8 Ways Festivals Can Save The World
I’m currently producing my first online festival. Many of you know I’ve a long resume in festivals… and experimenting with web tech and design. And that I live in historic upper Haight Ashbury, San Francisco.
So of course the festival is Haight Ashbury Festival. Not in a formal relationship with historic Haight Ashbury Street Fair. But we are good friends and their director, Michael Xavier, is helping with advice. Michael knows some of my resume too.
I always do a lot of thinking, research and writing to define what a festival is and how the festival can help others. Sometimes I know that before a festival. Sometimes I go face to face one by one and talk to local shops, artists and causes to see what they need from a festival.
From that I’ve compiled a one-size-fits-all list of festival procedures that save the world. Read on for more...
Haight Ashbury Festival is a marketing platform. All festivals are marketing platforms, online and on dirt. Artists, promoters, and vendors share to their social media, mailing lists and websites. As a collective, that’s a notable size following. Way bigger than if they are promoting themselves as individuals.
Apart from making money and giving people a good time. Festivals are also platforms for raising awareness about causes. Haight Ashbury Festival’s cause is inspired by local people in care. Below is Haight Ashbury Festival’s awareness statement. “Caring For People In Care. Raising awareness for third party oversight of care institutions. To prevent residents being abused and their belongings stolen. To ensure they have good food and care and home comforts. They are stuck there for life. Often their parents are elderly and infirm and can’t do anything about it. The residents are disabled and show signs of long term mental abuse. We’ve seen it first hand. They need people who have knowhow and connections. To ensure quality and empathic care for people who can’t care for themselves. If you work in theses fields, investigate your local institutions. Get to know the residents and their views and living situations. Speak out! When a bunch of voices speak, somebody listens.”
Another thing a festival does is promote local made and grown. Festivals are trading markets and where towns developed and survive. When a town doesn’t make or grow anything non virtual, it becomes a house of cards. Such as in 2021 with import backlogs and inflation. Add tech glitches to that.. and all bets are off, the house of cards topple. Haight Ashbury Festival promoting local mom and pop businesses helps stop that. It also helps rebuild the local economy and quality of life. Online it reaches the new markets of people who mostly shop online.
Online streaming and virtual festivals, like Haight Ashbury Festival, help local made and grown. Rebuilding sales and donations they lost to online shopping. According to 2020 to 2021 stats, 45% of people mostly shop online. 75% shop online at least once per month. I’ve noticed it with the shops in Haight Ashbury. Sales for small stores have gone down as online sales go up and many cool indie shops closed. An online festival will rebuild the mom and pop shops’s sales. Rebuilding the local economy with what brought it down.
Photographers, videographers, journalists, as well as Youtubers and content creators. You’ve got new content everywhere every minute at a festival. Artists, music and speakers of all kinds and vendors. Beautiful and delicious hand made eats that food fans will salivate for. In a digital festival you can get permission to air original stuff. The artists and creators will promote you for it. Who doesn’t want historic Haight Ashbury Festival in their portfolio?
Festivals are where artists, creators, crew, promoters and other backstage denizens get noticed. You meet new people and make new connections for gigs and collaborations. Same thing online or in a virtual world. As you build your digital and festival followings you get bigger paid gigs.
Parents can’t take their children to nightclubs or bars. But they can take their children to most festivals. Festivals are more inspiring for kids and more fun for parents than fun parks. Different kinds of entertainment, arts and music and side shows, workshops and demonstrations. Such as how to tie dye t-shirts.
All festivals are educational and not only about arts and music. My Dad’s taken his clydesdale horses to festivals in Queensland Australia for decades. Kids, grandparents and parents love it. My family have worked with local agriculture festivals and shows for generations. At agriculture shows kids and parents see how to plough a field without a tractor or chemicals. Different kinds of fruits and veggies to grow at home. How to bake bread and clay pottery in a fire pit. Hand sewn quilts and other things. Histories of their local area, science and art exhibits and a whole lot more. Creating fun quality memories to remember your experiences and what you both learn.
