North America Hitch Gathering

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This is the collaborative wiki for the 2010 North America Hitch Gathering taking place in Boulder, CO on August 21st. If you were redirected here from http://na.hitchgathering.org then the website is still not functional. For now, we are using this wiki to organize, create content, discuss and publish all information needed for the Hitch Gathering. The first section is the working content for the website, the second is the active discussions for organizing. Please feel free to contribute and participate. If you would like to be added to the mailing list where the current discussions are taking place, subscribe here

Website

The text below will be available on the forthcoming website. Do edit the text if you see things that can be changed or added.

Home

The North America Hitch Gathering is a proposed project/gathering set to take place August 21st, 2010 in Boulder, Colorado (CO), with a pre-emptive gathering in Denver, CO.

A Hitch Gathering is a non-commercial, volunteer based, self-organized project that supports the promotion of Hitchhiking. The idea is simple: Once a year a place is chosen and everyone (hitchhikers or non-hitchhikers) gather together to celebrate, to share, to learn and to discover! It's a time to get together and be happy, to help one another, to talk and meet, and to develop our ideas and then pursue them further.

Our Goals

  • To promote the concept of hitchhiking in North American society and build goodwill toward hitchhikers
  • To stimulate the community of hitchhikers
  • To have a good time doing the above, while travelling and meeting old and new friends.

Where

The North American Hitch Gathering is taking place in Boulder, Colorado this year! This August 21st! The exact location is still being determined, though it will most likely be an open area with basic services, possibly a good place in Nature (but still close enough to the city) where we can gather together, camp and live for a few days, a place where we can be free and well.

There will also be a preemptive meeting in Denver on the 20th of August. Again, the exact location has yet to be determined, though it will most likely be a city park inside the city. The pre-day gathering is for those that arrive early, those that are interested in meeting hitchhikers and travellers in an accessible location in Denver, and for anyone interested. The afternoon will most likely be spend at a park; then the evening resting with friends (Couchsurfers, Hospitality Club, possible community centre), or other arrangements (to come). The next day there will be a gathering around noon in Denver where everyone can join together, and then all Hitch together to Boulder (20 kilometres away). We're envisioning a great group of people all leaving together, maybe with media involved, and off to Boulder we go!

When

August 21st, 2010 and it should last a couple days. There will be a preemptive meeting in Denver on the 20th.

What

Hitch Gatherings have happened twice already in Europe, as well as other gatherings in North American. In every case, hundreds of hitchhikers gathered to promote hitchhiking in Europe, North American and Around the World. The first European gathering met in Paris in 2008, participants camped for three days in front of the Eiffel Tower. Then in Odesa in 2009, where they camped at the beach. We hope that this year the North America Gathering in Boulder will be even better, as well as the European gathering in Portugal.

How it started

A small group of enthusiastic travellers had decided early 2008 to organize the first European Hitch-hiking Week. It started as an art-project but moved quickly into something bigger, something wider as more people joined in.

The aim was now to give one location and time for a rally, and broadcast it to all the hitch-hikers of the world. The place was decided to be the "Champs de Mars" in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France; and the time 8pm on the 08/08/08, hence the name of "Project 888".

150 people showed up from all around Europe and stayed for the 3 days week-end. It was a very intense time of exchange, smiles, and french wine.

Odesa 2009

It was so good that we decided to do it again. The community had grown and more people wanted to join. This time though we wanted to meet up somewhere more east, where we could also meet up with hitchhikers from Russia (less visa-issues for everyone). The place chosen was Odesa on the Black Sea in the Ukraine. The challenge was much harder this time. Paris was an easy go for most of us, but the Ukraine was a lot further. Many people embarked on a multiple day hitchhiking trip, travelled non-stop or met up at the pre-meetings that were organized along the way.

In the end we gathered with a bit over a hundred hitchhikers from all over Europe, mostly experienced hitchhikers. A few didn't even make it though, it was too far for them. We spend three days together talking, partying and sharing our skills. We had workshops and sponteneous meetings.

2010

What will 2010 be like? Do you want to join? Do you have ideas on how to participate? We hope that this time in Boulder, Colorado and in Portugal even more people will join us than last year!

Participate

Everyone is invited to contribute to the event with stories, pictures and videos. The event lives from it's participants, and of course everybody is invited to help along, may it be organizing a (pre-) meeting, translating text into other languages or just by telling the world about this project! If you have an idea, you're the one who makes it happen! Leave an idea at the forum and find people to join you.

How

Hitchhiking is our way of going around! We love to hitchhike for various reasons. Some of us do it for the adventure, others to meet people, and again others see it as the best way of going to places and meet locals.

Are you new to hitchhiking or you want more information? There are many guides. Hitchwiki is by far the most complete as it is edited by many hitchhikers around the world.

Check for example:


Discussion

Things to do

  • Find suitable location in Boulder for gathering! Nature, beautiful, basic services and free for us to use for a few days. Camping friendly! (everyone)
  • Finish An Overview of the Vision paper. (jeremie)
  • Promote like crazy, Couchsurfing, Hospitality club, facebook, etc
  • Organize afternoon and evening event in Denver, the 20th.
  • Enable participants to be a positive influence on Boulder/Denver

- Boulder Creek trail trash cleanup

- library volunteering (george talking to Boulder libraries) (because locals suggested it in the comments http://www.dailycamera.com/ci_15099272)

- Volunteer Connection or Zero-waste education @ farmer's market(your name here?)

- your suggestions here!

