Creative Loafing reporter Mark Kemp wrote a glowing article about the diversity and inclusivity of the BOOM festival after attending several performances over the weekend. Kemp writes:
But the crowd of people who poured into Plaza Midwood last weekend was different. It wasn’t just a rainbow of races, ethnicities and cultures, although that certainly was an important part of it. BOOM fest also was a mix of very young children, elderly people, young adults and middle-aged guys like me.
Most of all, though, it was a mix of ideas. Ideas about art, music, politics, different cultural perspectives, social justice and community activism.
It was Charlotte.
BOOM festival wasn’t a show of solidarity against anything, whether that be North Carolina’s crusty, old, backward-thinking legislature or the current democracy-hating president of the United States. It was a show of solidarity for something: Charlotte.
It was Charlotte artists and lovers of the arts working together, creating together, and dancing together in an attempt to understand each other more fully. It was the best medicine against racism and intolerance that you could possibly get. If you weren’t there this year, come out for it next year.