What is the US Social Forum, you ask:

The US Social Forum (USSF) is a movement building process. It is not a
 conference but it is a space to come up with the peoples’ solutions to the 
economic and ecological crisis. The USSF is the next most important step in our
 struggle to build a powerful multi-racial, multi-sectoral, inter-generational,
 diverse, inclusive, internationalist movement that transforms this country and
 changes history.

We must declare what we want our world to look like and we 
must start planning the path to get there. The USSF provides spaces to learn 
from each other’s experiences and struggles, share our analysis of the problems 
our communities face, build relationships, and align with our international 
brothers and sisters to strategize how to reclaim our world.

Sounds like something that Obama would really get in to.

What are some of the events at the US Social forum? One thing you can do is attend workshops. There are many, many, workshops. Here are some of my favorites:

• Performance of Nightwind and Theater of the Oppressed
• Building Cross-Continental Grassroots Resistance to U.S. Militarization – Strategy session connecting the United States Social Forum and the SOA Watch Encuentro in Venezuela
• Fighiting for a Moratorium on Foreclosures, Evictions and Utility Shut-offs
• Feminist Economics: value of care
• Immigrant Rights as a Matter of Reproductive Justice
• The Tea Party Movements: The New Fascism?
• Marxism for the 21st Century: Capitalist Crisis, Socialist Solutions
• Rapid solarization can drive sustainable economic growth while preventing catastrophic climate change.
• Building support for a basic income guarantee
• Hip Hop Culture in the Third Space: Building Mind Power Collective
• Single payer Health Care Solution to the Health Care Crisis
• Songwriting for Social Change

Once you find a  workshops to attend, some things you can expect at a workshop:

• the presentation of material in a manner accessible to all educational levels.
• the use of interactive and popular education formats. However, the final presentation format is up to the presenters.
• multigenerational presenters, to foster inter-generational continuity.
• the inclusion of action steps, skill building, visions and solutions in your workshops. We strive for a good mix of both issues-based and skill-share workshops.
• the inclusion of an artist or cultural worker in your event to foster alternative forms of facilitation and methods that address the multiple ways in which individuals learn and retain information.
• collaborating with other organizations in order to foster alliance and relations building.

I wonder what sort of ‘artist’ or ‘cultural worker’ will be at the “Tea Party Movements: The New Fascism?” workshop?  Just a thought.

One thing you won’t find at the forum is the sale of bottled water:

Selling of bottled water is not allowed at USSF for conservation purposes, so all workshop rooms will feature water stations equipped with pitchers, ice and cups. Free water stations around USSF venues and along the march route will be identified clearly.

It is sad that Detroit, once the Arsenal of Democracy and the city that put the world on wheels. The city that created prosperity and raised the standard of living across the nation for generations is now the scene of  an event like this.