Delicious Old Wine, Shiny New Bottle

Have you heard? Occupy Tampa has expanded its Occupation from Curtis Hixon park to Voice of Freedom Park at 2101 W Main Street, Tampa FL 33607.  This is incredibly exciting, and represents a shot in the arm at a time when many Occupations are facing huge uphill battles.

The park is owned by Joe Redner, a local businessman and activist, who has given OT carte blanche to use the space as they see fit.  This presents all kinds of new opportunities and challenges.  The group has been forged in the fires of a months-long confrontation with the police, and the opportunity to truly organize infrastructure and facilities may allow that energy to be channeled in new and interesting directions.

Either way, the space is incredible - as you can see above, we have a fire pit!  There's also a kitchen:

And a medical tent:

There's also power and wi-fi, though there's still work ongoing to solidify the latter.  I'll be working on a more in-depth discussion of what this means and what challenges remain, but in the meantime, head on down and check it out for yourself!

(All above photos are taken from Occupy Tampa's Facebook page)