“I’ve come to believe that part of today’s problem of social alienation is a problem of too many free riders.”

I started planning street festivals a few years ago. It’s now a lucrative and growing business for me. The demand for events at all scales vastly outstrips supply, and I think growing social isolation is part of the reason.

The free riders might seem like a problem to someone who just wants there to be events, but it is a huge opportunity to us who throw them.

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jasondigitized 7 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Would love to hear more about the impetus for your festivals, the festivals, and the process to get there.

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Skidaddle 7 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

What kind of street festivals are we talking about?

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dominotw 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

we have tons of street festivals in chicago in summer but now they have lost been outsourced to festival companies and subsequently lost all charm and local feel. They are all copy paste of each other and outright scams.

how do you make sure they have some charecter and dont turn into mc-festival

	▲	ryandrake 5 hours ago \| parent [-]
		This is a huge problem with many cases of “just do something.” The minute it looks like a money making opportunity, or something that can be arbitraged, someone will inevitably turn it into a business and scale it up and now it’s no longer That Cool Community Thing. It’s yet another extractive business.

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fellowniusmonk 5 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

The real hack is that the events aren't the community, they serve the community, the process of working together to put these types of events on is what builds deep connection.

People don't actually get where the deep value lies, the event income or social credibility for those involved in putting it on just helps ensure there is enough fuel for the fire of the real community.