Adobe Firefly in Times Square: A Creator Weekend I’ll Never Forget

There are weekends that feel busy, and then there are weekends that feel like a small portal into another version of your life.

My recent trip to New York City was the second kind.

On Saturday afternoon May 9th, 2026, I joined Adobe’s Creator Weekend. On Sunday May 10th, I joined the Adobe Firefly Activation campaign in Times Square as a product expert. And on Monday night May 11th, I attended my very first Webby Awards, complete with a VIP seat where I watched some of the most recognizable creators, artists, entrepreneurs, and celebrities walk across the stage.

It was exciting, surreal, and honestly, a little magical.

But what stayed with me most was not just the lights of Times Square, the energy of the activation, or the glamour of the Webby Awards. It was the people. The creators. The Adobe team. The new friends I met. The conversations in between the big moments. The feeling that there is enough room for everyone to create, grow, and thrive.

That’s why I created this article to invite you into the experience I lived that weekend.

Photos above were generated with Adobe Firefly. I received an image of this lovely uniform I’d be wearing at Time Square but I wasn’t going to receive it until the day of the activation. I uploaded an image of me wearing normal clothes and used Firefly to “put” this shirt on me and pictured me standing in Time Square.

Arriving in New York for Adobe Creator Weekend

I arrived in New York with a mix of excitement and curiosity. I have been part of the Adobe creator community for a while now, but every in-person gathering feels different. Online, we see each other’s work, launches, videos, reels, campaigns, and polished final pieces. In person, we get to meet the human beings behind the content.

That is always my favorite part.

On Saturday afternoon, I attended Adobe Creator Weekend, where I had the chance to reconnect with familiar faces and meet many new creators for the first time. There is something energizing about being in a room full of people who are building, experimenting, and telling stories in their own ways.

Some people were photographers. Some were designers. Some were educators, video creators, strategists, artists, or entrepreneurs. Everyone had a different path into creativity, and yet there was a shared language in the room: curiosity.

I always learn so much from other creators. Not only from what they make, but from how they think, how they organize their work, how they collaborate, and how they continue showing up even when the platforms, tools, and expectations keep changing.

That afternoon reminded me why I love this work so much.

Adobe Firefly Takes Over Times Square

Sunday was the Adobe Firefly Activation in Times Square.

Even after years of creating content, working with brands, testing AI tools, and helping entrepreneurs tell better stories, there are still moments when I stop and think:

How did I get here?

Trying on my Adobe Firefly uniform at Time Square

Standing in Times Square as part of an Adobe Firefly experience was one of those moments.

Times Square is already overwhelming in the best possible way. The screens, the movement, the tourists, the performers, the taxis, the noise, the lights. Everything is amplified. To be there as part of a creative activation with Adobe made the whole experience feel even more alive.

Firefly, to me, represents more than just another AI tool. It represents a new creative language. It gives creators, business owners, artists, and everyday people a way to move from idea to image, from concept to campaign, from imagination to something visible.

During the activation, I had the opportunity to work alongside other creators and team members, and that became one of the highlights of the day. I am always grateful for the big opportunities, but I often remember the small team moments most: figuring things out together, laughing between takes, exchanging ideas, cheering each other on, and watching how everyone brings their own strengths to the same project.

Thank you to Adobe for creating this experience and for continuing to invest in creators in ways that feel both innovative and deeply human.

Below is a short behind the scenes footage working with visitors at Time Square. Adobe Firefly no longer felt like an AI tool. Rather it was a conversation starter that connected me with hundreds of strangers who walked by that day and didn’t know what to expect. They stopped by the Firefly booth, met creators like us and walked away with firsthand AI knowledge plus a few printed photos of their AI creations.

Showing visitors how to transform their Adobe Firefly AI photo into a video

Short Interview with Adobe Live

Later that evening, Adobe took over a significant number of screens in the heart of Time Square (I believe there were 33 screens total). It felt like a dream.

If you created at the Adobe Firefly booth earlier that day, you had a chance to seeing your creation on one of the big displays at Time Square.

“Walk with me” to take a look at this 360 view of the Time Square activation that evening. It was breathtaking.

360 night view at Time Square during Adobe Firefly takeover

Meeting New Friends Through Creativity

One of my favorite parts of being in the Adobe community is meeting people I may never have crossed paths with otherwise.

During this weekend, I met so many talented creators. Some had huge audiences. Some had worked with major brands. Some had built beautiful bodies of work across design, photography, video, education, and storytelling.

What struck me was not only how accomplished they were, but how humble they were.

That combination is rare and beautiful: people who are excellent at what they do, but still open, kind, generous, and curious about others.

It reminded me of something I have learned again and again through Feisworld: the best creators are not just good at creating. They are good at noticing. They pay attention. They ask questions. They share what they know. They are willing to be beginners again, especially when new tools like Firefly and generative AI enter the creative process.

I left the weekend feeling creatively full, not because I had all the answers, but because I had been surrounded by people who reminded me that creativity is not a competition. It is a conversation.

What This Experience Means to Me

This weekend was not just about attending events. It was about remembering why I started creating in the first place.

I started Feisworld because I was curious about people’s stories. I’m grateful that my righthand man, producer and co-creator German Ceballos, feels the same and wrote about his experience in this article.

I wanted to understand how creators, entrepreneurs, artists, and unconventional thinkers build a life around their ideas. Over time, that curiosity became a podcast, a blog, a YouTube channel, a documentary, a business, and a community.

Now, with tools like Adobe Firefly, Adobe Express, and the growing world of AI-assisted creativity, I feel that we are entering a new chapter. Not a chapter where machines replace imagination, but one where more people can express what they see in their minds.

That matters.

It matters for small business owners who do not have a full creative team. It matters for educators who want to make learning more visual. It matters for artists like my mom, Xiang Li, whose traditional Chinese paintings can now be shared, adapted, and introduced to new audiences in thoughtful ways. It matters for creators who have big ideas but limited time.

Technology is not the story by itself. What we do with it is the story.

Thank You, Adobe

Thank you to Adobe for inviting me into this experience, for bringing creators together, and for continuing to champion creativity in all its forms.

The Adobe Firefly Activation in Times Square was unforgettable, but the deeper gift was the community around it. I am grateful for the Adobe team, the creators I worked with during the activation, and the many new friends I met throughout the weekend.

I came home energized, humbled, and inspired.

And as always, I came home with more stories to tell.

Because that is what Feisworld has always been about: real people, real creativity, and the courage to keep making things that matter.