photo by Ldngphotos

I was talking to Jonathan Bowles, the Director of the Center for an Urban Future about why I dislike tube socks.

Tube socks? Feh!

To me the only time a tube sock is cool is when you fill it up with chalk and smack it on the sidewalk.  To spend time at a street festival dominated by tube sock vendors and zeppoli is not cool.   There are so many of them and really, who really needs to eat all that fried dough?

People have a finite amount of leisure time, disposable income, time and attention.  I respect that.  Any type of event, street festival, block party, has to be more than an exchange of a dollar for a zeppoli to be successful.  Deliver a unique experience, something niche, something they will want to bring their friends to.  A street festival pulses with the energy of the community.  It makes all of us locals while we are there and this is a great way to experience a particular neighborhood.

Hop on the Queens Art Express

From June10 – 13, 2009, we will be presenting the Queens Art Express, a subway/station/street festival that celebrates the artist communities along the route of the No. 7 train.  It will be four days of art events at over twenty venues with eighty local businesses participating so you can see some cool art and get a hot deal.  The thinking behind this is:  Let’s make it easy for the local commuter to transform into a curious cultural consumer by checking out what is going on “three stops down” .  Let’s put some business people, bloggers, artists,  community groups, and the MTA together and create some “artful business” – a seven mile festival that invites people to experience the unique cultural energy of Queens.

This is what I am offering in lieu of tube socks.

I see all communities as local and particular places with distinct energy.  I like finding the  artists and seeing how their sense of place comes through in their art forms.  I love when the room is filled with vocal locals and the project becomes their common vision.  For those of you who present street festivals, this approach may seem difficult to control and a little scary.

Welcome to the playground of the fearless!

This is network leadership.  You, as an organizational leader and creative visionary, can achieve far greater outcomes by growing the capacity in others to understand and work in networks or their communities.  Then you can steward these networks by creating conditions for them to emerge and thrive.  Experienced leaders know that the success of these types of events are dependent on the ecosystem of diverse groups that have found value in the relationships built around a common goal.

Think of this as a way to change the world, one street festival at a time.  Here’s how you get to Wow!

Bring people together

Ask them what they think

Listen thoughtfully

Be helpful

Give them what they want

Get more Wow!

If you want style notes and more for people who change the world, please check out:

Getting to Wow! to feel good, do good and look good

Nonprofit Knitwear for all things knit and nonprofit

Style Notes from me, your artspy

Hoong Yee

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Thanks so much! I really appreciate your help.

Word of mouth is the best way to share, don’t you agree?