As I write this, a friend and I just returned from attending the final weekend of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, in Vancouver, British Columbia. I will admit I’m in withdrawal. Yes, the concert was incredible. It will now be my comparison for every concert I see. It included dancers, backup singers, and a stage that took up half the stadium floor with us in row 22. What’s more, Taylor sang for three and a half hours.
“Swifties” Unite
While the concert was incredible, what made the biggest impression on me was the T-Swift community. Taylor sings on her 2022 “Midnights” album, “So make the friendship bracelets, take the moment, and taste it.” Her fan group, “Swifties,” took her words to heart by making friendship bracelets to trade at Taylor’s concerts.
The friendship bracelets have taken on a life of their own. In an April 2023 article in USA Today, Michaels (a crafts supply store) reported a 300% sales boost in its beads and jewelry categories in the days leading up to her concerts.
Community Ties
A local stopped us on the street to ask whether we were there for the concert and where we were from. We handed him bracelets for his daughters.
The following day at breakfast in a small restaurant, a local couple sitting next to us struck up a friendly conversation with us: Where were we from? Did we need restaurant recommendations? “Make sure you visit the Gastown area.” After they thanked us for visiting Vancouver, we handed them friendship bracelets.
New Friends
For the next three days, people stopped us if we wore anything with glitter or a friendship bracelet. Several were locals, and many were part of the 300,000 “Swifties” who descended on Vancouver for the weekend. Everyone was a friend you just had never yet met.
An 8-year-old girl stood in line at our hotel’s elevator after the concert and was soaked, like us, from walking back from the concert in the rain. We could tell she was about to have a meltdown, so we struck up a conversation in hopes of preventing it: “Can I give you a bracelet?” The look on her face was priceless. Meltdown averted. Her mom thanked me.
Afterward, my friend and I started handing out bracelets to everyone: the guy behind us in the elevator line; the wait staff at every restaurant; shopkeepers; other little girls; Uber drivers, etc.
A Special Encounter
On our last day in Vancouver, we met an Uber driver who told us he had arrived from Iran six months ago on a work visa. He said he and his wife had left their family in what he described as a war-torn country. We handed him bracelets too. He expressed surprise and, for some reason, the three of us all fought tears.
Paying It Forward
The power of those bracelets made a profound impact on our trip. A sense of community, kindness, and joy was evident. It made me wonder how they could be harnessed for private practice. If you have any ideas, I’d love to hear them! Please email me at dori.carlson@gmail.com. OM
