The pungent smell of jasmine incense, patchouli oil, and smoke from sizzling grills engulfed me as soon as I crossed the barrier at 1st Avenue on Commercial Drive’s car-free day. There were people everywhere. Though the day had a grey overcast, the weather did little to dampen the spirits of the multi-hued revelers.

From a technical writer’s point of view, it struck me that the Commercial Drive organizers knew the success of car-free day was dependent on a careful process of selection. Stretching north to Venables, the eight block party was a creole blend of colour, aromas, energy, sights, and sounds celebrating the ethnic and eclectic diversity of the community.

The contrasts were whimsical—from elegant coif to dreadlock, African drum beat to brass band, earth tones to neon, spandex to Gore-Tex, Birkenstocks to stilettos, healing garden to community health outreach, grilled kebabs to veggie dogs, fine art to dismantled car, local design to chain store, skateboard to street soccer, sustainable to inorganic, recycled to new, and dancing to wiling away hours at streetside cafes. And in the midst of World Cup fever, Brazilians were ubiquitous in their yellow jerseys—either real or body painted onto their torsos.

It also struck me that as tech writers, we often find ourselves immobilized in front of computers for hours, if not days, at a time. While the process of work is subjective for each individual, it appears easy for some of us to miss engaging with our community as we struggle to meet deadlines or agonize in front of a computer screen. Can we really not afford an hour or so on the weekend for some fun?

I personally found the influx of energy on car-free day intoxicating and inspiring. And I am grateful I took time out to smell the incense.

As we become more eco-minded and in tune with sustainability, might events such as these infuse the tech writer with newfound understanding of trends or terms that can be applied to their writing? Or perhaps a new direction in tech writing itself?