The Plot 413
A local events listing for western MA — built the day I read about Northampton's flyering ban.
Role
Creator
Client
Self-initiated
Stack
React · Supabase · Vercel
Context
In early 2024 the City of Northampton announced a ban on flyering on utility poles — the primary way local events had been promoted in this town for decades. The announcement made the news. I read it, thought about what fills that void, and started building the same day.
The Problem
Northampton has an unusually dense calendar of small events — shows, markets, readings, talks, pop-ups. The existing solutions were either Facebook (not everyone is on it, not everything gets posted, algorithm-dependent) or local news sites that don’t specialize in event listings. The flyering ban made the gap more visible.
The problem wasn’t complicated. It just needed someone to build the thing.
Approach
React frontend, Supabase for the database and submissions backend, deployed to Vercel. I kept the scope deliberately small: event name, date, time, location, description, link. Community submissions with a simple review step. No accounts, no profiles, no friction.
The name came quickly — The Plot 413 (413 is the western MA area code). The tagline: “All plot. No noise.”
Outcome
The site launched within a week of the flyering ban announcement. It’s live at theplot413.com. A community newsletter is in progress. It shows up first in local search for Northampton events.
The project matters to me because it came from noticing something, deciding it was worth fixing, and building the fix. That instinct — identify a gap, ship something — is the same instinct I bring to client work.