Free Things to Do in Tompkins County

One of the many thought-provoking discussions that I’ve participated in with the members of the Unemployed & Underemployed Support Group is the challenge of living on less. And we’re talking really living here, not just ‘getting by.’ Social interaction, intellectual stimulation, feeling the relaxing and meditative benefits of nature and beauty: a quality life  requires these things almost as much as we need good food and water.

What is there to do that’s free in our community?

One thing going for us here is the presence of educational institutions that have budgets for speakers. Today, for instance, the American Studies Department at Cornell is hosting a talk by photojournalist and author David Bacon entitled A Human Rights Perspective on Migration and Labor Rights. You can see him at 4:30 in the Lewis Auditorium of Goldman Smith Hall on the Arts Quad at Cornell. I haven’t been able to find one single source for a listing of all the speakers scheduled to appear at Cornell or Ithaca College but I will attempt to put together a list of links to the departments which usually sponsor interesting speakers.

Ithaca Freeskool is another great asset to those of us looking for free things to do. The Freeskool model is that ‘what is freely given should be freely shared.’ In other words, do you have a skill you think others might want to learn? Do you want to share an interest or project with others? Check out the latest Freeskool calendar at their blog.      I’ve mentioned our upcoming Reading Group before but I’ll plug it once more. Come into the Workers’ Center beginning October 19th to pick up your free copy of Martin Luther King’s Where Do We Go From Here? Chaos or Community. We will discuss Chapter 1 on November 9th at 6:30–8:00 here at the WC, 2nd floor, 115 the Commons.

Please write and share your tips for free activities.

We’ll end this post with a photo taken by Andro Gagne who travelled with us to Washington DC for the One Nation Working Together rally. Thanks, Andro, for generously sharing your beautiful photo!