The Radical Events Ottawa (REO) List is an online calendar and weekly announcement list for radical events, meetings, protests, and other activities in Ottawa, Ontario, on unceded Algonquin territory. The Punch Up Collective collects submissions, curates the calendar, and produces a weekly compilation of upcoming activities.
Hundreds of local organizers and activists view the REO List every week via our email list, website, Bluesky, and Facebook.
How to subscribe
You can sign up online or send a blank email to reo-subscribe@lists.riseup.net.
How to submit events
The REO List is published once a week on Monday. Events submitted later than the Friday before may not make it into the list.
To submit an event, please use the calendar web form at this link: Submit an Event – Punch Up Collective
Alternatively, if encounter difficulties, send an email to punchup@riseup.net no later than the Friday before. Please ensure you include the following information:
- title of event
- date and time of the event
- location of the event
- description of the event
- name and contact info of person or organization(s) responsible for the event
- link to event page
- any accessibility notes about the event, including any COVID mitigation measures
- any other information you feel it is important to include
How this list works
Punch Up started this listserv in response to what we saw as a gap in Ottawa organizing infrastructure – a way for fellow radicals to share upcoming activities without relying on Facebook and other commercialized platforms. Every week, events submitted by midnight on Friday are included in the email sent out on the following Monday. We also curate an online calendar. Older compilations are available in the list archive.
What we post, what we don’t post
This list isn’t a free for all of any and all happenings in town. As Punch Up, we are committed to building people’s capacities and collective power and, where appropriate, institutions that can last over the long haul. We want to help build radical movements that are large-scale, organized, multi-generational, combative, and working towards a world where everyone can flourish. While we review each submission individually, in general we don’t post:
- Activities happening outside of Ottawa and the surrounding regions
- Activities that are racist, sexist, ableist, anti-sex-work, anti-poor, anti-trans, pro-gentrification, anti-democratic, or other things we think are shitty
- Activities organized by or supporting official political parties (yes, including NDP and Greens)
- Academic events, unless they actively welcome public participation and are connected to movements in Ottawa or abroad
- Business advertisements or for-profit initiatives (this does not include fundraisers)
In some specific cases, members of activist communities in Ottawa have confidentially disclosed to us harm done to them by other people involved in radical spaces, and have asked us not to lift up their work. We may not post events organized by people who have harmed others, and we might not explain why.
You can find out more about Punch Up and what we’re into, and not, here.
What to do if your event details change
If your event is happening more than one week away, submit a revised listing, noting the change in CAPITAL LETTERS. This will go out in the following week’s email. If your event is less than one week away, you can email Punch Up to see if it’s possible to update the website listing of your event. We cannot guarantee we will be able to do this, and we will not send out an additional email to the list outside of the regular schedule.
How to contact Punch Up
If you have trouble filling out the form or have other questions, you can contact us at punchup@riseup.net.