Utne Reader, way back in the late 80s or early 90s, promoted a revival of the salon. As far as I can tell, it was fairly successful. They would occasionally run stories about stuff going on with various salons around the country.

I'm all for it. A salon is basically a real-life version of what we're doing here...though perhaps with a bit more of an intellectual spin.

I think dobbs has done this, but I could be wrong. It's a great idea. Bounce some ideas off of us.

OW not so hard.

Utne Reader also did an online version of a Salon in the earlier internet years. I've sort of lost interest in the Utne Reader since they changed, so I don't know if they're still doing it. I signed up and got a copy of The Residents "Bad Day on the Midway" I think. Or was it that beat generation CD. Arrrgh I heard that the memory is the second thing to go, forget what the first is...

Awesome idea. Make sure to have delicious snacks.

Sometimes I think about a drawing salon where people would get together and draw and help each other draw and maybe do drawings together.

I'd always be worried about saying, "Hi, please come to my salon" and then people would come and the pressure would be too great: "Oh, jeez, here I am at a salon and I have to think up brilliant ideas and have sparkling conversation and enrich my life with shared knowledge. Oh, man, I just wish I were home reading comic books." I feel like every salon I'd have would just devolve into everyone playing video games.

You should do it and report here on the do's and don'ts of holding a salon.

I've considered this, also, with some degree of seriousity but the idea never went anywhere. (I never really thought of them as "stuffy," though. More like this as a place for intelligent people to get togather and shoot the breeze.)

Cafes, coffee shops, &c have perhaps budged in on the philosophy of a salon kind of like how portable audio equipment and headphones have isolated people on public transportation.

I'm under the impression that the Royal Canadian Legion (physically, they're kinda like bars/taverns but "private") memberships can be had without having ever served in the military. I've read (albeit a pretty fluff piece) in the local free-rag about the increasing number of younger people who get memberships - people who're interested in militaria, like hanging out with vets, a girl who likes a place to do homework while having a beer without being hit on, &c.

OTOH, perhaps open a bar that caters to grad students/professors (of all disciplines - one thing that's "wrong" with academia, imho, is the lack of exchange between the sciences and humanities - but that's probably hogwash and I'll chalk that up to my liberal arts background) and perhaps (gently) discourages the typically bar-going crowd.

Uncle Glendinning - I have this daydream where if I won a boatload of lottery money that I'd start an "gaming cafe" (kinda like an internet cafe) with multiplayer LAN/internet, consoles, spectator areas, food areas, couches, alcoholic area, &c.

Do they have a Socrates Cafe near you? Lots of libraries and bookstores host them.

I have a friend who does something very similar. Every Sunday he invites into his home anyone who is passionate about knowledge and learning. People are invited to give presentations on topics about which they are knowledgeable. I've given five presentations on classical music so far, and our host is doing an ongoing series on Moral Philosophy. So far I've attended sessions which included lectures on stage combat, Existentialism, and Buddhism.

Overall, a great concept and a great group.

Nope, I haven't done this as a business.

Years ago I had a regular screening night at my house where 5 - 15 people would come, watch a movie, eat and drink, and talk and I acted as host. However, when the mean reds hit, I cancelled it and have never revived it, though I've occasionally threatened to.

I've also threatened to open a cafe for writers complete with tables to hook up laptops to and laser print stuff and sell food and drink and then maybe 1ce a month have an author in to lecture or speak or whatever. However, anyone who knows me knows my business ideas are more hot air than anything else.

Some friends of mine started one a few years ago and would get together twice a month. We set it up where we'd all decide on a phrase or an image to work on as an art project in the first meeting, then take the second meeting to show everyone what we'd done.

It was great!

chewie, i'd come to your salon! what kinds of things are you thinking about doing? my email is in my profile.

I've been doing this on and off for the last eight years. Only we just call them campfires. In my backyard. They started out as overtly political, a mostly weekly gathering during the election season (May - November) to plot the overthrow of the established political order. We had some success, getting rid of some noxious right-wingers in local government and dumping the union thugs who were dominating the local Democratic party. However, the replacements were spineless liberals who repeatedly get rolled by the wingers, so it was a successful defense, but not much progress. After my heart attack, I dropped them for two years and am now starting up again, but as a 60's revival with acid rock and lightshows.

You should be aware that in most cases, being an established host doesn't get reciprocated. Since hosting about 10-20 people a week for years, I never noticed any reciprocal invitations. I had hoped to get out more, but that just shows I don't understand how society works.

Some people show up with drinks and snacks (you quickly see how predictable and consistent people are) and there is a continual problem with freeloaders, mooches, and obnoxious drunkards. The tragedy of the commons, just like real life.

I hope I won't lose my salon-attending credentials if I point out that there's an episode of The Drew Carey Show called 'The Salon.'

Wanting to make his boss believe his best friend is sophisticated, Drew hosts a salon. Cue the comic misunderstandings and class humor and wacky guest appearance and whatnot.

I love you guys. I had no idea what a salon was (other than for hair and manicures) until a few months ago.

I was thinking of doing it in our living room to begin with. Maybe a dozen people or something? I like LT's idea of a theme. In a way, I want it to be loose enough that different members can take turns pushing it in a direction they'd like. Sure some ground rules or something. But yeah, basically people who like learning and generating ideas.

Wens! I'd love to have you over! Where ya been???

Thanks so much for all the input, guys. I'll keep all posted. :D

I kind of tried having one, or, rather, I hosted a weekly dinner party for a few months a couple of years ago. I called it Soup and made a big pot of soup every Thursday night and issued an open invitation to the world. The first few were really fun and some people I hadn't seen in a long time came bringing people I didn't know and so on, all good. But less and less people came and after a couple months it had devolved into a group of my close girl friends and finally it was just down to the three of us - my two closest friends and me - and I sort of decided I saw a lot of them anyway without having to rush home from work every Thursday and make soup, so I let it die a natural death. I've been considering reviving it though.

Some of my cartoonist friends have had a thing of this nature going for a few years now. For drawing. They ended up putting out a few issues of their own anthology.