Catalyst Block Party BBQ

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Block Party BBQ (Aug 5th) Boom Island Park

August 5^th marks the 1^st Annual Catalyst Block Party BBQ. We will be getting loco at the Boom Island Park from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm. There will be lots of yummy BBQ, music, activism, and a bunch of other fun stuff. The party is on a Tuesday night and is conjunction with National Night Out.

SNUS - What is that?

As more and more states and cities in the U.S. go smoke-free more and more people are giving-up cigarettes - and this has the industry scrambling. They’re looking for new customers, or trying to find a way to transition those who quit smoking into a new product. Here enters SNUS.

Cina dishes about the RODEO

 The Catalyst took a road trip to Thief River Falls to show Big Tobacco that we didn't want them in our rodeos and the people in Thief River Falls didn't want them in the rodeo either.  The rodeo there had a major sponsor that wasn't appropriate for the event: Big Tobacco.
 
  The road trip was long, to say the very least.  To say more, it was interesting.  On the way to Thief River Falls, the team made a pit stop that was not anticipated.  We were forced to stop in White Earth due to the large and unexpected tornado that we found ourselves staring at and the several surrounding funnel clouds.  A lovely family invited us to stay in their basement for the duration of the storm after Nikki panicked and nearly pounded their door down; Nikki doesn't do natural disasters.  We got back on the road shortly after that and completed our journey that should have taken six hours.  We arrived safely in Thief River Falls on Friday, July 11th at about six o'clock in the evening.
  
  Upon arrival, we checked into the hotel and took a brief look around before we loaded into the cars once again.  We spent the rest of the eventful evening at the fair near the rodeo.  At the Catalyst booth, we made buttons, handed out palm cards, screen printed posters, gave out candy and got some postcards and petitions signed by fair-going and rodeo-going supporters.  We ate a fair food dinner that was thoroughly enjoyed by the entire crew, especially Nic and Caleb.  We returned to the hotel and swam the night away in the hotel pool.
 
  On Saturday, we awoke to find that a wind advisory was in effect of Thief River Falls.  We didn't think much of it.  When we set up at the fair, it proved to be problematic.  The wind made screen printing impossible.  Then it started to rain.  Strong winds and heavy rain is not a good combination.  We cleaned up the stuff on the booth and put it in the cars then took our parade under the sheltered seats of a magic show.  We got a little petitioning done and saw some magic.  The rain let up a bit so we went to check out the hockey arena.  Holly got the okay to move the Catalyst booth inside.  In the warm, dry and windless arena, screen printing and button making became wildly popular, or at least more so than outside.  We had a pizza party of sorts before the better half of the group headed off to the rodeo and the rest stayed to man the booth.
 
  The rodeo was pretty awesome.  The crew enjoyed the competition and took note of the tobacco company's sponsorship at the family event.  The team there found large banners displaying the names of brands of smokeless tobacco.  They also found an event that was only for young children.  The team was shocked that the tobacco industry was allowed to sponsor and advertise at a rodeo with events and competitions for children.  This was certainly inappropriate.  Our business was finished at the rodeo and at the fair.  We packed up to leave.
 
  We arrived at the hotel only to leave a few minutes later.  This time we were off to a party.  We were going dancing at the coolest teen hangout in Thief River Falls: Da Club.  Da Club was filled with lights, music, stages, pool tables and fun.  Da Club wasn't a normal club, the only things you would find at the bar were soda, water and energy drinks.  Da Club was designed for teens to be a cool place where they could hang out and dance.  The Catalyst definitely enjoyed their time at Da Club.  We learned that the Catalyst is full of good dancers, Cina is not one of them...  But at least I tried, it was fun.
 
  The Catalyst headed for the road at nine o'clock the next morning.  We had another long road trip ahead of us to get home.  This time, the skies were not ominous and the weather stations didn't predict more tornadoes.

Block Party - SAVE THE DATE (Aug 5th)

Save the date for the Catalyst 1st Annual block party. The party is a Tuesday night, and is part of National Night Out.

The Rodeo - a post from Tamara

The weekend at Thief River Falls

This weekend Catalyst will Buck Big Tobacco

We here at Catalyst are getting geared up for an exciting weekend at the rodeo. On Friday and Saturday (July 11th and 12th) Catalyst will be in Thief River Falls, MN – trying to put a stop to Big Tobacco’s marketing at rodeos.

U.S. Smokless Tobacco Company (UST), who makes Skoal and Copenhagen (two of the leading chew brands), is a key sponsor of this weekend’s rodeo. Every year UST sponsors rodeos all across the country. Rodeos are all-ages events, often with competitions for teens, and special games for younger kids. One of these events is called Mutton Busting, and is basically bull riding for elementary-aged kids (of course they’re on sheep not bulls). Since UST is a key sponsor they’re able to advertise their products all over the rodeos.

In 1998, the Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) was signed, this was when all of the major tobacco companies got sued by the U.S. government. Since then it has been illegal for the tobacco industry to target teens. This seems like a big violation to me.

So, we’re going to be out in full-force, educating people on how we believe UST is targeting teens, and even younger people. We’re also asking that 

Professional Bull Riding, Inc. (the people who put together these rodeos) stop taking the money from UST.

We want Big Tobacco out of our Rodeos.

 For more information check-out what our friends are doing on a national level:

www.GiveTobaccoTheBoot.org

Help Fellow Activist Win $100,000 Award

Youth Board member Mariah chats with the press again!

Check-out the article here: 

Marlboro Man Goes Global

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New Camel product causing an uproar

Camel (made by the RJ Reynolds Corp.) is unveiling a new type of cigarette that some say is target youth.

10th Anniversary

Last KQT Stop - Metro Rocked!

KQT at Duluth Battle of the Bands

We at Catalyst are still recovering today - from being totally rocked at the High School Rocks Battle of the Bands in Duluth. There were 15 bands from MN and WI competing for some awesome prizes.

Killer Quotes, April 25th - MPLS Bowling

REMINDER - Austin KQT this Saturday

Duluth Killer Quotes Tour - April

Austin MN - Here we come

Sherburne SHOCKED!!! and rocked...

Nat Con 2007