To go along with CW's Winter Festival idea, I think the crucial component in this idea and many others people have suggested is the idea of a common space for public gathering. We are so isolated from each other outside of a commercial/private space (ex: the quasi-public westacres mall) that I feel many of the ideas people have proposed revolve around brining people together in a central public space. Hence the idea of for a public square! (and I don't mean a plain giant paved-over space! Think Europe's city squares with trees/parks:) Charming, no?

It does not require lavish spending on sports arenas or performing arts centers. It would be a low-cost, high-impact space for social, cultural, and civic activities. Such a place would anchor our sense of civic pride in a geographic place and enhance urban vitality through a space that is truly democratic, in the sense that EVERYONE has access to it--there are no doors or walls to exclude or keep anyone out.

The use of such a space:
1. Farmer's market
2. Winter Festival
3. Street music/performers (tri-college arts students would LOVE this!)
4. Street Fair
5. Food festival
6. Flea Market
7. Gardens, sculptures/public art
8. What would you add to this list?