The rest of us

[Stephen Louis Lange]

I was hoping to find the "hatchling" who left this piece of paper in lieu of a tip at the restaurant I work at. I was interested in the "hatchfest" but I had to work. I had heard it was a bunch of yippie-trustafarians networking w/ working artists but all of the working artists I know were, well working. Suffice it to say that the "tip' proved me right. The next time we have a hatchfest in Asheville, I would like to teach a class on manners and etiquette, something that goes a lot farther than a social-networking festival in a tourist town.

[Mark DiOflio]

Yes, it was SO nice to hang out with such a large gathering of smarmy cokeheads engaged in mutual self-adulation. It is truly a rapturous display of one of the uglier subcultures of society. Go hatch!

[Adam Hillberry]

I agree with Aaron, Stephen, about the effort of everyone involved with making HATCH happen. It was a large undertaking for such a small "tourist town" trying to innovate and further inspire already working artists, who do indeed work and thrive in this "tourist town." Like Marley, Stephen, I'm sorry about your experience. But, I think, 'the rest of us' had a great experience. And I don't want your effort to diminish our experience. Perhaps the individual who left the "tip" wasn't really associated with HATCH. Perhaps it was a personal issue; maybe they didn't like you; maybe they thought your service was shoddy; maybe, like Pesci in Resevoir Dogs, they don't agree with the tipping system as it works in the U.S. Maybe you shouldn't rely on the courtesy of everyone, especially in these "tough, economic times". I wonder if maybe you are placing blame for a lousy tip on an innocent organization and not on your brain's capacity to understand the concept of win some, lose some.
Lastly, I think it rather inappropriate to use this positive venue of information and networking to air your grievances. It seems like a personal issue, and its unnecessary to target people who are totally not responsible. But thanks for visiting the site.

This is so stupid, I'm going to ask the admin to erase this post.

[Aaron Dahlstrom]

I was skeptical about HATCH leading up to the event, but once it arrived, I was constantly impressed by the amount of talent the festival was able to bring. I met so many intelligent, innovative people — all working artists taking time away from their busy lives to share their ideas with us.

I don't know about the rest of the speakers or mentors, but none of the journalism attendees received a stipend. If you have constructive criticism about HATCH, everyone would love to hear it, but the above comment just sounds bitter and uninformed.

[Jonathan Walczak]

I definitely respect your opinion, but I disagree. Most of the events were open and free to the public. I don't consider myself a "yippie-trustafarian," and if the festival was open to a 20-year-old college student without those exclusive connections and networking that you mentioned, it is accessible to anyone.

I had an excellent experience, the people were friendly, and I don't like that people find a reason to complain about everything.

How can you judge it as a "social-networking festival in a tourist town," when, by your own words, you were working and didn't attend the events? It would be like me criticizing your art based on a tip without having laid eyes on it.