Happy summer solstice to all! 

After a beach rave movement exercise of embodying the Earth tilting towards the sun, a series of sun salutations, and a puppet parade through Prospect Park, I feel particularly alive to the new season we’re in. How about you? We’re fully in it, from the tree of heaven rising above even the new construction on my daily walk through Gowanus (seriously — how do they grow so fast?) to the serviceberry pie served at a recent get-together to getting caught in a surprise downpour while biking over the Manhattan bridge. Here’s Robin Wall Kimmerer: “To name the world as gift is to feel your membership in the web of reciprocity.”

Harnessing the energy of this season, a jolly crew of luddites and chimeric activist spirits have been dreaming and scheming for the Summer of Ludd from June 28 - July 5. What’s the Summer of Ludd? Well, you might learn more about it by watching this interview with Hasan Minhaj, reading the full run-down of events via Nick’s calendar, dialing 347-814-5194, or — the best way — just showing up! Starting June 28, the city will come alive with free, public, participatory programming particularly centered in Tompkins Square Park. There’s a wealth of great offerings, and plenty which might tickle the fancy a chimeric being like yourself. 

A couple highlights, though, of gatherings I’m hosting which are particularly aligned with the Chimeras Collective project:

On Monday, June 29 in Prospect Park, a Strawberry Moon Ritual at 8:00pm. Bring a strawberry related offering for our communal altar, and arrive by 8:30 for the ritual to begin!

On Tuesday, June 30 in Tompkins Square Park, New Rat City at 8:00pm. Come meet some rats, learn about their lives, and leave with a better appreciation for them as our neighbors and maybe even our friends. 

On Wednesday, July 1 in Tompkins Square Park, Leafing Out at 3:00pm. Leaves have so many stories to tell - and we can learn to tell them (and, through them, tell our own)!

Also on Wednesday, July 1, and also at Tompkins Square Park, but this time at 5pm: We Are All Already Cyborgs, a teach-in on Donna Haraway. She says it best: “By the late twentieth century, our time, a mythic time, we are all chimeras, theorized and fabricated hybrids of machine and organism; in short, we are cyborgs.” Join me to investigate this statement with our bodies, minds, and spirits.

On Friday, July 3 from 10pm until 3am, we gather in East Williamsburg for a donation-based dance party that weaves together immersive art, facilitated experiences, ritual, magick, pageantry, and DJ sets. Co-creating a vision of what nightlife could be.

So much on offer! Come gather, feel your membership in the web of reciprocity. Our luddite renaissance is just beginning, and there’s room for all at the table.

kyle 𓆑