Do you have childhood memories of a pillow fight? Do you like to engage in public activities others steer away from? If so, then you should have been at the pillow fight in Union Square this Saturday.
Newmindspace organized this event as interactive public art. A Wikidepdia article says this activity fits into the larger social phenomenon of flash mobbing. I heard about this absurd event through the listserv Nonsense NYC. Other bizarre events I participated in include Chengwin’s Homecoming and a reenactment of a Roman Vomitorium. Why do I participate in these types of things? I usually don’t gravitate towards sporting events or organized public activities. I like non-conformity, but this was still a community activity even if most of the participants were weirdos. I took part in the pillow fight not because I had some deeply loved childhood memory, but rather so I could say I did another “only in New York City” thing. The prevalence of people who brought cameras indicated to me that others also attended because of the novelty of it all. That being said, most of us had an amazing time releasing our tension by swinging pillows at each other.
Photos are from brooklynvegan The participants were of all ages, but I bet over 50% were ages 21-28. There were a surprisingly large number of females. At first I felt a bit bad about hitting a girl, but I got over that pretty quickly. I got hit in the head so many times. I smiled a lot even as I repeatedly got hit over the head. After 30 minutes of fun, I was soaked with sweat on the cold winter day. My friends had stood to the side and didn’t participate. I was covered with feathers that I just couldn’t get off my coat, hat, or scarf. At the end I was glad to leave.