Pop-Up
Do you know what a ‘Pop-Up’ event is? Let me explain, because before I wrote a piece on a pop-up art gallery for a local paper, I didn’t know.
Fast Buck Freddie’s was a department store on Duval Street in Key West. Years ago, Tony Falcone and Jimmy Buffett pooled their money and bought the building on Duval & Fleming streets. Buffett has his restaurant and T-shirt shop there, and Falcone opened the department store.
The economy being what it is, and Falcone not being Jimmy Buffett, Fast Buck’s just wasn’t the moneymaker it had been for many years, so it closed. Falcone told me that as the store was emptying out, he’d walk by and feel depressed to see such a large empty space where there was once a thriving business.
After talking with some friends, he took a few suggestions and offered the space, free of charge, accept for electric, to a group of artists and galleries. One condition, other than paying the electric, everyone had to work together to keep the space open on certain hours.
Falcone told me he was pleasantly surprised to see the artists and galleries working together, helping each other set up. So, until the space is rented to some business, the large store is now a ‘pop-up’ art gallery.
Which leads me to why I’ve mentioned this in the first place. A month ago, the woman that coordinated the gallery ‘pop-up’ contacted local writers and said she wanted to do one-night writers of Key West ‘pop-up’ event in the gallery.
The variety of writers include fiction, poets, columnists, children lit writers and a few that challenge description. It was a fun night. I don’t think any of us walked away with a million dollars, but I sold three sets of my Key West books and met a few folks who asked what books were on Kindle. They took my promotional bookmarks and maybe added to my eBook sales.
During the art walk on the first Friday of each month at Upper Duval Street a number of businesses, wine shops, real estate offices, join with the galleries and display artists’ work that isn’t in one of the local galleries.
Why can’t writer do the same thing? Why can’t we have ‘pop-up’ weekend events in some unlikely venues? One or two writers to 50 writers, no location is too small or too big. We don’t have to present talks and discussion groups only in bookstores or libraries. Coffee Houses, art galleries, restaurants and bars, are all good locales. And it’s good for the business too, we bring in people who will browse and spend money on food, drinks and whatever.
What’s in your neighborhood that could be turned into a writers’ ‘pop-up’ for a night?
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