Yes, you read that correctly—the latest installment of this quirky NYC tradition proves that pillow fights are not just for kids. The annual event happened in honor of the 12th installment of International Pillow Fight Day, and New York City is just one of more than 100 cities around the world which take part in it.
In New York City, the event takes place in Washington Square Park, where hundreds of people gathered on April Fool’s Day to partake in the fun. The event gets so packed, in fact, that certain participants claim it is almost a surreal experience where strangers are just hitting each other with pillows and “you don’t even have room to move.”
Of course, the event does come with rules to ensure that no one gets hurt in the process, but they’re nothing to restricting. The main requirements are that participants swing lightly and are gentle with one another. In other words, attendees just have to be careful and compassionate so everyone can enjoy the event.
As participant TC Bavelas put it, “We like pillow fights but not hurting people and getting our aggression out.” After all, the event is meant to be light-hearted and whimsical—the perfect day to celebrate what actually seems to be the start of spring in NYC.
With this quirkiness in mind, organizers even assigned a Nordic theme to the New York edition of the Pillow Fight this year. Those in attendance aren’t required to follow the theme, but many choose to do so.
Bavelas and his girlfriend, Noelle Klocke, for example, chose to dress up in Viking costumes for the Pillow Fight. AS Klocke put it, “It’s a lot of fun reliving my childhood a little bit getting dressed up all about having fun and a good cause.”
The good cause Klocke referred to is to help the homeless. The organizers of the event donated a thousand pillows to transitional shelters throughout NYC.
What better way to support such an important cause?
Featured Image via Wikimedia
