Have party, will travel...

STEVE FAGUY, The Gazette
Published: Saturday, April 07 2007

Kevin Bracken doesn't like the term "flash mob."

Which is odd, because for the past two years, he and fellow Torontonian Lori Kufner have been running the group in Canada most associated with the phenomenon. Even the Wikipedia entry for the term sports a picture from one of their events.

Bracken and Kufner's objections come because the term's widely acknowledged creator, Harper's Magazine editor Bill Wasik, used it to mock participants as mob conformists.

But one thing the two have in common is the need for a big crowd.

Newmindspace, the group Kufner and Bracken run, organizes free urban events like pillow fights, bubble battles and subway parties. Last weekend, the group organized its first metro party in Montreal.

With 24 hours advance notice, Newmindspace sent an email to its 400 Montreal subscribers, and news quickly propagated to local blogs and forums. Everyone was to meet at the Henri-Bourassa metro station at 9 p.m. on March 30, and pile into the last car. The rules were simple: bring a costume, clean up after yourselves and don't do anything illegal.

As the doors closed and the train began moving, Bracken attached his portable speakers to the ceiling and the party began with a cheer.

The decorations came next: fake vines, streamers, balloons, and for some reason lots of condoms (one man unsuccessfully attempted to use as a hat).

As the train entered each station along the Orange Line's 28-station run, the crowd let out a roar, encouraging travellers to join the party. Some of the clueless passersby joined in earnest, but most decided it was too crowded for them, and moved to other cars or waited for the next train.

At the Lionel Groulx station, the first worries of police intervention set in. The train was stopped as two metro security guards walked down to the party car. They apparently determined there was nothing illegal going on, and let the train and party proceed.

The accommodation wouldn't last long. The train was stopped for good at the Cote Ste. Catherine station, four stops into the return trip, and the metro cops (backed up by Montreal Police) ordered everyone off the train and out of the station. They wouldn't give a reason for the expulsion other than saying the STM has the right to toss clients out.

Isabelle Tremblay, spokesperson for the STM, later said the group was causing trouble, though she wasn't specific about which rules were broken.

Montreal Police Constable Raphael Bergeron said he hadn't heard about the incident, but, he said: "Obviously, they had a reason."

Noah Gitelman wasn't buying it.

"If you go to a hockey game where the Canadiens win," he said, "there's thousands of people and it's much worse than this."

At least the STM was polite about it. As the partygoers exited, many passed by the ticket booth and received a courtesy ticket, compensating them for their incomplete trip with one free ride. Many then used that ticket to find their way home ... by bus.

Newmindspace has links to photos and video of the party at www.newmindspace.com.