TBTN Wrap-Up

The wind was mighty as were spirits at the thirtieth annual Take Back the Night in Hamilton!

photo by Audra Petrulis

Women-identified folks started arriving at Hamilton City Hall in the early evening to check out the over twenty-five community organizations, to chat about the work that they do and to get some amazing free give aways.

photo by Audra Petrulis

TBTN participants popped by the SACHA table to pick up information about what they can do to end sexual violence and some free buttons and patches.

Photo by Audra Petrulis

photo by Karen Madden

Both the glitter covered sign making table and the henna tattoo artists were busy all evening.

photo by Audra Petrulis

photo by Audra Petrulis

photo by Karen Madden

Kathryn Kimmins from Laugh Yourself Healthy lead the growing number of women in laughter yoga.

photo by Karen Madden

photo by Audra Petrulis

After the crowd was sufficiently warmed up and had had a hearty laugh, Hamilton’s Queen Cee sang while her incredible BE-You-tiful Girls Club surprised us with a dance with the whole crowd joining in for the last verse.

Photo by Karen Madden

As the sun was setting, Anne Marie from the YWCA got women warmed up for the march by leading participants in some energetic Zumba.

photo by Karen Madden

Then it was time for the TBTN Awards!  Most inclusive display went tot the Hamilton District Labour Council with a shout out to the AIDS Network.

photo by Karen Madden

Mohawk College won the award for most women from an organization with huge shoutouts to the YWCA and WomanKind who both put lots of energy and spirit into TBTN this year.

photo by Karen Madden

The best sign shoutouts went to the Hamilton Katimavik group and Sylvia.  The winner of the best sign was Amelia, who’s sign read:

“I Take Back the Night…

…Because I cannot take back the day on which I was raped;

…Because I cannot take back the time spent in court;

…Because I cannot take back the energy devoted to supporting myself (when my friends turned their backs);

I Take Back the Night because I cannot take back all the love I shared in 14 months in an abusive relationship!”

photo by SACHA

photo by Audra Petrulis

photo by Audra Petrulis

Once the giant puppets (created by Melanie Skene of Many Hands Art) and the samba squad (Rhythms of Resistance Toronto) were ready over one thousand five hundred women (as guessed by Hamilton Police) gathered behind the SACHA banner and  headed out to the streets for the march.

photo by Karen Madden

photo by Karen Madden

photo by Karen Madden

photo by Audra Petrulis

photo by Karen Madden

As the march rounded the corner of James and King, the women marching saw the male allies on the sidelines cheering on the TBTN participants.

photo by Audra Petrulis

The marchers returned to City Hall to share some incredible food and watch some awesome fire spinning.

photo by Karen Madden

photo by Karen Madden

It was an amazing night full of strong empowered women identified folks.  It felt special to be a part of it.  Thanks to everyone who helped make the event happen – the TBTN committee, TBTN event volunteers, SACHA’s sewing volunteers, SACHA staff and our donors.  I cannot wait for our thirty-first year of TBTN in Hamilton!

– erin

TBTN 2011 Route

Hey Allies!  Thinking about cheering us on as we march in downtown Hamilton?  We would love to see our supporters on the sidelines!

Here is our route for this year’s march:

Need ideas for signs?  Check out this SlutWalk Chicago participant:

Our First Day at SACHA

As two midwifery students coming into SACHA for placement, we were thrilled to take part in the Take Back the Night preparations;  part of that included going to CHCH 11 to watch Lenore the director at SACHA speak on “Square Off” to inform the community about this historic night.

We were expecting Lenore to inform the community about what Take Back the Night is all about, but instead, she was left defending women’s right to create a women-identified only space. From our perspective, Lenore was unfairly cornered by two news anchors and a columnist from Ottawa. The part that really surprised me was that as media, you would expect CHCH 11 to have a responsibility to bring up why this event exists, what it was for and to help promote this cause to the community –  allowing more people to be aware and get involved.

