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The pillow fight just started 30 minutes ago, and the pictures are already coming in. Part of World Pillow Fight Day, this is the third consecutive year the feathers have flown around Union Square.
Were you there? Don't forget to tag your pillow fight pics with "Gothamist" at Flickr.
UPDATE: Some locals aren't too happy with the feathers blanketing Union Square -- National Geographic has a Green Guide to pillows, which may explain why. For those craving more pillow fight action, you can check out some great videos after the jump, and re-live the day...in slow motion!
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1. Terrible idea to bring a professional video camera with a shotgun.
2. It was almost too crowded.
3. Good thing I'm not allergic to feathers.
4. That homeless couple with the dog that's always outside whole foods was sitting there the whole time. Kind of depressing.
Overall though it was pretty fun. And to the girl who was using a hasselblad, props to you.
Wow! I've never had a photo up on Gothamist before :)
I actually thought this year's fight was too violent -- it was like being in a mosh pit. There were too many young guys acting way too rough. I actually got punched in the stomach at one point.
I definitely prefer the bubble battle... much safer!
Oh... I say the demonstration moving across 14th St. toward Union Sq. I didn't know it was going to be a pillow fight.
I know the Chinese birds who were plucked alive several times over in their miserable lives will be glad their feathers went to such good use.
All for a good cause, right? I mean, Dafur was saved. Tibet is free. Now I can sleep tight at night and not worry about the bed bugs.
And how about using an AJAX photo viewer? Can't stand the page reload.
In any event I enjoyed the people carrying their
pillows around.I could see feathers a block away
going up in the air,I wish we could smile more
in this city at public events.
By the way that young couple(homeless!) in front
of Whole Foods are called proudly "Irish Travelers"
they are "Bettler's" in German or beggers in English.
It's what they do all over the world sort of like
being born a Gypsy which of course is a rather
unkind label.For some begging is also.
Look up "Irish Travelers" on the web.
They do have homes and pool their money as a
large family.
I can't speak for the dog if that's the couple
you refer too.
bah, who knows these days anyway...
Waste.
My third year participating at this event.
I love seeing everyone get together and smile and laugh. No matter how bad things are in the world, it's having a little lighthearted fun that helps you to cope with the bad stuff.
I'm finally home and uploading my pictures. =)
Great photo choices Gothamist!
I live in Union Square and the feathers left behind from this are ALL OVER the place.
Feathers are a known respiratory irritant and can exacerbate asthma. Who sanctions this event?
I am going to be contacting the Union Square BID and find out what I can do to stop this event from occurring again.
And no, I am not joking.
Coming off the River-to-River Iraq war protest (BBC News - Real video) I saw a people gathering in Union Square for the pillow fight. Afterwards I was walking past Bed, Bath, & Beyond and passed a number of shiny happy people carrying BBB shopping bags, holding one pillow each.
Terms like 'sad irony' and 'spoiled brats' just doesn't cover it...
'don't forget to tag your photos gothamist at flickr'
god forbid gothamist actually do some of it's own work. journalists? not a chance.
it was fun a few years ago when there wasn't thousands of people.
Down feathers break down into small, sharp airborne fibers that can be inhaled and irritate the respiratory tract.
Oh Tj, Stop people having fun one day a year! omg, i couldnt live with that!
C´mon!!!! be realistic and not a pain in the a..
I'm with TJ. It's also wasteful, a huge mess, and there was massive feather contamination from the GAP (inside the 5th Ave. store & dressing rooms) to all over the produce, products (& in the trucks) and personal jackets of the Farmer's Market & Whole Foods' shoppers, workers, & venues. Insidious as glitter and just as lame [lamé-sic]. Only glitter can't shut down your lungs, etc.. Yeah... bubbles ARE better!!
Plus- way to utterly trivialize TWO well-attended, well-intended, responsible & organized demonstrations!! Selfish brats...
What about the anti-War protest at Union Square? But it looks like all problems are solved and people need to participate in stupid events.
must be nice to have money for a new pillow,
I'm still sleeping on my 1.99 Ikea chicken feather pillow that has clumps the size of Spaldeens.
Couldn't make it this year, but last year was a blast.
TJ, Good luck with that.
With all the Smog generated by diesel trucks, Buses, and USPS/UPS/Fedex deliveries, I think going after a one Day a year pillow fight is truly a worthy cause. Oh and for reference, I know several long time residents of that area who love this pillow fight.
I you really want to attempt to stop this, I'd start with something with teeth, not the local BID.
How about a water balloon fight?
I have mixed feelings about this event. On the one hand, it could be fun. On the other, it leaves a real mess, runs the risk of injuring people if it gets out of hand (as anyone who has been in a pillow fight knows, they can hurt).
Did the participants help clean up afterwards, or just leave all those feathers for others to deal with?
