I wanted to take a moment to thank all of the volunteers who made Phoestivus so great this year. In particular, I’d like to thank Samantha Davis Jackson, Lisa Banish, Sara Esther Anderson for their tireless work to make it happen. (This event takes thousands of hours to put together.)

Special props to Erica Shipione who pulled together an amazing media effort. We got more coverage than ever before.

Thank you to Brooks Werner for arranging Hipster Santa to join us once again. So many people were so excited to see him there.

Thank you, Walter Studios for organizing our first ever speakeasy. It was a hit!

The staff, volunteers and venders show up early on Friday to set up and are there late every night so our community can enjoy all the fun.

You might have seen me on TV, but these folks are the ones who make it happen.

We took a couple major hits in recent years, with Covid and then being moved to a new location.

I’m happy to report that we have more than recovered. Our goal was to remind past attendees of the fun of this event and introduced Phoestivus to thousands more who are new to downtown.

There is a particular “Phoestivus Pheeling” that is so strong at Phoestivus. It is the feeling that this is our unique event, that we’ve all pitched in to make it what it is, and that we can feel a deeply shared joy that is absent from our consumption-driven holidays.

It is why this is the happiest time of the year for me.

That feeling was very strong this year and it inspires me to re-commit to this event for years to come.

In 2024 expect more vendors, more people and more quirky activities that set Phoestivus apart from other events. If you have ideas for fun features, please let me know!