On the weekend of May 21 and 22, the street around our venue Furore Soft in Floridsdorf became the center of numerous actions, meetings and events. Four of the fourteen projects selected for implementation from the submissions to the Open Call "Your idea for Floridsdorf" had activities in the neighborhood on these days.

In the center of the events was the project "Search & Find Table Tennis Tables". On Friday and Saturday Michi and Wolfgang invited all hobby table tennis players (and those who wanted to become one) to test the quiz rally. For better visibility we set up a table tennis table in front of our space Furore Soft in Schleifgasse and invited all passers-by to play a round.

The kick-off weekend served to promote the puzzle rally that the two initiators had developed in the course of our PlaceCity project: With the help of an app, it leads through the center of Floridsdorf and to some of the freely accessible table tennis tables in the district. Along the way, questions are asked about the district and the sport of table tennis - and of course you can play a match or two! Thanks to a generous donation from the district, bats and balls could even be handed out to the first guests to take home. On Saturday, the event was joined by a very special guest: Andreas Kopriva, the owner of the only Viennese sports store that specializes exclusively in table tennis supports the project as well. Wolfgang and Michi run a table tennis hobby group on Facebook where interested people can exchange ideas and arrange meetings to play together.. Their goal is to make it better known that there are many freely accessible table tennis tables throughout Vienna. Many of them are located in parks or, especially in Floridsdorf, very nicely on the banks of the Danube. So, all you need is a ball and a bat to get active outdoors or to play casually with family and friends.

The event was a complete success. Even the owner of the kebab shop next door and the hairdresser from the corner played a round. For both it was the first time they played table tennis and considering that they didn't do badly! Many new members joined the facebook group after this kick-off week-end and became part of a lively and active community. 

First time playing table tennis in Front of Furore Soft  © Joanna Pianka

While some played table tennis or chatted, Julian handed over his “Flodo Hocker” ("Flodo Stools") to the business people in Schleifgasse. For a total of seven business people in the street, he designed stools made of recycled plastic, which were individually adapted to the color of the business premises or the wishes of the owners. For example, the tobacconist got a bar stool in black and orange, the pizzeria one in bright red, the hairdresser a low one in gray and white, which stands next to the seats for waiting customers and the Kebabstand a tiny stool in green, which he uses as a table. The “Flodo Hocker” project was created in collaboration between the artist and the PlaceCity team. Julian originally wanted to build a bigger piece of furniture, but when we shared with him that the shopkeepers here in the street often stand in front of their stores to chat during a break, he liked the idea of building them stools. Talking to each of the shopkeepers and owners, he designed a unique piece for each of them. And we continue to diligently collect lids from plastic bottles together with everyone in the neighborhood so that Julian can get new material again.

Preparing the handover of individually designed #Flodo Hocker / Flodo Hocker in use at Schleifgasse © Joanna Pianka

At the end of the day, the first information event for the "Community Composting" project took place a few streets away at Hoßplatz. Eva wants to set up wooden containers at the edge of the park, where several households can dispose of their organic waste and produce compost from it. The idea behind this is, on the one hand, to reuse biological waste in a sensible way, but on the other hand, Eva would also like to get to know her neighborhood better through this. "I have lived here in Floridsdorf for many years and hardly know anyone from my neighborhood," says Eva. By doing things together, she hopes to create a community around the composting and would like to initiate a group that takes care of the compost containers in a self-managed way. This weekend, she distributed information leaflets in the park, told residents and passers-by about her idea, and provided information on how community composting works. Among those who showed interest in the project were, for example, a young flat-sharing community with students or a woman who currently rides her bike for eight minutes to dispose of her organic waste properly. After these inspiring talks, the next steps will be to obtain permits for the implementation and the construction of the containers. 

Eva presenting her idea for Community Composting at Joseph-Samuel-Bloch-Park © Joanna Pianka

The second day of the Kick-Off Weekend was all about the market day. The team from 1m2 Markt, with whom we had already successfully implemented the plant swap in March (LINK TO STORY), was in action at the Schlingermarkt again on this day. The team of 1m2 Markt consists of artists who have made it their goal to make a special idea known: In Vienna, people are allowed to sell at a market on 3 days a year without needing a trade license. The team shows us the numerous possibilities of using the market with just one square meter - and therefore the lowest user fee! It is a participatory instrument that unfolds the right to the markets of Vienna and invites to imitate.

Promoting the right to the markets in Vienna with 1m2 market © Joanna Pianka

Due to the market day at the Schlingermarkt, there was even more movement than usual in the Schleifgasse on Saturday. Despite the bad weather at the beginning, the second day of our kick-off weekend was also very busy and we are especially happy that the idea givers got to know each other and were able to exchange ideas about their projects.