Paradoxos is in full swing in downtown Durham with version 2,0 drawing bigger crowds and many more participants than 2013’s initial launch.

Thursday marked a greater outreach to a wider community than last year’s event attracted, said Casey Steinbacher, president and CEO at the Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce.

“We’ve had a steady stream of traffic all day,” said a smiling Steinbacher. Last year, the festival, designed to create collisions of people in Durham, ran with six partner events. “This year, there are 20.”

Tthursday’s events were billed as “family-friendly,” said Steinbacher, with the opening of the Rube Goldberg machine.

As we spoke about the event, a small group of children were putting together pipes and sending hamster balls down the basic system set up by Shoeboxed. Their parents encouraged their design ideas while sipping on margaritas that were hand made in a blender powered by an Organic Transit ELF vehicle.

Adam Klein, chief strategist of the American Underground, was on-site and sporting a new haircut. He’d been at the site all day, watching ten talent-show acts during the afternoon talent show hosted by CED. He watched the first design work undertaken by two artists commissioned by Downtown Durham Inc. begin their work on a large mural that will become a part of downtown Durham’s outdoor mural art.

Klein kicked off tonight’s event, a showcase of local bands, by introducing Pinkerton Raid. The band, comprised of local musicians, played to a modest crowd. Simulaneous events were occurring in two other locations, said Klein, and the earlier crowd from the talent show had mostly thinned.

A few of Durham’s notable entrepreneurs remained, however, for the evening of family revelry. Organizer Taylor Mingos, founder and CEO of Shoeboxed, mixed with employees from Windsor Circle, Organic Transit and Boostsuite.

Mingos was sporting a Paradoxos t-shirt and a pair of orange Paradoxos wayfarers.

“I love the tie in we have with the arts community,” said Mingos, “the vision of the event is really great.”

Aaron Houghton and Daniel Smith, co-founders of Boostsuite, joined Mingos at the event. They came to celebrate what’s happening in Durham, said Houghton.

Their company, Boostsuite, is a project that is gaining traction, said Houghton.

“We’re rapidly becoming the platform for small businesses to trade content and audiences,” said Houghton, “the two areas small businesses need in order to be successful.”

It’s a great line – and it comes after a quarter of excellent growth.

“We increased revenues by sixty-five percent in the first quarter,” said Houghton, “on a marketing budget of $1,200.”

Houghton, who founded Boostsuite as iContact was being acquired by Vocus for $169 million, is betting that their growth numbers will be appealing to potential investors.

The company of four plans to hire four additional positions in the next ninety days, said Houghton, and is targeting a seed-level round of funding this summer.

Houghton credits the work of Paradoxos organizers – Casey Steinbacher, Adam Klein, Chris Heivly, Taylor Mingos, and more – for their impressive stewardship and guidance of the entrepreneurial economy in Durham.

They’ve done impressive work, and they’re in the midst of pulling off their second annual Paradoxos. The success of the event speaks volumes about the community – where it’s been, where it is now, and where it’s going.

It’s important to take time to celebrate – and to mix and mingle with the community at-large, said Molly Demerest, director of operations and community development at the American Underground. It’s the best thing about Durham.

“Having grown up in Durham and watched the community develop,” said Demerest, “I wouldn’t trade our community for any other startup network.”

Friday’s Paradoxos events include “The NEXT,” a speaker series, a high school startup pitch, the maximum collider party, and the dance party at the end of the universe. We’ll be there, covering the event.