Bring a Canned Good to TBTN

If you bring some canned goods to TBTN and we will distribute them to women’s services in Hamilton!

You can drop off you canned good at the SACHA table at the event.

TBTN T-Shirts!

TA DA!

TBTN T-Shirt 2011 Front

TBTN T-Shirt 2011 Back

Here is the 2011 TBTN t-shirt design!

Where can I buy one?
T-shirts will be available at TBTN near the SACHA table.

How much do they cost?
As in other years, we are selling the shirts are on a sliding scale from $15 to $20.  You make the choice about how much to give to SACHA depending on what you think you can afford.  To make each t-shirt costs us between $11 and $17 – depending on the size and style of the shirt.

We are hoping that some folks who can afford it will pay on the higher end of the scale to help subsidize the folks that are paying on the lower end of the scale.

What about free stuff?
We totally recognize that not everyone will be able to afford $15 for a t-shirt.  At the SACHA table we have TBTN buttons and patches for free.

How can I pay?
Unfortunately, we don’t have a fancy debit/credit machine, so if you are interested in buying a shirt please remember to bring some cash…

Thanks to Hilltop Printing for helping us out with the cost of t-shirts this year!

TBTN Performer Recap

We have posted about all the folks who will be performing at TBTN this year, but here they are in one post:

• Kathryn Kimmins will lead us in laughter yoga
• Anne Marie from the YWCA Hamilton will lead us in Zumba
• Rhythms of Resistance Toronto will be providing some revolutionary samba music for the march
• Melanie Skene of Many Hands Arts is bringing her giant puppets
• And there will be a couple of exciting surprises too!

TBTN Awards

TBTN is all about ending sexual violence and all other forms of violence in our community, but there is also a chance that you might win a shiny award this year!

We will be celebrating the best sign, most inclusive display from a community organization and most women from an organization.

If you need ideas for your sign check out these links:

• the photos from our sign making party last week
• “Yeah, What She Said” Feminist Radio from Calgary’s post about TBTN
• OPIRG McMaster’s post about SlutWalk Hamilton
• F.O.R.C.E.’s (Feminist Organization Reclaiming Conciousness and Equality) photostream
• Signs from SlutWalk Toronto
• Signs from SlutWalk Chicago

Thanks to United Trophy for donating the shiny awards.

Laughter Yoga

Kathryn Kimmins of Laugh Yourself Healthy will be leading us in laughter yoga at TBTN.

From her website:

10 Good Reasons to Laugh for NO Reason!

1. Laugher easily changes the way we feel.  It helps us to feel good, relax, be more self-confident and self-expressive.
2. Laughter improves our interpersonal relationships. If we are laughing, we can’t be fighting.
3. Laughter is a stress buster. It relieves physical, emotional and mental stress
4. Laughter strengthens the immune system and helps maintain good health.
5. Laughter is anti-aging. It increases blood supply to the face, making it glow. It helps us to feel and look younger. We look beautiful when we laugh.
6. Laughter is an aerobic exercise equivalent to any other standard aerobic exercise.
7. Laughter increases the levels of endorphins-the body’s natural pain killers
8. Laughter helps control high blood pressure and improves respiration, circulation and digestion.
9. Laughter makes us more imaginative and creative. It improves our sense of humour and sleep.
10. Laughter helps dump depression, anxiety and psychosomatic disorders. Laughter shrinks the hurts of everyday life. It interrupts the power struggle and releases tension and anger.  This helps us to be more accepting and peaceful.

Now try not to laugh along with this baby:

Favourite Chants?

What is your favourite TBTN chant?

What chants do you want included in the TBTN program this year?

Do you know any chants in languages other than English that you would like to share?

Mac Supports TBTN

When: Tuesday, September 13, 2011 from 11:30am to 2:00pm
Where: McMaster University Student Centre (MUSC) Marketplace

For more information or to discuss accessibility needs please phone Vilma x24235 or email rossiv@mcmaster.ca.

Download the poster here.