A group called Mill City Flashmob recently appeared on Facebook. It’s mission: Lowell, the mill city. Socializing with the community. Membership in the group quickly grew (to become a member, go to facebook.com/MillCityFlashMOB). But the true test of any such organization is not how many visitors it can attract on the internet, but how many people it can bring together in person, on the ground. In its first effort to do that, Mill City Flashmob had great success. The event took place last Sunday and, while early notices promoting it were enticingly cryptic, here are the instructions issued just before the gathering:

No more secrets (except for one)….Here are the details for Sunday:
1. Meet at Armory Park at noon.
2. Everyone gets a balloon with a postcard attached.
3. On the postcard, write a message of holiday cheer for a complete stranger.
4. Team building and synchronized gift swapping.
5. Precession to balloon launch (secret location).
6. Countdown to balloon and postcard release.
7. Refreshments will be served at The Revolving Museum.

Every postcard contains a link so that when your postcard balloon returns to earth, the random stranger that comes upon it can respond to your postcard message on our Facebook page

Besides having a talent for organizing, members of the group also are adept at video production. Fortunately for those of us who were unable to attend, the following video does a nice job of capturing how the afternoon went.

Postcards from Strangers from kojostudio on Vimeo.