HATCH festival won’t be held in Asheville this year

HATCH made its debut in Asheville three years ago, as a sister to the original festival in Bozeman, Mont. Today organizers announced the festival will continue in Bozeman, but will skip Asheville this year.

Full details:

“HATCH Asheville enters a chrysalis phase:

Over the past three years, the local non-profit HATCH has hosted creative gatherings and networking events, growing steadily since its inception and drawing progressive thinkers to Asheville each year. (For more information, visit http://hatchexperience.org)

Many in the creative community established meaningful connections through their involvement with HATCH, and many of the most inspired claimed that ‘you get out of HATCH what you give — and more.’ To that end, HATCH boasted nearly 100 active participants each year, a group that included community artists, creative entrepreneurs, volunteers, discipline leaders and board members, many of whom returned every year to give of their time and energy.

The pioneer HATCH organizers are located in Bozeman, Mont., where they hold their own yearly HATCHfest event. The core team behind HATCH Asheville has worked closely with the Bozeman group to search for ways to refine and strengthen the HATCH concept, its impact, operations and sustainability.

After multiple meetings with the founders, we’ve come to the conclusion that the current HATCH model works best for a town like Bozeman — and the founders, rightfully, wish that not to change. After several months of hard work and internal development, the HATCH board of directors decided to let go of the relationship with HATCH.  Asheville is a city undergoing a creative explosion and is due for its own event concept, more tailor-made for our growing status as a global center for innovation and creativity.

What does this mean?

Though the original HATCH Asheville founders and leadership team remain truly inspired by HATCH, and will continue to support and work with HATCH Bozeman, there will not be a HATCH Experience in Asheville in April 2012.

‘I think it is important that this is perceived as a step forward,’ says HATCH Asheville co-founder Sean O’Connell. ‘There are numerous idea events around the country. Many of the HATCH volunteers are already tossing around concepts for a new creative summit.’

Current HATCH Asheville board chair, Craig McAnsh added that ‘HATCH has already inspired a community wide discussion about Asheville’s rapid growth at the intersection of creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship. We are excited to see what new ideas erupt here.’” 

Here’s a video about HATCH:

 

SHARE

Thanks for reading through to the end…

We share your inclination to get the whole story. For the past 25 years, Xpress has been committed to in-depth, balanced reporting about the greater Asheville area. We want everyone to have access to our stories. That’s a big part of why we've never charged for the paper or put up a paywall.

We’re pretty sure that you know journalism faces big challenges these days. Advertising no longer pays the whole cost. Media outlets around the country are asking their readers to chip in. Xpress needs help, too. We hope you’ll consider signing up to be a member of Xpress. For as little as $5 a month — the cost of a craft beer or kombucha — you can help keep local journalism strong. It only takes a moment.

Before you comment

The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.

Leave a Reply

To leave a reply you may Login with your Mountain Xpress account, connect socially or enter your name and e-mail. Your e-mail address will not be published. All fields are required.