Geek Fair Press Release with Bands

For Immediate Release

What: GEEK FAIR! A Community Street Party

Where: Free Geek, 1731 SE 10th Avenue, Portland.

When: Saturday, July 15th 2006 – 1p to 7p

Portland, Oregon – On Saturday, July 15, Free Geek will celebrate six years of operating the Community Technology Center with a Street Party and Fund Raiser. Geek Fair! is a free event for all ages. Festivities start at 1pm and go until 7pm.

Geek Fair will have live music and delicious organic food & refreshments. There will be tons of fun stuff to check out: “Beat-the Geek” game show, Smash-tacular! (you get to go all “Office Space” on a printer of your choosing), eco-friendly info. booths, video gaming room and kids activities.

Geek Fair will be showcasing great local performers: Alan Singley & the Pants Machine, Johnny Punchclock, Pepto Dismal, Cry Wolf and Extra Medium. On the midway, catch the Sprockettes Mini-bike Dance Troupe, Fire & Steel, and the Clown House. Watch out for ROBOTS!

Geek Fair gives the public many fun ways to contribute to the Free Geek cause. There will be a silent auction with lots of great items donated from local businesses, and a raffle featuring a really nice Linux computer as the grand prize. Spend time battling for network supremacy in the game room with a chance to win a bad-ass gaming machine from Back Space. Free Geek's computer thrift store will also be open with some great specials and bargains for the computer hobbyist.

Geek Fair is sponsored by Free Geek and the following local businesses and organizations. Portland Mercury, Backspace, Virtuous, Wibiki, Belmont Computers, Pabst Blue Ribbon, Dennis Uniform Manufacturing Co. and Southeast Uplift Neighborhood Program.

Free Geek is a local non-profit organization that recycles and refurbishes donated computers and other electronic equipment, making it available to individuals and non-profits in the community. Volunteers can participate, learn and earn a free computer system in the process. Volunteer orientation tours are held daily at noon and 6pm.

In six years of operation, Free Geek helped more than 12,000 volunteers get their own computer system or learn how to build the computers that are given away through their various programs. Free Geek's recycling program has salvaged over 1,000 tons of e-scrap, keeping toxins such as lead, and mercury from the landfill and recovering the valuable materials such as gold and copper for reuse.

For more information, check out the Geek Fair webpage at www.freegeek.org/geekfair. Pre-event press tours available by appointment.

Media Contact: Oso Martín, oso at freegeek.org, 503-232-9350 work, 503-703-0665 cell