As for trivializing two other demonstrations, they were probably dull as dirt, and I doubt anyone cared except for the responsible & organized participants. Fortunatley the right to demonstrate doesn't carry with it an obligation for other people to notice or care.
This seems like something that would be fun if you were a first-year NYU student from the Midwest.
Where have all of the activist minded New Yorkers gone too? These pillow fighting participants are sheep.
how are there this many comments on this and no one has blamed it on the hipsters yet?
TJ-you are laughably uptight. i have allergies & athsma too. i guarantee living & breathing in manhattan is far worse for you than being near a bunch of feathers for a day.
and yes, there are far more important things going on than this. that doesn't mean that people who want to kill an hour participating in some lame event shouldn't be allowed to have their lame fun.
Oh look. All the trust funders are beating themselves with pillows they bought with daddy's money. Gag.
It would've been much more funny if a few people had put rocks in their pillows.
Yeah, eyekantspel, Iraqi & Tibetan peace demonstrations probably aren't nearly as important (in terms of noticing or caring, that is) as a pillow fight (see #22 for THAT treasured & important target demographic). Your (presumed collective) attitudes, irony, ennui & fauxhemian sensibility wouldn't know an original thought (nor even a truly dull one) if directly struck upside the head.
At 6:30PM there were multiple abandoned pillows ALL OVER the Park, Dog Run, Side Streets, surrounding merchants, etc., as well as (moderately massive mounds o') feathers & down debris from 2nd Ave. to 5th, with ever-shifting piles at & in every corner, nook, cranny, hairdo, and puddle. So much for the participants cleaning up afterwards. Adolescent abandon isn't very much fun if you hafta clean-up afterward, now is it... Isn't that what (other) grownups (and parents, certainly) pay taxes for?? The entitled idiot booboisee who (think that they) make Peter Pan look like a sclerotic old pansy continually reveal themselves to be humorless AND completely clueless. Get real, perma-teens.
Wow, perhaps some of you need a drink or whatever it is that causes you to relax a bit. Lighten up and take pleasure in the fact that a large group of people got together to do something that was enjoyable and entertaining and free. That doesn't happen much anymore.
TJ: This isn't a "sanctioned" event. Permission for the event is not requested and knowledge of it is passed via word of mouth. Good luck getting the police to arrest people for hitting each other with pillows. I'm fairly certain nobody got arrested yesterday but there were plenty of police, firemen, and ambulances around. Having fun isn't a crime. :) So some feathers were around Union Square for a bit, I'm sure they blended in well with the trash and excrement that normally decorates the area.
Ribaldry and others who are so quick to chalk this up to hipster trust-funders: I am neither a hipster (in fact I might be the antithesis of hipster) nor a trust-funder but I was there and enjoyed every second of it.
Isn't there a law against littering?
Yea, I found all the feathers in the union square subway station kind of funny.
Thanks to everybody who came out and made this an amazing event! It may have been the largest pillow fight ever.
We stayed for many hours cleaning up Union Square with scores of volunteers. Thanks to everybody who helped!
However, because the volunteerism was a little low both years, next year we will have no choice but to ask people to limit or eliminate their use of feather pillows. Obviously not everybody will listen but it will make the impact much lower.
Also, we will be asking for donations to rent massive vacuums, which will be powered by green electricity.
Get on the mailing list to hear about our future events at http://www.newmindspace.com :)
Just because an idea is whimsical doesn't mean it's a good idea.
Damn I wish I had known this was happening. Next year I am going to round up a bunch of people and sabotage this thing. Can't wait :)
I believe the word that sums up the attitude of the preceding comments is "curmudgeonly". I'm sorry you have no fun in your life.
*girl who did not participate in this*
As of Sunday evening at 9PM, there are PILES of feathers on the tracks at Union Square, particularly on the N&Q downtracks.
Leaving behind a fire hazard - good job, "New Mind Space"! Thanks...a lot.
Curmudgeonly? I guess so. Yes. But if any of these people pictured were actually sexy and hot, I guess I would change my mind. Ugly people pillow fighting is not my idea of a fun or interesting event, either to participate in or to watch. This belongs in the dankest shore of Long Island or Jersey.
@32:
I think this might just be my new motto.
Some of you that are complaining about this event are probably the best people to hang out with. I bet you have fun each and every second of your life. And I also bet that you've probably got a wooden 2x4 up your butt. And you need a life outside of all of the complaining that you do. For goodness sake, complain about stuff that matters and move on! This kind of event should be looked at as fun instead of some kind of soapbox for you party poopers to get up on and defecate out of your mouths.
A bit late, but for anyone looking for photos, come see!
Hey TJ - is that your picture in my dictionary next to the word "curmudgeon"? Holy crap, complaining about a pillow fight! Hahahahaha. You are probably the guy who complains about such things and who steps out of the newstand, opens a pack of smokes and drop the wrapper in the sidewalk - jackass.
more hipster nonsense pictures
Video of the pillowfight.