Goal date for these tasks: June 1st

  • Find location in both Denver and Boulder for the gatherings. (Jeremie speaking with contacts in Denver and Boulder, May 17th) (George also looking for more CouchSurfing and DigiHitch contacts)
  • Website (Your Name, Jeremie, George, Robin, ... content for north american hitch gathering website)
  • E-mail list (Robin? [email protected]? na.hitch@...? Might as well set it up now, as long as that won't make it harder to integrate later?)
  • Poster, web poster (your name) Amylin! :)
  • Video media, ie. shorts, promotion stuff, etc (your name) Lily?
  • Catch lines, phrases: The Road is Zen, The Road is True, etc. Possible idea is gather near Naropa university, the first buddhist accredited university in america, and place the Buddhist/Zen theme on the promotion.

Goal date for these tasks: June 4th

  • Have promotional package ready
  • Have flyer done
  • Have a linked website, www.na.hitchgathering.org


Goal dates for these tasks: June 15th

  • Find on site organizer for Denver Day gathering, then on site organizer for Boulder day and night gathering.
  • Highlight good angles to approach Media, ie. Promotion packages with manifesto type work, at least some sort of written work on the event in our own words.
  • Have set website team to deal with daily motion and postings. (George volunteers after June 19, but his drupal-fu is weak. other volunteers?)
  • Start posting on digihitch.com, Couchsurfing.org (Your Name, Jeremie, George - digihitch forums seem broken, no response from admin)


In and above all these tasks, the active participation of everyone involved to Promote and Educate each other about both the event and the safety issues involved. Since this is going to take place in America, it's going to be different then what's been going on in Europe. Let it be considered.

Possible Locations

Any suggestions for Boulder or Denver? Add below. Also, is it between June 5 and June 12ish? Call George at +1 760 822 9880 because he may not have internet that week, but is on his way to investigate places (including your suggestion!) in Denver and Boulder.

Jeremie says I would recommend trying to locate a place where people could camp and be outside for a couple days. The Denver gathering could happen in a public park (and probably should be for media) and then the evenings could be CSed or hosted somewhere in the city, though I imagine Boulder to be somewhere we everyone could gather for a few days without too much worry. Close enough to services, yet still far enough from bother.

Boulder

Ariana says: Are you looking for someplace to camp or just to gather close to town? A great place to gather that's public and close to town is Chautauqua park. In most parts of Boulder, you'll be able to find great open space, public parks, and great open cafes. As for camping, just head west from wherever and within half an hour, you'll be able to find great camping places.

Another vote for Chautauqua park from my friend, who also says that a group camping there for one evening would likely not be disturbed. I (George) will check it out around June 10 and maybe try camping there :).

I (Mike L. from Denver) recommend Boulder Central Park, where the bandshell is, at Broadway and Canyon. HOWEVER, an all-nighter in Boulder might be a problem. In fact there is ongoing civil disobedience occurring at this very moment in Boulder over their prohibitions of camping:

http://www.dailycamera.com/ci_15099272

I imagine that the definition of "camping" is probably a bit loose and at the discretion of the arresting officer :(

Denver

Civic Center Park in Denver. (some interesting reviews) I George like the sound of it from those reviews!

Alternately, Chatfield Reservoir (chatfield is ~15 miles south of the city center)

Aowin suggests Washington "Wash" Park (+always lots of people, +right in the middle by I-25, -big park, 165 acres, might be hard to find gathering, lakes, +playground, rich neighborhood (might get more complaints?)). Also says there is also a good park next to the zoo, but likelihood of being bothered by police is higher?

r3353 recommends- for the meeting in Denver, if the goal is media attention, to make it a very busy yet spacious location. But as the hikers trickle in on the 20th, there could be On-site people to receive all new-comers. Keeping things visible for news with Flashmobs and 'playshops' whereby we actively draw in people to spread awareness, making ov statues with the cardboard signs. Then when that evening ends, people can fend for themselves(as it had been in Paris and Odessa. Most banded together in the Champs de Mars(for Paris) or hiking 30 minutes to the nudist beach on the Black Sea(for Odessa). Both were rightous parties independant ov promoting HH(more ov a relaxing "We FINALLY made it-type). As for the idea ov everyone leaving one point in the morning for the Boulder destination(as a Grand Send-Off) MAY be possible, but imagine how many days everyone has already traveled. Many may be staying with friends 'out' ov the area, so the quickest route may be a southern exit to Boulder(if my directions are right, please correct) With at least one person in the Denver locale holding a very BIG sign to guide any late arrivals(if they dont know they way). For the Boulder location(if media is NOT the point) Chautauqua park sounds possible(never been there). Besides the sharing ov stories from around, and other playshops, the final destination is NOT a place to sit around and pat ourselves on the back for making it. Once there THAT is when the actual fun begins. Spreading the concept, Promoting awareness, interacting with locals should be a higher priority than resting on our laurels with our proverbial HH thumb up our arse. So im curious how Barcelona-Portugal and Denver-Boulder will turn out. It is a new idea this year to have main gathering in a city and then ONE day to dance our way to camping area.

Above all- let everyone voice an opinion, discuss it and then decide.  But for Paris, the destination(aweful tower) was known from the start, in Odessa (statue ov poet Shevchenko) was determined sometime before hand.  The flyers may help sway those undecided. (please edit this to places needed, im just on a rant)

Quotes

Possible quotes and phrases for the event to be used on web posters, hand-outs, websites and such. Add what you think would be good!! Don't be shy!

Poster Quotes

  • The Road is True!
  • The Road is Zen!

Notes

The active development of this project is open to anyone. Edit and update this page as you wish, link it to anyone you believe may be interested. Art-work, media, documents and such can be linked here or anywhere you think is proper. If you really have a question, email me: [email protected] and we'll learn to inspire and empower ourselves. Love and light!