• by Liz Garber-Paul , August 2, 2007

In a recent Saturday afternoon, hundreds of YouTube aficionados assembled in New York City’s Washington Square Park, for a first group “meetup,” or chance to rub elbows in real time.

On hand were Diet Coke-Mentos geyser masterminds Stephen Voltz and Fritz Grobe of EepyBird, who had planned to replicate the Bellagio Fountain video by dropping mints into bottles of soda. But a city official showed up half an hour before showtime to put the kibosh on the stunt.

One frequent YouTube contributor, “Nalts,” staged a rogue demonstration resulting in chaotic streams of foam — but was quickly shut down by the city.  “That’s why this should be left to trained professionals,” joked Grobe.

The Coca-Cola Company provided free Diet Coke in special 25th anniversary packaging for anyone in the park. Representatives from Manhattan’s Tekserve, which sells and repairs Apple products, were also on site to promote Final Cut Express HD as “YouTube software.”

Other organizations also used the opportunity to address the gathered YouTube population, like US4earth, which held auditions for an all-expenses paid trip with teenage YouTube stars The Hill88 and Brookers, who were both in attendance, to make videos for the Web site.

YouTubers — handycams in hand — are planning more meetups this summer in other cities, including Atlanta, Chicago and Washington, D.C.