The Holistic Cultural and Education Wellness Center, January 2020
At the end of January 2020, we hosted an informal community conversation & writing session in solidarity with #dignidadliteraria. This was a space for our local literary community (of all ages!) to come together to connect, talk, reflect, and plan in response to public conversations surrounding American Dirt, #ownvoices lit, & publishing. Huge thank you to The Holistic Cultural & Education Wellness Center and The Fresno Center for providing their beautiful space for this gathering
We loved collaborating with Fecund Stitch and The Fools Collaborative to participate in the 3rd Annual Big Gay Cabaret, benefitting the 30th Annual Fresno Rainbow Pride Parade and Festival. Our guest writers, Jamie Moore & Arielle Jones, brought powerful storytelling to a joyful musical cabaret. Event info here.
The Fools Collaborative’s performer promo flier for Arielle Jones
The Fools Collaborative’s performer promo flier for Jamie Moore
Part of a nationwide network of 40+ literary fundraising events, all held on September 4, 2019. Link to national page here. Over 150 people attended our local event, where we raised almost $2k, and the nationwide effort raised over $40k to donate to Immigrant Families Together. Fresno’s writers participating in this event: Juan Felipe Herrera, Marisol Baca, Venita Blackburn, Sarah A. Chavez, David Campos, Carribean Fragoza, Juan Luis Guzman, Lee Herrick, Aideed Medina, and Brynn Saito. All our writers also contributed work to a bilingual chapbook available for donation at the event. Huge thank-you to Christopher Soto and the rest of the national organizers for creating this important, powerful collaborative event.
Writers and (some) of the organizers for the Fresno event in front of the venue after the event. Photo by Jackie Ryle
Flier for Fresno’s Writers for Migrant Justice event.
Thank you to the many organizers, creators, writers, translators, donors, and volunteers who came together to make Fresno’s event happen. Special shout-outs to the Back Room at the Review for hosting us in your beautiful space; to our many organizers, including Brenda Venezia, Marisol Baca, Jamie Moore, and Steven Sanchez; emcee Matt Espinosa-Watson; the team from Fresno State’s Chicanx Writers and Artists Association who put together our Fresno Writers for Migrant Justice chapbook, headed by Mariah Bosch and Esmeralda Gamez; to all our writers and translators; thank you to Univision’s Despierta Valle Central for talking with us about our event on your show; and to photography by Derek and Lorissa Garza Rankin of This Very Moment Photography
Photo by Marisol Baca
Photo by Mariah Bosch
Buttons created for the event by Kimberly Baca of BakaGirlJewelry Photo by Marisol Baca
Event: Public workshop, “You Can Make it Glow: Community Organizing and Creating Space for Yourself, with Fresno Women Read,” at the Puente Program’s First Annual Watchale Workshop at College of the Sequoias, organized by Jamie Moore
Event: Readers for RAÍCES: A collaborative fundraiser with Fecund Stitch, the Hmong American Writers Circle, Fresno Women Read, and the Chicanx Writers and Artists Association, organized by Steven Sanchez
Collect Coffee Bar, June 2018
Readers: Marisol Baca, Emilia Mew, David Campos, Ethan Chatagnier, Ronald Dzerigian, Carole Firstman, Esmeralda Gamez, HAUNTIE, Javier Lopez, Nancy Hernandez, Melanie Kachadoorian, Xai Lee, Aideed Medina, Jamie Moore, Monique Quintana, Brenda Venezia, Andre Yang, and more through open mic
Fresno Women Read 