HARD WORK: that’s what we do!

Though it may not look like work to you…” —the first original Alternate ROOTS song, written by John Hadley ROOTS Week is the Annual Meeting of the 150-person board of directors of Alternate ROOTS. Every year we gather for many hours of business meetings to deliberate and make decisions on behalf of the organization. Business meetings are HARD WORK! They require time, attention, patience, listening, hydration, grounding, and emotional fortitude. We are tackling issues directly related to Alternate ROOTS’ future existence, financial health, values alignment, and staff well-being. Members bring proposals forward. Staff and Executive Committee people make presentations. We try to remember to take song and dance breaks. Producing ROOTS Week itself is HARD WORK! Full-time, part-time, and contract staff are all helping folks register, getting them into housing, tracking dietary needs, driving golf carts, and distributing bubble machines. Our amazing colleagues at @multibandstudios make sure that everyone can be heard as well as facilitating live video calls. We are lucky to have both artists who have documented ROOTS Week for many years, and new folks who bring a fresh eye to the documentation task, turning it into an art form. Big thanks to everyone whose HARD WORK made ROOTS Week 2026 a success! 📸mel cardona @melisacardona @redsbodyart @ashleehaze