Today's picks for civic nerds.

For Saturday

Chicks and the City

Learn about how your home can be a little closer to nature with a self-guided tour of 25 of Seattle's best urban farms, chosen by a panel of local gardening, farming, and co-op experts.

Come learn how you can take advantage of your own urban space to make room for a small garden or farm, including lessons on the challenges and rewards of keeping chickens, miniature goats, ducks, mason bees, honeybees and bunnies.

Chicken Coop and Urban Farm Tour, Sat, July 13, 10am-4pm, various locations (route maps mailed to ticket buyers), $0-$12

For Friday

Gay Blood Drive

Tomorrow marks the first-ever nationwide gay blood drive, to increase pressure on the FDA to lift the 1985 law barring gay men from donating blood. The blood drive demonostration, led by Second Class Citizens director Ryan James Yezak, will be held in Seattle at the the Puget Sound Blood Center. In a press release about the blood drive, Yezack said,

"The
 ban 
is 
outdated, 
and 
as 
a 
result,
 countless
 otherwise 
eligible 
gay 
and 
bisexual 
men 
are 
unable 
to 
contribute 
to 
the
 nation's
 blood 
supply 
and 
help 
save 
lives.
 
Especially a 
time 
when 
blood 
shortages 
are 
increasingly
 common.
 Not 
only 
that,
 but
 the
 ban 
perpetuates 
negative 
stereotypes 
and 
stigma. 
Whether
 intentional 
or 
not, 
it
 is 
discrimination
 based 
on 
sexual 
orientation.”

Those who wish to participate should bring a paper test result showing that they are HIV-negative; as donors are rejected, their results will be collected, compiled, and delivered to the FDA to show how much blood gay and bisexual men could contribute to the blood supply if the FDA lifted its current policy.

National Gay Blood Drive, Fri, July 12, 7am-3pm, Puget Sound Blood Center, 921 Terry Avenue, free.

Toward a Low-Income Transit Fare

This month's Transportation Choices Coalition forum offers a first look at recommendations from a panel of King County stakeholders who assessed the feasibility of a special low-income fare for transit users, and how—even in the face of looming transit cuts—Metro might fund a low-income fare.

Transportation Choices Coalition Friday Forum, Fri July 12, 12–1pm, King County Chinook Building, 401 5th Ave., Room 121, free.

Learning from Loss

Join filmmaker Nancee Sobonya and Wallingford Neigbhors for Peace and Justice at their Meaningful Movies screening of The Gifts of Grief. Sobonya's 2005 film explores stories of grief and how others have learned from loss. A Q&A and a community discussion with Sobonya will follow the screening.

Meaningful Movies: The Gifts of Grief, Fri, July 12, 7-9:30pm, Keystone Congregational United Church of Christ, 5019 Keystone Place N., free. 

For Thursday

Minimum-Wage Workers Unite

In response to the May 30 fast-food workers' strike, in which employees of fast-food chains across the city walked out to protest poverty-level wages (and demand a "living wage" of $15 an hour), the city council is hosting a brown bag to learn more about poverty-level jobs, wage theft, health and safety concerns, and workers' fear of retaliation for union organizing. 

Fast-food Workers' Brown Bag Discussion, Thurs, July 11, 12pm–1:30pm, Council Chambers, City Hall, 600 Fourth Ave., free

Ghost Sign Tour

Ghost signs—those rapidly disappearing, hand-painted advertisements on the signs of buildings that are rapidly being lost to development and time—are all over Seattle if you know where to look. Join this walking tour—one of the only tours of the pre-WWII built environment in Seattle—and learn about these fading relics. 

Ghost Signs Tour, Thurs, July 11, 10am, 100 Yesler Way (the Pergola), $40.

Picnic in the Park

Spend the next beautiful summer evening at the first annual Volunteer Park Trust Summer Picnic. Volunteer Park Trust is a new nonprofit that came together to preserve Capitol Hill's Volunteer Park.

Bring a blanket and pitch a spot on the great lawn in front of the Volunteer Park bandstand where you can listen to live bluegrass by the Shed Boys and enjoy Dante's Inferno Dogs, plus free ice cream and lemonade courtesy of the Trust. 

Summer Picnic in Volunteer Park, Thurs, July 11, 6-8 pm, Volunteer Park, 1247 15th Ave. E, free. 

Local Beats

This week's free concert at City Hall Plaza features Big World Breaks, featuring the local drumming powerhouse Aaron Walker-Loud.

The group began playing backup music for Seattle's breakdancing scene in the early 2000s, combining funk, soul, jazz and world music influences. Many members of Big World Breaks are alumni of the nationally acclaimed Seattle jazz programs at Garfield and Roosevelt High Schools.

Check out the summer-long list of free concerts presented by the city's Office of Arts & Culture.

Seattle Presents: Big World Breaks, Thurs, July 11, 12-1:30pm, City Hall Plaza, 600 4th Ave, free.

Want to see your nerdy event featured on the PubliCalendar?
Send the details to Carryn at [email protected]