DemocracyFest Starts This Friday!

Written by: Jessica Falker on Jul 13, 2009 8:48 AM EDT

Linked to groups: Democracy For Vermont

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Last Day to Get Your 1/2 Price Hotel Room At DemocracyFest!

Written by: Jessica Falker on Jul 5, 2009 12:57 PM EDT

Linked to groups: Democracy For Vermont

Only 3 Days Left To Get Your Discounted DemocracyFest Tickets!

Written by: Jessica Falker on Jun 27, 2009 9:12 PM EDT

Linked to groups: Democracy For Vermont

Sen. Mike Gravel to Speak at DemocracyFest

Written by: Jessica Falker on May 17, 2009 12:52 PM EDT

Sen. Mike Gravel will speak at the 6th Annual DemocracyFest, a political festival for liberal/progressive activists, July 17-19 in Burlington, VT.

Sen. Gravel served as the Democratic US Senate for 12 years during the Vietnam War Era from the state of Alaska, during which time he took a strong anti-war stand and released the Pentagon Papers into public record. Sen. Gravel ran in the 2008 Democratic Primary for President, raising much debate about the influence of media on the Primary process when he was excluded from MSM sponsored debates.

Sen. Gravel continues his work as an author and lecturer promoting Direct Democracy. He will be joined at DemocracyFest by Gov. Howard Dean and Rep. David Zuckerman, as well as other interesting speakers and entertainers.  For more information about the event, please go to http://www.DemocracyFest.net

6th Annual DemocracyFest

Written by: Jessica Falker on May 14, 2009 8:02 AM EDT

DemocracyFest is a political festival for liberal/progressive activists which features trainings, speakers and entertainment; teaching people how to make a difference and have fun doing it!

The 1st DemocracyFest was planned from ideas posted on this blog and now DemocracyFests have been held in Massachusetts, Texas, California, New Hampshire and Virginia. Over 4,000 activists have been trained to help on campaigns and make a difference in their communities.

The 6th Annual DemocracyFest will be held this summer, July 17-19, in Burlington, VT and Gov. Howard Dean will be the keynote speaker.

For more information about the event, please go to http://www.DemocracyFest.net

Stimulate Democracy! (Less Expensive then Stimulating the Economy!)

Written by: Jessica Falker on Feb 17, 2009 11:30 PM EST

Linked to groups: Democracy For Vermont

President Obama signed the $787,000,000,000 economic stimulus bill today! Like our economy, our democracy needs stimulating too. Events like DemocracyFest help keep activists educated and motivated to make a difference in our country and communities, even during non-election years when some activists may otherwise feel un-stimulated.

Compared to stimulating the economy, stimulating democracy is a bargain at only $55 (just $55, no extra zeros!) for a full event ticket to the 6th Annual DemocracyFest, July 17th-19th in Burlington, VT! http://www.DemocracyFest.net

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DemocracyFest Schedule Update!

Written by: Jessica Falker on Jan 14, 2009 3:47 PM EST

Linked to groups: Democracy For Vermont

DemocracyFest Dates & Location!

Written by: Jessica Falker on Dec 17, 2008 2:34 PM EST

Linked to groups: Democracy For Vermont

The 6th Annual DemocracyFest will be held this summer, July 17-19, 2009 at the Sheraton Hotel and Conference Center in Burlington, VT!

DemocracyFest is a political festival for liberal/progressive activists which features trainings, speakers and entertainment; teaching people how to make a difference and have fun doing it! Past annual DemocracyFests have been held in Massachusetts, Texas, California, New Hampshire, and Virginia. Over 4,000 activists have been trained to help on campaigns and make a difference in their communities. This year's event, hosted by Democracy For Vermont, promises to be another exciting, informative and fun filled weekend!

Full weekend tickets are only $55 and include:

- All trainings, entertainment, and speakers on Saturday and Sunday.
- Dinner on Saturday.
- Breakfast on Sunday.
- Semi-Guided Tour of Burlington and Welcome Party on Friday.
- Children under 14 free with adult ticket purchase.
- Free parking, or transportation to and from Burlington Airport.
- Priceless interaction with activists from across the nation.

On site lodging is available at the Sheraton Hotel for the reduced rate of only $99 per night, for rooms up to 3 days before or 3 days after the event (based on availability)! Please call 1-802-865-6600 to make your reservation. You must say you are with the DemocracyFest group to get the reduced rate. Lodging at the reduced rate is limited, so make your reservation today!

Sponsorships levels with a variety of benefits for businesses and organizations who support the 6th Annual DemocracyFest are listed here.

For more information go to http://www.DemocracyFest.net

IRV Coming to Rutland, VT!

Written by: Jessica Falker on Nov 26, 2008 1:58 PM EST

Linked to groups: Democracy For Vermont, Rutland DFA

An effort is underway to implement a Charter change in Rutland City, VT to have the Mayor elected using instant runoff voting (IRV). The Charter change would be similar to the one Burlington, VT passed a few years ago and now uses to elect their Mayor.

IRV is good because it ensures that the candidate who is elected has majority support (the current Mayor of Rutland was elected with just 33% of the vote), and does it in a way that doesn’t involve a costly separate runoff election. There is a great explanation of how IRV works using the Muppets here: http://fairvote.org/irv/muppets/

This effort is endorsed by Rutland DFA and Democracy For Vermont, as well as Fair Vote and Vermont Common Cause. Several more organizations are expected to make official endorsements this week.

Our next step is to collect signatures of Rutland City voters so that the Charter change proposal will be printed on the March 2009 ballot. We are looking for 40 volunteers to collect 20 signatures each. If you can help, please email me at jjem1999@yahoo.com

DemocracyFest 2009 will be held in...

Written by: Jessica Falker on Nov 14, 2008 3:59 PM EST

Linked to groups: Indiana Progressives, DC for Democracy, Latinos for America, San Diego for Democracy, Democracy for Virginia

DemocracyFest is a political festival for liberal/progressive activists which features trainings, speakers and entertainment; teaching people how to make a difference and have fun doing it! Prior DemocracyFests have been held in Massachusetts, Texas, California, New Hampshire and Virginia. Over 4,000 activists have been trained to help on campaigns and make a difference in their communities.

The 6th Annual DemocracyFest will be held this summer in Burlington, VT !

Democracy For Vermont will be this year's Host, and we are beginning to partner with other organizations who will offer education and entertainment at DemocracyFest 2009. If you would like to recommend a particular organization for us to work with, or have other input for this summer's DemocracyFest, please contact us at info@democracyfest.net

We are also currently accepting sponsorships for the 6th Annual DemocracyFest and cordially invite liberal/progressive organizations and businesses to become sponsors of this year's event at one of the sponsorship levels which can be found on our website at http://www.DemocracyFest.net

We look forward to seeing you in Vermont this summer!

The DemocracyFest Team
David, Ellen, Jessica, Laurie and Quintus
www.DemocracyFest.net