There’s a Kickstarter to Make a Web Series About ‘Allston Christmas’

It’s a magical time in the city, from August 31, through September 1, as hundreds of thousands of people swarm Boston for the start of both a new lease cycle, and for many, a new school year.

One of the most hard hit areas during the massive move-in day is Allston, where a tradition has carried on over the years where new residents, and those moving out, toss their unwanted good onto the street corners, creating a marketplace-style selection for anyone hoping to pick up anything from a couch, to an Elvis-head bedside lamp (if they are lucky enough).

That annual event has come to be known as “Allston Christmas,” and because simply living through the experience isn’t enough, some residents thought it would be a good idea to create a mini-web series about the hauling, unloading, and moving in of furniture.

On Kickstarter, Jared Vincenti already has 25 people backing his plan to create a show based on the most dreadful moving day of the year. The proposed show, which will be free to anyone that wants to watch it—much like the discarded curtains, clothing, and beanbag chairs that will clutter the Allston sidewalks—is scheduled to air in the fall, but Vincenti is asking residents to pitch in to help fund the project. “[Allston Christmas] turns into an epic neighborhood-wide holiday of scavenging, up-cycling, and finding new life in other people’s trash,” according to Vincenti’s Kickstarter page. “The majority of leases in Boston begin and end on the First of September. That means that entire neighborhoods are moving on the same day. Tens of thousands of people are navigating narrow streets at odd angles, old buildings with no elevators, and Boston’s late summer heat and humidity. It’s a truly miserable ritual.”

Vincenti and crew are looking to raise $6,000 for the project, or roughly $500 per episode, for 12 episodes total, which will mostly go towards props, free food, and water so they can tell the “loving story of one of Boston’s worst ideas,” according to their Kickstarter campaign.

Here is some more about the proposed project:

…it follows a group of young people as they strain under the weight of their friendships, relationships, and attachment to material things. Shane and Bekah can’t agree on which of their many possessions have sentimental value and which are trash. Hartley is moving in with Brendan despite his mother’s accusation that he’s “slumming it.” Jason is giving up and moving back in with his folks, but isn’t getting far because his friends refuse to help him pack. Jim entertains his nephew. Talli and Marshall avoid the chaos.

Because it will be free for viewers to watch, there isn’t much to offer in terms of “rewards” for those who help contribute, except that they will get to relive Allston Christmas over and over again, until it’s time to endure the excess moving vans, and get blocked out of that portion of the city when the next cycle of leases are up.