Red Dirt Collective’s Mutual Aid Fair, a quarterly Norman event of neighborhood support, will be held Saturday. This year marks the fifth anniversary of handing out groceries, clothing and other resources.
Red Dirt Collective works with volunteers to provide unique resources such as haircuts, bike repairs, pet supplies and notary services. From used books to cleaning supplies, everything is free and is available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Ashley Creed, co-founder and director of mutual aid for Red Dirt Collective, spoke with OU Daily about the history of the event and what it means to the community.
“I think this will be our 20th (quarterly Mutual Aid Fair),” Creed said.
According to Creed, the distribution of resources began in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Our very first product was giving out COVID care packages, and we would do that by finding a low-income apartment complex,” Creed said. “We would fundraise for that and get groceries and mask making kits and some hygiene supplies and cleaning supplies, and we would just drop them off at people's doors."
Creed said the event had stemmed from helping with Oklahoma City Democratic Socialists of America’s events, taking place in parking lots and even once in a park. The event started with a grocery bag handout event, but Creed said it couldn’t have been done without organizations like Little Red Wagon, St. Francis Animal Resource Center and Period OKC.
“Now we have about, I think, close to 15 other organizations come out and offer resources on our mutual aid fairs,” Creed said.
Creed said volunteers make the event possible.
One volunteer, who requested to be referred to as Ariel Ethereal, has brought her skills to the Mutual Aid Fair across the many years she’s volunteered.
“I have multiple roles now that I've been with them for a couple years,” Ethereal said.
Ethereal has helped with collecting donations, organizing storage, helping with food drives and more. Ethereal is originally from Oklahoma, and said that she wanted to give back to her community after moving back from California in 2021.
“I was like, ‘I should give something to this place that I was a hellion (in) when I was younger,’” Ethereal said. “That's just kind of like where my heart and path is at right now.”
Ethereal said she is grateful to have been part of the events for so long. She says it creates a sense of community.
Ethereal also said that the Red Dirt Collective and Mutual Aid Fair mean so much to her because it was a vehicle of change for her.
“I want to make sure that I have a path of a dedicated outlet that I can do an act of service,” said Ethereal. “That's going to be a vehicle for me of change and just like accountability."
After five years, the event organizers remain focused on growth.
“I feel like the future for us is more. It's not less,” Ethereal said. “It's more food pantries. It's more resources.”
The fair will take place from noon to 2:30 p.m. at Irving Recreation Center located inside Irving Middle School.
This story was edited by Macey Thaxton and Audrey McClour. Larkin Bock and Sophie Hemker copy edited this story.
