Getting my elbows up

Yowza and Tickles

Over a coffee meet-up, Marlaina and I discussed a germ of an idea and then suddenly we were running with it. With about three weeks to go we needed entertainers, speakers, a sound system and an emcee. What about a venue, a permit and insurance? Did we have to provide washrooms? What would happen if the whole event suddenly got out of hand? Did we need private security or would Victoria’s finest come to our rescue? What if it rained on our event?

Let me backtrack. A few months have passed since my Olympic Summer and I’ve been in Victoria planning a permanent return to Europe, specifically to Greece. Things were on track but then a new administration was sworn in south of the border intent on playing havoc not only with Canadian sovereignty and our economy but the economy of every country on the planet. I guess it wasn’t enough for the USA to sweep up so many medals at Paris 2024 .

Canada is so polite!

Anyway, we’ve felt a tad threatened up here. There’s uncertainty and my house, that I thought would sell in a matter of days, hasn’t almost three months on. I think it was that outspoken Member of Parliament, Charlie Angus, who first introduced the “elbows up” motto as part of his push-back to threats from the USA. One Elbows Up rally had taken place in Ottawa and another was being planned for the following week in Toronto so I posted on a community Facebook page to ask if any such rally was being organized for Victoria. Enter Marlaina. If nobody knew about any forthcoming Elbows Up, Victoria! rally, we could make one happen.

And how did we do it? Asking questions, asking for help and breaking the tasks down among our ad hoc planning committee so that most of the time it felt like we were throwing a spur of the moment party. But there was still one question that kept nagging at me: what if nobody shows up?

Original costumes in red of course

No insurance was required for our 2-hour event on the lawn at the BC Legislature and because the rally was under 2 hours in length, there was no public toilet requirement either. There are electrical outlets by the steps outside the main entrance to the building and security guards available at all times. One of our planning team sourced sound equipment and you can rent a reasonable amount of power fairly cheaply too. Fortunately, Marlaina’s partner knew how to put it together. I created social media accounts using the trusty tool kit provided by “head office” and the likes started to arrive.The numbers looked really encouraging until I discovered that half the likes were my former students in Laos! My neighbour loaned us a canopy (in return for a loaf of my sourdough) in case of rain and we rounded up folding tables a few chairs and extension cords. We hit up every performer and potential speaker we could think of and eventually got our lineup together. We consulted event protocols and prepared the appropriate land acknowledgement.  The mayor, a motivational speaker, two well-known singers, an award winning puppeteer, a very rousing guitar player and our local Raging Grannies agreed to participate. Elbows Up - 72 hours, as I sent out 60 press releases from my dentist’s waiting room, I was contacted by a clown who wanted to volunteer her talents. We gathered extra volunteers based on people we knew who knew people. We never found an emcee so Marlaina and I decided to split the task. She's another teacher; if you can speak to a class of 30 new faces what’s 300 or 400?   

Woof!

And just like that it was 11 am on a sunny Saturday morning and we were on!  Nearly a thousand people attended. They wore red and they carried signs. They cheered, sang, clapped, swayed in the sunshine and booed down a would-be heckler. They danced to Big Yellow Taxi, rose again in the choruses of Heather Ferguson's performance of We Rise Again and used their voices when Deb Rhymer and Anneda reminded them that "people have the power". "A love in" said Marlaina, "This is a love in!" And we're getting requests for repeats nearly a week later.

The part I like best? I discovered that the Ottawa event cost $3,000. Toronto came in at $22,000. Halifax took place the day after ours and cost $20,000. Here in Victoria, the total costs were about $130.00 plus the donuts and coffee donated by Susan who had a Tim's gift card. Oh the power of volunteering, grassroots networks and people just helping people feel happier as they get through the worrying times. Elbows Up!