Building Buzz: The Vibrancy Project
Post-It Notes containing messages about what makes Northampton special covered the front windows of the Faces space on Main Street.
The latest Arts Night Out brought The Vibrancy Project to Main Street. The “Building Buzz” subcommittee of the project (represented by Heidi Nortonsmith, Executive Director of the Northampton Survival Center; Amy Cahillane, Executive Director of the Downtown Northampton Association; and Elena Sharnoff, owner of B Strategic Communications) set up a display in the window of Faces, inviting passers-by to add Post-it Notes to answer the question “What do you think makes Northampton special?” It was quite an evening.
“We timed the display to coincide with “Jazzy Arts Night Out” from 5 – 8 pm, and were lucky to greet hundreds of people who were out enjoying the beautiful, cool evening,” said Nortonsmith. “By the end, over 100 people contributed Post-its. Many of them added hearts and smiley faces to what they wrote, and the enthusiasm poured out in multiple exclamation points!”
“We were pleased that a large number of the participants were from out of town, many returning for a regular visit to the city,” Nortonsmith continued. “One couple mentioned always making a point to stop here en route from NYC to visit a family member in New Hampshire. One mom from out of town came with her adult daughter and son, and the son’s husband. She talked at length about the safety and acceptance here. As she wrote her note, she teared up when describing how important it was for her to be able to visit a place where her whole family was welcome.”
“A young boy, probably around 8 years old, was drawn to the colorful Post-its, but explained shyly that his writing and spelling weren’t very strong. He jumped at the chance to dictate his sentiment to me, which was moving and profound beyond his young years: ‘It has a home for everyone. It gives everyone a place to go.’ When his family passed by the display about an hour later, he checked the window to see if his note was still there, and when I told him it had been viewed by a photographer from the newspaper, he whooped and pumped his fist in the air with a big grin on his face.”
“After awhile, the sidewalk became so crowded that it was hard to catch people’s attention with a long explanation of what we were doing. But we found that that colorful notes all over the Faces window drew people in and spoke for themselves. Of course, not all the sentiments were happy ones. One woman declined our invitation, saying she didn’t have anything to be happy about since the start of the pandemic. We wished her well, and she took the time to look at what others had contributed.”
Nortonsmith recalled that one of the most enthusiastic visitors was a man who spoke glowingly about the services he’d received at the Northampton Recovery Center, Cathedral in the Night, St. Johns, and other sites. “He stuck around the longest, watching our progress throughout the evening from a nearby bench. At the end of the evening, he hastened to come help us pull everything down, including peeling tape and washing down the Faces window with glass cleaner.”
“It was one of the most delightful evenings I’ve spent in Northampton in a long, long time, and it reaffirmed my love for the city and all its varied inhabitants and visitors!”
Learn more about The Vibrancy Project.