Occupy Regina Passes Fourth Night

I’ve had a great time every evening I’ve stopped by Occupy Regina in Victoria Park. The protesters are an eclectic and growing group of educated, and less educated, working, and disabled, homeless, and housed people from many different backgrounds. Tonight I talked with long time friends, friends recently met, and met a homeless woman named Stella who wants to contribute her knowledge of surviving cold Regina Winters to those hunkered down in their tents on the North East corner of Victoria Park. I think it’s a suitable christening for the new city square, so freshly unveiled that the construction fences are not all gone yet.

When I arrived tonight there were people playing soccer, others cycling, more skateboarding, and adults playing hacky-sack. Last night there was a DJ. The atmosphere is fun, and hopeful, and you should check it out whenever you’re downtown. It’s even worth a special trip, to see the growing community in a place no one thought anyone would manage to camp a single night successfully just 5 days ago. The world is changing for the better, and Regina isn’t being left behind this time.

Many people don’t feel safe in downtown Regina after dark? Why? Because there are not a lot of people around, and some who are around you’re not sure if you want to meet them. Well, Occupy Regina is changing that feeling, because there are good people always in Victoria Park who are looking out for trouble and asking it to move along. A couple of people were passing through with a smell of marijuana in the air around them, and the Occupiers quickly asked them to take it out of the park. There are children present at the protest, and media frequently comes by, and the group is self policing to keep the park tidy and law abiding.

Bart Soroka gave me this interview on the first afternoon of Occupy Regina (which is held in support of Occupy Wall Street).