Please visit http://www.ourtripvideos.com/index.html?idx=64&itm=360 for full video and more free videos. International Pillow Fight Day, Sat Apr 4th 2009, Washington, DC.
2PM on the National Mall(Smithsonian Castle) location and around 3PM on the Dupont location.
The DC Defenestrators were lucky enough to be able to host this year's International World Pillow Fight.
Show up with a CONCEALED SOFT pillow - in a bag, backpack or something similar and act completely noncalant.
At some point just after the start there will be two members of the DC Defenestrators that get into an argument and after a little bit will pull out pillows and start hitting each other - this is the signal of the start of the fight.
The goal here is not to have everybody rush in at the same time, so don't actively look for the fight, just continue doing whatever activity you're engaged in pre-pillow fight until you blatantly notice something strange is going on.
If you are very near the fight when it breaks out, feel free to step in fairly quickly to help "break up" the fight with more fighting. If you are further away from where it breaks out wait a little bit until it escalates to get involved.
Just a few brief rules :
+ Soft pillows only!
+ Swing lightly, many people will be swinging at once.
+ Do not swing at people without pillows or with cameras.
+ Remove glasses beforehand!
+ The event is free and appropriate for all ages.
+ Wait until the signal to begin.
+ This event is more fun with feathers!"
For the signal, we have used standard athletic whistles, air horns and marine rescue whistles.
If you come late, don't worry. There will be several "rounds" of pillow fighting.
Any city worth living in has at least an annual pillow fight. Organizing a massive pillow fight is perhaps the simplest of free events or interventions, but also one of the most rewarding.
There are two preferred staging times for pillow fights: the "Friday night pillow fight" and the "Saturday afternoon pillow fight". We have always opted for the latter type because it is generally warmer, guarantees a greater diversity of ages (parents and children tend to be somewhat absent from nighttime events) and, if one is so inclined, sunlight makes it easier to take beautiful photographs that will become your memories of the ephemeral event.
The largest Friday night pillow fights, those that have taken place in San Francisco, usually begin around 6:00 PM. The largest Saturday afternoon pillow fight, a Newmindspace event in New York, started at 2:00 PM.
Once people start swinging, most of your job is done :) This is the part where you get to enjoy the fruits of your labor, start whacking people with your own pillow, and at times, laugh uncontrollably. Ideally, the community will police itself if people become aggressive, and there will not be much to worry about. Again, never heard of police arresting or ticketing anybody in relation to a public pillow fight.
Somewhere around the 20-minute point, people may gain their "second wind" and begin forming ad-hoc alliances, charging the middle in forms reminiscent of historical fiction films like Braveheart or 300.
As the pillow fight goes on (it could last for 2 hours or more), you will notice interesting social phenomena that are particular to free events and interventions. Additionally, people will make new friends, re-unite with old ones, meet future lovers, and revel in the blissful one-ness of a free, fun, social gathering.
Some groups have made the mistake of making their pillow fight last 15 minutes, or even worse, 5. It is best to estimate that the pillow fight will last an hour if you are pressed to select an end time.
Just wait until the pillow fight's natural end, when even the most stalwart soldiers grow weary.
The ideal pillow fight would leave no trace of its occurrence. This is not possible, however it is an ideal for which we should all strive. Bring rubber or vinyl gloves, trash bags and brooms, at the very least, and ask members of your community to do the same.
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