Nugs & Reflections from a Pop Up Village
Edge Esmerelda 🌲🤝🛖☀️🫂
One of the things I love about writing is that it allows me to process meaningful experiences and ideas as they come into my life. I just got back from a weeklong experience that was wild & weird & wonderful. It was a pop up village called
, and if pop up village doesn’t mean anything to you…that’s understandable.It’s an idea that’s hard to explain in a few sentences, but one that I want to share and talk about with friends— the perfect Hot Tub Talk. Let’s dive in 🧖
The Set Up
I’d describe my Edge Esmerelda experience as Summer Camp x Conference x College Campus
Summer Camp:
People came from all over and grouped in stays (camping, AirBnB’s, hotels) around Healdsburg, a walkable lil town in Sonoma County nestled along the Russian River. I shacked up with 10 other folks in an epic house overlooking the river valley
Activities included sports, river dips, hikes, arts & crafts, every wellness modality you could think of (meditation, sauna, plunge, yoga, breathwork, wisdom circles, etc. etc.)
Was kinda sad to leave my new friends at the end of the week despite optimistically exchanging
AIM screenamesSubstacks to “stay in touch!”
Conference
Lots of entrepreneurs, builders, and ambitious people building & sharing ambitious things (from communal living communities to AI brainstorming tools)
I’ve been to a lot of coworking spaces that claim to have collaborative energy where you might “meet your next cofounder” or “have a breakthrough while jamming in the kitchen”, but the coworking hub here actually had that energy going on
College Campus
Talks and workshops in different “classrooms” reignited the excited-to-learn energy I glimpsed only briefly in my college experience
Biking into town with a full schedule—talks, lunch w/ friends, hammocking, project work, basketball, drinks in the park—was a richness of life that reminded me of the best parts of my college days
The beauty of rolling up to town square with a spikeball set and a dream 🥲 ( exposing my hands here)
The Nugs
Here are some lil nugs of ideas that came up for me as I was reflecting on what made the week special:
Introduce-yourself-to-strangers energy
On hour 1 of day 1, I popped into a cafe and a friendly gal who saw my wristband struck up a convo while we waited for our lunch (shout out
). I felt that friendly energy all week long, and it reminded me that minding your own business is overrated.Density of run-ins
The first couple days, I went hard on meeting people and attending every event I could. Soon, I was running into familiar faces everywhere I went in town (on the bike path, in the sauna, at the peak of a local hike). It was a small-town vibe crossed with big city energy. It also felt like college and reminded me how proximity can create serendipity and how quickly these run-ins can deepen relationships.
Default social
I’ve noticed that as I’ve gotten older, people’s schedules trend towards default solo (or just w/ partner). Gym, work, lunch, errands, dinner, Netflix. At Edge, I almost always defaulted to do these things with others. Some activities were coordinated via a shared schedule, and others just emerged from run-ins or a very active telegram channels where people shared what they were doing with an open invite. I spent plenty of time by myself, but that solo time felt more nourishing than usual because I was choosing to recharge.
The Reflection
Rather than nostalgicize (i.e. “take me baaaack 😩”) I’m trying to integrate this dense bundle of experiences.
Was Edge Esmerelda only special or possible because it was temporary, or are there things that I can bring into my daily life? Some tub thoughts:
Alternative experiences
Even after buying a ticket, there were plenty of times I second-guessed going to this. It was hard to explain to others, and therefore hard to explain to myself. It felt aligned with a lot of things I care about (communal living, wellness, nature, play, purposeful entrepreneurship), but it also would have been a lot easier to commit to a vacation or music festival. But I got more out of this experience than I imagine I could have gotten even from a 10/10 vacation or festival. I’m noticing again and again that leaning into the experiences that are alternative but aligned allow me to grow in meaningful ways.
Substack vibe check
I found out about Edge Esmerelda through some combination of people I’m connected with on Substack. I pulled the trigger in part because a friend I made through Substack (
) decided to go the same week I was considering. I’m noticing that the signals I pick up on Substack feel more aligned because most things I write and read here are fairly authentic and reflect my essence.Building a life around community
Now that I’m back home, I’m seeing the importance of community a lil differently. What would it be like to connect a group of people here in Venice around designated physical spaces (cafe, coworking, park, gym) and build a co-created community around get-togethers and events? Can I build a homebase community and also weave in seasonal trips like pop up villages, ski houses, or abroad adventures? How does work fit into this, or is there work that can emerge from this pursuit?
All good questions for another tub talk. Until then, thanks for reading and I’ll leave you with a few more pics:
lets goooo!! Love the idea of default social...super fun and inspiring write-up! Can't wait to see where your journey takes you next :) just subbed to the tub ;)
Love the write up! I’m so glad we got to experience it together. I’m still processing all of it… so much inspiration for the future 🚀