Friday night and you’re sitting around the house wondering why nobody is calling you. You think about those crazy friends of yours who seem to be out ALL THE TIME. “How do they do it?” you wonder. Well, without straining my brain too hard I can venture there’s one huge difference between what they are doing and what you are doing. It’s about being accessible.

There are a few prerequisites to being the social beast that everyone knows and loves. You’ll probably read through this list and go “no shit Sherlock” but often times people forget these things. I’ll be that happy little angel sitting on your shoulder reminding you of these things.

1. Be geographically accessible – It helps to live near all the activity. It really does you no good to live an hour or two from where you want and need to be for all your social activities. There’s a reason people chose to live in the city and why certain parts of the city command more of a premium than others…accessibility to the hot spots.
2. Make the time to be accessible – If someone calls and asks what you’re doing tonight or tomorrow night, realize they are asking this because they want to do something with you. If you’ve got plans to cut your toenails you can easily postpone that task and head on out to be with your friends. The more you’re out and about, the more you’ll be seen and the more people you will meet.
3. Make yourself accessible – Expand your horizons, try new things. You prefer indie rock shows but a friend calls and wants to hit a metal show with you. Go! You never know who you’ll see there and you’ll more than likely enjoy the atmosphere and being out and about anyway. Open yourself to all sorts of new activities and save your judgement for later.

Granted there are other things that need to happen to be the social beast that you crave to be but this is all about accessibility. You’ve got to get out and about, you have to be in the mix of things. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again…you DON’T need loads of money to be the social beast. Since when did socializing be a money-oriented sport? You’ve got friends…see them! Buy a 12 pack of cheap swill and enjoy a day at the pool or a night shooting the shit. It’s THAT easy. You’ve got friends…enjoy some quality time with them all around town.

Hot diggity! Being the social beast that I am, I have been asked to help set up a new festival in Atlanta. Going along with my “Think Small and Go Big” theme that I wrote about on Chia Town I don’t expect this to start out as a Coachella or Bonnaroo type event. However, I will say that it’s gonna rock.

So what is this all about? Jake’s Ice Cream is celebrating their 10 year anniversary this year and plan on having a bit to-do about it all. Why have some cheesy little “yay, we’re ten. Here’s a coupon” thing? Oh no…this can be so much bigger, and it will be! Since being tasked with being an event planner with my trusty partner in crime Heidi my phone has been going nuts sending texts, emails and making calls. Less than a day after our initial “hey, let’s do this” meeting we’ve already talked to five bands, a radio station, started working on some video ideas, working on getting the beer distributors there (nothing says summer like ice cream and beer!), a few vendors…oh yes…this is gonna be big.

I’ve never used the term “event planner” in my discussions with people when they ask what I do, yet I’ve come to realize that I’ve been planning events in one fashion or another for the past 15 or so years. Whoah! I must admit that I do enjoy doing it…the planning, the prepping, the promoting.

I shall keep you all informed as more details solidify. As of now we’re talking about the weekend of June 13th here in Atlanta. If you’d like to have a nice neighborhood summer festival, this will be one that you should keep tabs on.

Ta ta from one social beast to another!