From the beginning..

Last November, Zale Schoenborn, the founder of Pickathon, and I got together over lunch on Alberta Street to chat about the future of the 25-year-old experiential festival. Pickathon changed my life 8 years ago. I showed up on the farm with a tent and a handful of curation ideas and left with a feeling of camaraderie and confidence that has stayed with me ever since: The feeling of satisfaction and joy of a job well done while contributing to others happiness. We chatted about how to harness the good that Pickathon does organically into something bigger for the community.

Community is a word that is thrown around a lot these days. I thought I knew the word. My experience curating for Pickathon over the years has helped me truly understand community. Folks taking time away from their “normal" life to do something important, to do something different, for the greater good. They work alongside skilled craftsmen, tradespeople and artists to pull off the impossible each summer.

At the end of our conversation, we decided to build a nonprofit to expand the ripple effect of Pickathon. The ripple effect is when volunteers return home at the end of the festival with new skills, confidence, and a sense of satisfaction that they then carry with them into their daily lives. We founded the “Creative Neighborhoods” nonprofit to spread this effect beyond the festival. I was asked to helm this new nonprofit. As executive director, I plan to implement year-around programming focused on trade education, the arts, and job training.

Matt Wagner