Sarah Berkowitz runs Do314.com, an online events calendar that’s tied into a national network of such sites, DoStuff Media.
As a mission, Do314 ties St. Louisans into what’s happening around town, frequently offering giveaways and chances to win tickets to the best stuff happening that week/month. And, every-now-and-again, the site’s able to help instigate a winning event, too.
Such was the case when Do314 signed onto the “Dumpster Dive,” which saw a full-sized dumpster transformed into an oversized splash pool. Located right in the middle of Cherokee, in front of the Fortune Teller Bar, the event was a smash hit and has become an annual event. Do314’s involvement here also stirred some other city’s sites to undertake the same event, Berkowitz says.
More to the point, though, Do314 promotes St. Louis as a good destination for touring bands and tour packages, helping ensure that they have some name recognition and media support before hitting town.
Much of the technical work of Do314 is done in Austin, TX, meaning that local sites work with standard, back-end platforms, while adding content that makes sense for those local communities.
“It’s a digital platform that runs locally,” she says. “We work with all the venues, and such, in town, promoting their social events. DoStuff is a network of people in 20 different cities doing the same thing we’re doing.”
Being a part of Nebula helps Berkowitz stay in touch with one of the region’s best places for catching new and established acts, with multiple bars and venues on Cherokee.
“The street’s a good jumpstart to the scene,” she says.
Working with a small team of interns, Berkowitz enjoys an office, but also utilizes Nebula’s Big Room for group work sessions. The environment is one she enjoys, after years of working in remote locations.
“I worked out of coffee shops for six, seven months,” she says, echoing the reality of many Nebula members. “I just realized that I liked the buzz of humans around. I also need to converse with people who’ll give me trusted opinions. Nebula was the original co-working space and was ideal for what I was looking for; as other co-working spaces started to develop, they were niche spaces, not scaled to what we’re doing. This is not just an incubator and it’s not a super-tech-heavy space. It’s got a cultural, human presence. I like and have worked out of some of those spaces. I really like the others, but there’s a real artistic and culture scene here.”
And that’s true of the surrounding blocks, too, as Berkowitz is still known to take her laptop out of Nebula for some work (or a cup of coffee, or meal) at some local favorites.
“As a coffee addict,” she says, “I love Mud House and Sump. I like Fortune Teller’s food and Byrd & Barrel. (Pause.) Basically, I like everyplace down here.”
