Kanawha Forest Exposition ~ Nov. 23 to Dec. 5

An update from the Kanawha Forest Coalition: 

The Kanawha Forest Coalition is excited to announce the Kanawha Forest Exposition – two weeks of local music, film screenings, a photo and video exhibit, workshops, arts and crafts, and more from November 23 to December 5 at 247 Capitol St. (corner of Lee St. and Capitol St. right next to Delfine’s Jewelry) in downtown Charleston, WV.

We’re calling it “the Expo” for short, and we’ll be gathering Thanksgiving week and the week after to celebrate and show gratitude for our community and for this incredible land we call home. Come enjoy movies, art, music, and learn more about what’s at stake, why protecting our mountains matters, and how you can be involved in our campaign to protect Kanawha State Forest and in the global fight for environmental justice!

Except where noted, all events are FREE admission (donations encouraged) and will be held at the Expo space – 247 Capitol St. (corner of Capitol St. and Lee St.)

Here are some of our featured events and exhibits:

Monday, Nov. 23, 5 – 7 p.m.: Gallery opening
JUXTAPOSE: a Photograph & video installation will be on display at the Expo space from Nov. 23–Dec. 5. A photography series celebrating Kanawha State Forest’s natural beauty and wildlife, shown alongside aerial drone video footage of mountaintop removal mines flanking the forest. Photographs by the Charleston Camera Club and members of the Kanawha Forest Coalition.
***Join us at 247 Capitol St. for the Gallery opening Monday, Nov. 23, 5 to 7pm for art, drinks, music, and refreshments, followed at 7pm by the WV Premier of This Changes Everything.

Monday Nov 23, 7 p.m.: THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING – WV Premier, followed by a panel discussion about the climate crisis
Filmed over 211 shoot days in nine countries and five continents over four years, This Changes Everything is an epic attempt to re-imagine the vast challenge of climate change by exploring the idea that we can seize the existential crisis of climate change to transform our failed economic system into something radically better.
Directed by Avi Lewis, and inspired by Naomi Klein’s international non-fiction bestseller This Changes Everything, the film presents seven powerful portraits of communities on the front lines, from Montana’s Powder River Basin to the Alberta Tar Sands, from the coast of South India to Beijing and beyond.

Monday Nov. 23 – Wednesday Nov. 25, 10 a.m.- 2 p.m.: Kids. Sew Fun!

“KIDS SEW FUN!” provides an opportunity for children ages 8 to 14 to learn to sew and learn about the turtles of Kanawha State Forest while public schools are out for the Thanksgiving break. 

Wednesday Nov. 25, 7 p.m.: Direct Action Movie Night! – ABOVE ALL ELSE
Our Direct Action Movie Night series picks back up, with the critically acclaimed new documentary Above All Else. As always, these films are free and will be followed by a discussion about direct action against resource extraction.

Above All Else is a dramatic, firsthand account of activists on the front line of the climate fight, and one man’s fight to stop the tar sands of the Keystone XL oil pipeline from crossing his land. Shot in the forests, pastures, and living rooms of rural East Texas, ABOVE ALL ELSE follows David Daniel, a retired stunt man and high-wire artist, as he rallies neighbors and activists to join him in a final act of brinkmanship: a tree-top blockade of the controversial pipeline. What begins as a stand against corporate encroachments on one man’s land becomes a rallying cry for climate protesters nationwide. Watch the trailer

Friday Nov. 27th 5 – 8 p.m.: Art Walk
Come by the Expo space at 247 Capitol St. to see the art and share food, drinks, and music between 5 and 8pm during downtown Charleston’s Black Friday Art Walk!

Saturday November 29, 7 p.m.: Film – END OF THE LINE
We’re excited to be showing the new documentary End of the Line, which tells the story of a diverse coalition of farmers, activists, and religious groups in Kentucky who rose up to prevent the Bluegrass Pipeline from being built through their communities. Kentucky filmmaker Sellus Wilder wants this film to inspire other communities to recognize that it is possible for grassroots efforts to overcome seemingly impossible odds, and End Of The Line shares some of the tactics and strategies that worked for pipeline opponents in Kentucky. We’ve invited West Virginian groups fighting two pipelines slated to cross our state as well, and there should be a great discussion. 

