Over the past several months, each Thursday I’ve been asking readers to tell me about their weekend plans. Today, however, I’d like to break form and talk about something a bit more abstract, although it relates to the events this weekend in several significant ways.
Over the course of the next week, some remarkable things are going to happen in Spartanburg. Actually, it’s not so much the events themselves so much as the reality of them happening at all. Tonight, there’s an Art Walk and live Music on Main. Tomorrow, and lasting throughout the weekend, the massive musical event that is the Music Camp takes place just outside of town. On Saturday, not only will the Hub-City Farmer’s Market be selling local goods to local customers (last week, it was packed many people couldn’t park), but the first-ever Upstate Pride March & Festival will take place, an event that not even oh-so-cultural Greenville has the guts to host. A few days later, on Tuesday, the first community meeting about the proposed Hub City Co-op will be taking place at the Spartanburg Library.
Individually, these things aren’t indicative of anything specific. But taken together, you start to see something surprising: Evidence of critical mass. While this doesn’t exactly surprise me — I moved to Spartanburg because I thought the city was already heading in this direction — what is surprising is how fast the trend is taking place.
Granted, any one — or all — of these things might be a flop. It may rain out on Thursday, the Music Camp may disappoint, the Pride rally may turn violent, or the Co-op may run into yet-unseen problems. But, in a very real way, the more important thing is that the culture has changed enough in recent years for people to even consider art walks, co-ops, farmers’ markets and gay pride rallies. I could be wrong, but it’s hard not to see these things as the first bubbles rising from a long-warming pot now about to boil.
And it’s bigger than just this weekend. It’s the Mayor moving into downtown, living a stone’s throw away from the new RJ Rockers brewery and tasting room. It’s dozens of people standing in the pouring rain simply to be a part of Show Up For Spartanburg. It’s the Hub-Bub and the Chapman Center, the Preservation Trust and the Partners for Active Living, and many other non-profit, community-based groups existing at all, and opting to be based here rather than, say, Greer.
It’s also the surprising trend that the city of Spartanburg appears to be turning Democrat, while Spartanburg Democratic party appears to finally be getting its act together and local social clubs like Drinking Liberally fighting the notion that the city has a monolithic political demographic. It’s also local Republicans standing up to show that they’re tired of their old, seemingly divisive leadership. But this isn’t really a political thing, although political diversity is clearly part of the equation.
So what does it mean?
I’m not sure, actually. Something is happening, that much is clear, but beyond that my own bias starts to interfere. I want to see a Spartanburg that has an active, deeply involved citizenry and a vibrant, economically thriving, self-supporting downtown. So, when I look at the situation, I can’t help but read these changes as part of motion towards this, with all of these factors simply being part of some new Sparkle City zeitgeist years in the making. I see a tipping point finally reached, and a very rapid motion in a new direction.
And because of that bias, what I see can’t exactly be trusted when it comes to the big picture. So, I’m asking you to tell me what you see. I’m lot looking just for confirmation, although I welcome that, but also vastly differing perspective. What do you see?
Steve Shanafelt
There certainly does seem to be a lot of movement in the right direction community wise lately. Good news all around.
I’ll be at the Pride march on Saturday showing support for the GLBTIQ community. Expect a nice long piece on the whole thing on Monday’s Flying Oskar column. According to the SH-J, 8 churches are going to be protesting along the route, showing God’s “love” to the sodomites I suppose. I hope all goes well, and we can just laugh at the reactionaries when it’s all over.
I saw a bumper sticker the other day and it read, “If the fetus that you saved from abortion grew up to be gay, would you still fight for it’s rights?”
What does that have to do with anything? I dunno.
CG – I’ll be at the Pride festivities – rain or shine – and being the glass half full gal that I am, I expect exuberence and good times, despite the prominent display of the special “Christian Love” folks will be sharing with us that day.
I hope to see you there. I’m a “red shirt” a.k.a. staff. So walk up to a friedly looking 40 something chubby lady with short dark hair and say “You look like my friend P303.” or something similar and we’ll share a moment!
I hope for good weather for the music weekend and for the Pride festivities. I’m excited – wet weather won’t dampen my spirits!
I see it too Steve!!!! It’s exciting!
I will be at/in the Pride March on Saturday….so excited that the GLBT community in Spartanburg has the guts to do it! Love and Respect for Everyone!!!!
And thanks for the plug about Drinking Liberally….do you know that South Carolina now has NINE chapters??? In Spartanburg we are celebrating our first birthday this weekend and we’re so excited that it’s going strong! I know lots of Spark readers would enjoy our gathering – come out with us on Wednesday nights at Hickory Tavern for some brews (or not) and good conversation on current events and politics…now I’m off to investigate this claim that Spartanburg is turning Democrat….What???
Great post. Lots of stuff going on in town for folks with different interests.
One thing I have been wondering: does anyone know if the RJ Rockers at the Salvation Army building is just going to be the brewery and tasting room or are they actually opening another brew-pub again like we used to have?
Amen Steve. We are changing this place. For those of us who made a choice and reinvested (or invested for the first time) in this town…there’s just no other option. It must change and work. It may take a while but, like you, I have to admit these past couple of months have been surreal with all these awesome citizens stepping up to the plate with their ideas and knocking them out of the park.
Dear Critical Mass: we can’t wait for you to arrive. We’ll try not to be impatient.
Thanks for all you do Steve and everyone else. It is much appreciated. Keep it up!!!
Happy Friday!
t
Oh, and I’ll see everyone at the march Saturday and I’m going to see the Little Theatre’s production of “Beehive” sometime too.
I am hoping for a real Critical Mass in Spartanburg sometime next year.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critical_Mass
If we can have a Pride march (which I am very much looking forward to attending!), surely we can have a Critical Mass.
I see confirmation that moving back to Spartanburg was a good thing. Add Spartanburg Spark to the list of what’s good about Spartanburg.
“I am hoping for a real Critical Mass in Spartanburg sometime next year.”
That would be sweet! Of course, I’d have to get off my fat ass and start biking sometime before that
Cate–I’m in on the Critical Mass ride. Shouldn’t take too many of us…
If anyone was looking for further proof, the Upstate Pride march was a surprising — arguably overwhelming — success. Something has changed.
Did you guys blog about the new jazz/blues club going downtown where Interlude Coffee was? I just read the HJ article and this sounds pretty exciting. I only hope it’s successful. But definitely a good thing for making a better downtown.
http://www.goupstate.com/article/20090606/ARTICLES/906061011