Confession: Before yesterday, I’d never been to an Agora event before. Of course, I’ve heard lots of great things from lots of great people about all the awesome things they do, but for some reason always had reasons why I couldn’t go before. So when I was able to catch up enough with school stuff on Saturday, I was excited that I might actually make it to Agora 6!
Agora definitely lived up to my expectations and then some. I found out later that this was the biggest Agora to date, which didn’t surprise me after going. When Morgan, Deanna, Nick and I got there, it was wasn’t too busy, lots of people but enough space to be able to look at the art and wander into artists’ studios to chat. I saw a few really nice photos and some awesome mixed media work. I got a huge kick out of a video submission too (of course I can’t remember the artist’s name now). It really made me want to submit something to the next Agora, though I’d have to work on the fine art quality to my photos. Off the top of my head, I can’t think of what I would even enter.
Anyway, we ran into Lisa and I only caught a glimpse of Missy as well as other spotting other Columbus celebrities (Terry from Project Runway, anyone?). It was clearly THE event to be at that night. By the time we made our way to the other side of JunctionView, the space was PACKED. It actually became difficult at some points to walk because the hallways were probably not meant to accommodate so many people, half who are trying to stop and admire the art and the other half just trying to squeeze by. Agora 6 definitely had the atmosphere of a carnival, with the women on stilts wandering through as well as a music stage outside and the of course, the fire dancing show, which was hands down my favorite part of the night. It was kind of chilly outside, so combined with my chronic habit of under dressing, I was freezing every single second I was outside. So, I didn’t get to see much of the outdoor acts or vendors, but I made an exception for the fire show, especially since I warmed up once the dancers got going because of the heat they were giving off. The fire show seriously made me want to reconsider my career path. Maybe Deanna and I will practice and become a 2-woman show. Look for us on the live arts stage at Comfest next year 
In retrospect, I wish we had either gone to the preview show on Friday night, or come earlier in the day on Saturday to enjoy just the art and then come back later to enjoy the live events, which were worth their own time. I saw some suggestions on the Columbus underground thread that Agora become a 2-day event in the future, which I whole-heartedly agree with. Hopefully more volunteers will step up (I’d be willing to do it!) to make that happen. And now that school is winding to a close, I will definitely be attending as many JunctionView/Couchfire Collective events as I can. Here’s the link to the CU story that used some of my photos, though for some reason they seemed to turn out a bit more washed out then what I shot, not sure why.
