BCHQ!
- Volunteer for a work night (there's still stuff to build,
clean, organize, etc)
- Have a skill to share? Set up a workshop! Are you a yoga
instructor? Do you have tax tips? Do you know bookbinding? Let us
know!
- Donate! And that just doesn't mean cold, hard cash. Our
current wishlist includes: curtains, a wireless router, folding chairs/
table, gallery lights, trash bags and paper products like toilet paper
and paper towels
- Other ideas? E-mail us at bullcityhq@gmail.com. There are
so many ways you can help!

4) A huge heaping thanks to everyone who has helped us at the space
and given us donations (Ross, Susan, Kim & David) We couldn't do this
without you! Here we go...

xo
Rebekah and the rest of BCHQ