Tuesday December 1, 6-8 p.m.: Giving Tuesday: OVEC’s night at the Kanawha Forest Exposition
Expo co-sponsor, the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, teams up with local musician Paul Epstein for music and refreshments on Tuesday evening. Come by to learn about what this Huntington based organization with statewide influence is working on and get signed up as a member. Unique holiday gifts such as hand-blown glass ornaments, hand-made one-of-kind necklaces, and Solar Puffs (your purchase sends one of these lanterns to an area without electricity) will be available for purchase. (Special thanks to OVEC for making the Expo possible!)

Wednesday December 2, 12 – 1 p.m.: “LUNCH AND LEARN” Workshop
Why We Need a Public Water System – with Advocates for a Safe Water System. Bring a brown bag lunch and learn about the active campaign for a public water supply system, and why this is the best solution to the conditions that led to the January 2014 water crisis.
Advocates for a Safe Water System formed in response to the January 9, 2014 chemical leak into West Virginia’s Elk River that contaminated the drinking water for 300,000 people.

Wednesday December 2, 7 p.m.: Direct Action Movie Night!
Another Direct Action Movie Night! (D.A.M.N.!) This time we’re showing Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance, directed by Alanis Obomsawin. This 1993 documentary shows what happened when a group of Mohawk warriors fought back against land theft in so-called Quebec, recorded by a participant in the uprising. It’s an age-old indigenous struggle, and it presents a portrait of life behind the barricades. Watch the trailer

Thursday Dec. 3, 12 – 1p.m.: “LUNCH AND LEARN” DISCUSSION with the Kanawha Forest Coalition
The Kanawha Forest Coalition has temporarily stopped the 413 acre KD#2 Mountaintop Removal strip mine adjacent to Kanawha State Forest and we intend the see that this destructive mine is stopped permanently. What is the status of the mine? How have active citizens successfully intervened in the corrupt and incompetent system run by the WV Department of “Environmental Protection” and demanded to have a voice? What comes next? Bring your lunch and your questions to get the latest updates from the KFC!

Thursday DEC 3, 6 p.m.: THE TRUE COST OF COAL
We’re excited to welcome a Bee from the Beehive Design Collective to present their large storytelling graphic “The True Cost of Coal,” which uses mountaintop removal coal mining in Appalachia as a lens through which to understand the historical and contemporary story of energy and resource extraction. This gigantic portable mural, teeming with intricate images of plants and animals from the most biodiverse temperate forest on the planet, shares (and seeks) stories of how mountaintop removal coal mining affects communities and ecosystems throughout Appalachia and beyond. If you haven’t seen the full-size banner, definitely come down to this event!

Friday Dec 4, 12pm-1pm: “LUNCH AND LEARN” DISCUSSION with the Kanawha Forest Coalition
The Kanawha Forest Coalition has temporarily stopped the 413 acre KD#2 Mountaintop Removal strip mine adjacent to Kanawha State Forest and we intend the see that this destructive mine is stopped permanently. What is the status of the mine? How have active citizens successfully intervened in the corrupt and incompetent system run by the WV Department of “Environmental Protection” and demanded to have a voice? What comes next? Bring your lunch and your questions to get the latest updates from the KFC!

Friday Dec. 4, 5pm: Energy Efficient West Virginia Reception and Film
How energy efficiency can help cut costs and meet our energy goals.
Come early (starting at 5pm) to learn about how to save energy with a display from local experts. At 6 p.m., there will be a free screening of  Switch (2012), a documentary film on global energy. The film is part of the Switch Energy Project, a larger energy education and efficiency project. The film will be followed by a discussion and Q&A. Sponsored by Energy Efficient West Virginia.

Saturday Dec. 5, doors at 5 p.m., music at 5:30.p.m.: CARTREF PRESENTS: POP-UP ALL-AGES ROCK SHOW
The Kanawha Valley’s best all-ages music series moves downtown for one night only, featuring 7 acts from all over West Virginia and beyond. Musicians include Motion Theatre, Time and Distance, Cedar Green, Matt Hectorne, Hurl Brickbat, Tomorrow to Forever, and Ryan Glaspell. $5 at the door. 

Nov. 23 – Dec. 5: WE ARE THE STORM: CLIMATE CHANGE WARRIORS – Art print portfolio
From the portfolio: “CultureStrike, in collaboration with Justseeds Artists’ Cooperative, has forged partnerships between artists and frontline environmental justice organizations to create a provocative, limited-edition art print portfolio, called We are the Storm, that highlights the urgency of climate change on these communities.”

Kanawha Forest Exposition is excited to be displaying these prints, to tell the stories of frontline environmental justice organizations, including RAMPS in southern West Virginia and Kentuckians For The Commonwealth just over the border. 

See you at the Expo!