Art Outside
The day after Thanksgiving traditionally has been celebrated by shopping and consumerism until a few years ago when REI threw down the gauntlet or maybe climbing glove with its #OptOutside campaign, closing their stores and online shop to allow staff time to get outdoors.
Full disclosure: I did not opt outside this year. I didn't wade into the consumer fray either (except for the cashmere, black watch plaid scarf from Scotland). Instead I went to the Joslyn art museum where I looked at world class artwork, some of which was about the outdoors like this picture from Monet. The bottom picture is a close up of his brushwork. Apparently, he mixed his paint on the canvas which sounds like a pretty badass thing to do, even to me a non-painter.
I still believe in and advocate for opting outside. Christmas for me has a tradition of outsiding as I go on a Christmas Day hike. I drag along any family members that I can but so far Thanksgiving hasn't been a very outside oriented holiday.
Opt Outside has grown beyond a single day so if you had to work or chose to do something else, you can still be part of the opt outside movement.
