Vote for the '242 Main: The Fight for All Ages Music Spaces' Panel Proposal for SXSW 2019!

Big Heavy World has a chance to once again be a part of the SXSW Conference in Austin, Texas, and we need your support to make it happen! As part of the work to help elevate understanding of what 242 Main meant to people who went there and what it stood for to our whole city, a couple of us in Burlington are trying to present about it at South by Southwest in 2019. SXSW is the country’s largest music festival, with thousands of performances and educational panels. We’re hoping to share the story of 242 Main and the ongoing call to save it. The festival chooses its panels partly through a community voting process. You could help by voting for the proposed panel, ‘242 Main: The Fight for All Ages Music Spaces’ at https://panelpicker.sxsw.com/vote/82883 Last year more than 161,000 people attended the official week-long SXSW Music Showcase, including more than 4,000 members of the press. Help Vermont represent a cause that matters, to a national audience!

James Lockridge, the activist-community builder and Executive Director of Big Heavy World, and filmmaker-educator Bill Simmon will host a panel that shines a light on the too-often overlooked value of all ages venues, illustrated by footage and narrative from their documentary No Stage Diving: The Story of 242 Main. With focus on how Burlington citizens are pushing to reintroduce 242 Main to the city after its recent closure, the presenters will offer insight into how 242 Main contributed to the punk scene of the North East, and how community youth spaces empower young people.

By voting for our panel proposal "242 Main: The Fight for All Ages Music Spaces," you put us one step closer to bringing this ever-important message to a national stage!