war with guns and bubbles

Over 200 “soldiers,” attacked each other in a mass squirt gun/Revolutionary War battle on the esplanade Saturday around 1:30 p.m. Though I was assigned to fight for the king, I chickened out and decided to stay dry, since I had to go to work shortly after. With my skimpy $2 Walmart squirt gun, I was also intimidated by some of the ridiculous pressurized Super Soakers out there.

Flash mob lovers, Banditos Misteriosos, also responsible for a massive pillow fight, scavenger hunt and Silent Dance Experiment, organized the battle via their website and Facebook, with the help of the Globe. After registering on their website by 6pm the 15th, everyone received an e-mail with their blue or red shirt assignment, list of items to bring and a specific longitude and latitude taking them to the esplanade by the Hatch Shell.

This time, though, cease-fire bubbles filled the air after the intervention of some peace robots.

Some of the uniforms were pretty serious. I definitely saw some guys in what appeared to be waterproof red coats. I also spotted some really authentic-looking Redcoats walking around, but they were from the other reenactment on the Commons- the one with real guns. And cannons.

I missed the dramatic opening speech, but it’s all on YouTube. Check out http://www.misteriosos.org/.

If anyone feels left out, you can still shoot up some people with water guns or balloons in Allston on the 23rd. This one’s organized by artists, the Clone Collective: http://www.myspace.com/allstonsquirtgunday.