Springtime Events and Radical Trust
I found my favorite moment on the dance floor, after my parents had arrived. I was sweaty and had lost my phone an hour ago, and more tipsy than I wanted to be, but there were more than a hundred people here, who had walked in under the tree branches and fairy lights, watched the setting sun, created something, hugged someone, danced. Two new friends were dancing with colorful streamers twirling around. And I just learned that two of my favorite people were having a baby. My friends stood around me, dancing to our new favorite DJ, Milana showed a new dance move that we all tried to copy and we laughed at our feeble attempts. Art was being created and enjoyed, and I belonged here.
Event summary
The Spring Equinox Celebration brought the community together for a fundraiser and arts-focused party at CoLab. The event featured 9 artists in the showcase, 6 DJs, 4 activity stations, and 4 artists donating to the art raffle. It also took substantial coordination behind the scenes, with 40+ volunteers supporting everything from organizing and activity stations to tickets, bar, food, setup, cleanup, and more.
Attendance landed around 150 people, and the event raised a couple thousand dollars. Beyond the fundraising, the main value was the opportunity to gather, share art, and participate in hands-on activities—creating tensegrity sculptures, flower crowns, glowing art in the UV-lit space—while bringing the CoLab community together to celebrate a seasonal transition .
Leading with trust
For two months, my nighttime project was creating this CoLab party. 10pm to midnight was my focus time and so everyone got used to get my late-night Slack pings. I sourced affordable catering and art for the event. I created flyers, social media posts, and the event ticketing page. I made mood boards and handled lighting, decor, and drinks. I recruited volunteers for every station. I organized merch for sale, budgeting, and DJs. We got it done because of a team cheering me on, a dozen artists bringing a co-created vision, and a ton of volunteers making every detail happen.
I needed help with food, and Cora emailed us asking if she could help. I didn’t know her, but I asked her to be the food lead and jumped on a call with her the next day. I told her I had a plan and shared our constraints, but I told her to go forth and do what she thought was best. With her leadership, we got an incredible deal on catering and served food to almost 100 people at the event. Later, she told me she was shocked by how much I trusted her. But I had a week left, a big dream, and too much to do on my own.
One of my favorite things about CoLab is how it runs on trust. I am quite new here. I worked hard to get this position, but most people don’t know me. The decisions I make about which events to run, and how to run them, affect the whole community, but I am trusted to make good ones. Any alternative would surely damage a radically creative and flexible community like ours. When you give people trust before you have proof of their worthiness, you give them the chance to rise to the vision you trust them with, and you tell them that they belong here. This is how I understand radical inclusion, one of our 10 principles / shared values. It requires making ourselves vulnerable, but no magic can be made with red tape.
From the Event Wrangler’s office:
We support events and projects led by makers, artists and burners, educational programs, and community initiatives that align with CoLab’s mission: making art creation accessible to everyone and fostering a space where people can learn, connect, and grow together.
Many of our events are fundraisers for Burning Man art pieces, for example Art Builds’ Oasis Fundraiser, and a Mario Kart & Karaoke evening for the AI Am art piece coming from Machine Elves Industries. We’ve also hosted two Bleed for the Scene metal shows, coworking sessions, SDCAP organization events (the Quarterly Mullet and biweekly board meetings), monthly 3D printing meetups, a local theater troupe’s rehearsals, and Mochi Cafe sewing gatherings.
Upcoming events!
- Wednesdays, 1-6pm — Weekly CoWorking
Drop in to learn about CoLab, work on your job or your projects, and make some new friends!
- May 23rd, 6:30-9pm — Bad Movie Bad Art night, a fundraiser for AI Am, a fire and steel sculpture headed for Burning Man.
- June 27th — Fuel for Art fundraiser for three art projects headed to Burning Man
Come hang out and collaborate with us!
