Hive Open Days '26 - Taking a Far-Away Plunge...?

I've got a weird relationship with Hive in-person thingies, in the sense that after I attended the ole unnameable fest in Krakow in 2018, I decided I freaking loved it and stopped attending for several years. I could just blame Covid. I could blame life. When y'all were in Amsterdam, I was in Croatia. See, I'd gotten the gist of you, only a couple years early. Rosarito was out of budget and a smidge too far, but then I stumbled upon a little gathering in my beloved Croatia, namely last year's Hivefest in Split.

Odd to think it's almost a year gone, no?

And I was freaking terrified. Introverted and quite quiet and reserved by nature, I had none of the familiar names that had been in Krakow to look forward to meeting again. I could easily envision four days of saying nothing to nobody and feeling like an out-of-place balloon.

Though knowing myself, I would've most probably ditched the event if it turned out so and just spent the entire time I was there dipping in the wonderful Adriatic Sea. Which kinda happened anyway, if I remember correctly.

And I fell in love with the Hive real people community again. Hivefest 9 was, from head to toe, a complete and utter blast and when I heard people talking about something called Creator Days in 2025 in Austria, I figured why the fuck not. The ticket was only 10 HBD and I could easily decide I wanted to still be an antisocial cave troll in the meantime.

I went home. I went astray. Time passed, and things started building. I started talking about a tentative trip to Austria in the spring. Flights started arranging themselves in such a way that made it seem possible. Thanks, Ryanair.

Anyone who knows me knows there's few things I enjoy more than browsing the airline apps for good deals, and Vienna became incorporated in my routine of destinations to keep an eye on. When, one sunny day, I encountered great return prices for the beginning of May, I took it as a sign from the Universe.

Which is how I ended up earlier this year in Graz, attending something called Hive Creator Days hosted by @buzzparty, @tibfox and @reiseamateur.

Again, confusion, anticipation, social anxiety. I knew some faces, but many not. I wondered if I still had worthwhile things to say, and rued the absence of a nearby beach I could skulk off towards, should things turn awry.

Predictably, I had a killer time in Graz as well with some well-known, well-loved folks, and some faces new to me, though them also grown quickly dear to me. There's something about Hive events that feels a little like a childhood sleepover. Like a private party for weirdos and odd-ends, people neither here nor there, wizards and in-person disappearing acts. Inevitably, attending any kind of Hive event feels a little bit like truly coming home.

Which is how I ended up getting tickets for next year's meet-up, now fashionably, invitingly rechristened Hive Open Days in Alicante. Definitely not a cheap ploy to get back to sunny Spain in great season. Completely only just interested in blockchainy, clever people discussions and frowning over market charts. Yes yes, so be it.

This time...

• I don't know who'll be there... but I know I'm gonna have a blast with them;
• I try not to worry about the things I'll say and the faces I'll make when I meet someone for the first time. Thanks to Hive, I've grown more confident... or perhaps just grown. After all, I was only 18 when I first came here;
• I'm looking forward to finding some new old friends again and exploring the city with them;

And of course, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't at least curious about the crazy contest @buzzparty is running regarding tandem jumps and sky-soaring. In the words of another well-loved soul on this Earth,

I've got a strong urge to fly,
But I've got nowhere to fly to.

So barring unforeseen catastrophe, I'll be there.

Should you?

Well, far be it from me to suggest what you should and shouldn't do, but long story short, I would say yes, you probably should. Why? Because it's Spain. Because it's sun. Because it's Hive and Hive people tend to be pretty fucking awesome by any standard. Or at least, quite fantastically unusual. Try one. I mean a meet-up, not a Hive person, though hey, you do you. ;)

Why? Because 20 HBD, the price of access, isn't that much by European standards, at least. Because it's May 1st and should be celebrated. Because we'll have fun.

I know it's tremendously presumptuous and weird to be planning a year in advance, but...Are you coming?