Free Hugs on 6th Street

The Rally for the Republic was all of many things. I came home stocked with bundles of The Liberty Voice Newspapers and Republic magazines.

Last night my buddy James and I went to South Congress Avenue for "First Thursday," which is a street festival of sorts where lots of eclectic shops are setup late into the evening for pedestrians to marvel at. Live music is a given.

So James had a big jug for a drum, and I twirled around in my skirt while playing my harmonica. We handed out free newspapers along the way, and then ran into a whole line of kids giving out free hugs. We hopped in line and embraced all the folks passing by.

Later after all our literature was distributed, James and I walked down to 6th Street to hand out more free hugs. There is something to be learned from our experience. We must have hugged hundreds of people each. One man hugged me so emphatically that he nearly carried me half-way down the street! Some men said they loved me, and others said I turned them on. Sometimes I would walk right up to people sitting on the curbs and offer them hugs. I hugged everyone! The young, the old, the skinny, the fat, the black, the Asian, the hippies, the poor, the sparkly, the nerdy, the officers, the bouncers, and even the smokers. Some people questioned the free hugs, others took pictures. Some said no thanks, and others just smiled.



I believe James and I had a lot of success because we were working as a male and female duo, giving everyone a chance to pick the sex they hugged. There were some openly-admitted homophobes that sneered at James, but then gladly came to my open arms. I found out that people were more likely to hug you if you came within a certain radius of them. Opening your arms got lots of huggers, but opening your arms wide AND taking two steps toward them was almost irresistible.

We hugged all night. The crowd was endless!

Finally we walked back to my car on Congress, hugging all the way, and drove to Magnolia's cafe to split a taco plate.

Here's a video of someone else's hug campaign on 6th Street:


Hug the person next to you. Spread love and freedom. :)