The CMWC, the Cycle Messenger World Championships, will be held this month on the 23rd-24th (Sat, Sun) at Nissan Stadium in Yokohama. Messengers have a professional culture, and I wrote in a previous announcement post about how that is coming to fruition in such a large cycling event.
I also wrote that defining what a messenger is is difficult, as there is an incredibly wide variety of people in the field.
That's right, there are all sorts of characters among messengers. There is a diversity that cannot be contained by legitimate events like the CMWC alone. Once again, a wilder festival, closer to street culture and one that could be called a side event to the CMWC, is being held. It’s called "SLOW BURNIN’ 2023 JAPAN"!
It’s a chaotic mix of various live music performances, the Tracklocross World Championships, bike races, art shows, markets, and camping, held at a campground deep in the mountains of Izu. It’s not for everyone, and it’s certainly a place where your survival skills will be tested, but there is no doubt it will hit the mark for pure revelers.
When you spend every day delivering on the streets of the city center, all sorts of things happen. You won't survive if you aren't tough, and you won't last if you can't find the fun in it. The reason messengers are connected to music, fashion, and art is because those are necessary elements for surviving in that street environment.
"Slow Burnin'" was actually held last year as well, at the same time as the JCMC, which took place as a pre-event for the CMWC. This year, a massive number of wild messengers will be arriving from overseas. What on earth is going to happen? A swirl of anticipation and anxiety is building.
Please refer to the report on the page below for last year's event.