Peaceful Pillow Fighter Arrested in Vermont

I'm all for adding some urban life to an otherwise homogenized Church Street Marketplace. Sponsored by something called the Burlington Collective, the Burlington Pillow Fight (there was one in March, 2008, too) took place at 5:30 P.M. on Friday afternoon, April 17, in at the entrance of Burlington Center.

The Face Book announcement reads

Messing with perception with some good healthy fun.

Bring a pillow and a container in which to conceal it. Assemble on the street as if you were loitering, do not acknowledge anyone else participating. Our host will shout 'pillow fight' and we will all spontaneously break into a big miasma of feathers and pillows.

GUIDELINES

+ Soft pillows only!
+ Swing lightly, many people will be swinging at once.
+ Do not swing at people without pillows or with cameras.
+ Remove glasses beforehand!
+ The event is free and appropriate for all ages.
+ Wait until the signal to begin.
+ This event is more fun with feathers!

The organizer was arrested and carted off by the Burlington police. I guess you need a permit for riotous fun! My source tells me it was for "conspiracy to incite a riot." Gee, they don't arrest the naked bike riders for that, do they? Although I bet got a bigger audience than for a bunch of pillow punchers.

Kevin Hurley took some photos. Watch it all on Matt Malenczak's video.