GenCon '06 Picnic-n-Gaming in the Park

[WhimsyTheFae]

TB makes a good point (and one that did cross my mind early on). If temperatures and humidity are good, this would be a wonderful event. If, on the other hand, we get the weather that we had this year...

So yes, the weather is a concern and if we are able to plan something I would hope that anyone signing up would take into consideration that the weather may not be the most forgiving and plan accordingly (i.e. don't bail if you say you will be there).

On to other news...

I found some information regarding this state park that I will be looking at to see how feasable this will be.

 

[romp]

yeah Fickle seems to be on the right track with this - find out what info we can now but leave the details till after GC gets firmed up, and we need to have a backup plan in place in case of *ahem* weather conditions ...

 

[Mark CMG]

Well, it will be hot. But the place is completely shaded by trees and it is a pavillion. Being a park, we'll get the best of whatever breeze there is and we'll be protected should there be a light sprinkle.

However, if there is a raging thunderstorm or it turns out to be one hundred and ten degrees in the shade with no wind, we'll see that posibility coming based on the general forecasts earlier that week (and right up to that day) so we'll have ample time to have some sort of contingency set up. There will probably be only about fifty or so of us and between the convention center proper and all of the various halls attached to the numerous hotels, downtown Indy can easily handle two to three times what Gencon throws at it now. The place I stayed had a perfectly good gameroom/meeting room with a pool table and other whatnots, including doors that opened up onto part of the Canal Walk, that went unused practically the whole time I was there. I'm sure we'd have a good number of options available to us.

As an example, if we made the call that morning and told people to check and see if "two Canadian flags are flying instead of one" to mean the outdoor venue is OFF, people could easily swing through whichever hotel is hosting the Canadiana Suite for last minute instructions (or to help carry some of the picnic fixins!) before venturing the few blocks over to the park across Ohio Avenue.

It's also not that tough to set up a couple of fans as a cooling station, and there's even the possibility of using a small, portable generator if there is no onsite electrical source. C'mon, work the problems, people . . .


(Fick - Once you make some headway and gain a contact, maybe you could inquire if there is an electrical source and if there is an extra charge for it (if, indeed, reserving the space is possible and comes with a fee).)

 

[WhimsyTheFae]

(Fick - Once you make some headway and gain a contact, maybe you could inquire if there is an electrical source and if there is an extra charge for it (if, indeed, reserving the space is possible and comes with a fee).)

Now that I have the correct party to contact, I can do that. I have listed some more information above regarding my findings. It looks to be on the expensive side...

 

[Angel Tarragon]

I think it would be way too hot and humid for me, judging by the weather every other year.

Not to mention the mosquito bites I got the Con this year. I haven't been bit since two years ago!

 

[Mark CMG]

It looks to be on the expensive side...

Yup. That might just be on the too-costly side, I guess, considering a two-hour convention slot costs $1.50 and what I had in mind (not necessarily what anyone else was thinking, I know) was a six-hour gathering/game. Maybe whatever game(s) we play could be those of a sponsoring company?

 

[WhimsyTheFae]

I received an e-mail from the Director of Events for White River State Park Green Spaces. She quoted a $250 fee (the $750 damage deposit and insurance are still required).

Just thought that I'd let you know.

 

[Rel]

Let me say right up front that I have NO interest in personally organizing this thing (if I can make it to GenCon 06', I may well have other responsibilities). So allow the following opinions to carry approximately ZERO weight. I'm just blabbing some stuff that I've discovered through organizing the NC Game Days:

Embrace the Free! When stuff is free a lot of other considerations go away. When there is no cost for the venue, you suddenly have no pressure about getting attendance to a certain point in order to defray costs down to a given dollar amount per person. What if you pony up the money and then the weather is horrible. Suddenly people are ponying up money for something they don't really want to attend. And what if some no-show. Now the other people are either paying more per person or leaving the organizer holding a very nasty bag. That is a fast track to bad blood on the boards. I don't think we need it.

Instead I say that we don't even attempt to reserve the space in the shelters. Either the weather will be nice or it will suck or somewhere in between. Even if 50-60 people show up we still won't take up that much space. We can decide that morning whether we want to go or not and just all hang out in the grass on blankets and eat and chat and game and hug each other or whatever. If it's raining like a bastard or there's a Heat Index of 105 then our backup plan could be just to meet in the lobby of the Hyatt, steal all the free tables and throw together a pile of pickup games while we eat.

My sincere advice is to keep this thing loose and easy to change at the last minute and, above all, free and voluntary. We sacrifice a bit of comfort in terms of not having reserved a shelter, but honestly if the weather is crappy we're not going to want to walk over there in the rain anyway. I just as soon lie on a blanket in the sun and have Buttercup feed me grapes as sit around for six hours on some rock hard bench under a pavillion.

So there's my opinion and, like so much about me, it isn't to be taken very seriously.

But I AM serious about that grape thing, Buttercup.

 

[Buttercup]

My sincere advice is to keep this thing loose and easy to change at the last minute and, above all, free and voluntary. We sacrifice a bit of comfort in terms of not having reserved a shelter, but honestly if the weather is crappy we're not going to want to walk over there in the rain anyway.

I think you're probably right about this.

I just as soon lie on a blanket in the sun and have Buttercup feed me grapes as sit around for six hours on some rock hard bench under a pavillion...But I AM serious about that grape thing, Buttercup.

But what if Buttercup wants someone to feed her grapes instead?

 

[romp]

I think you're probably right about this.



But what if Buttercup wants someone to feed her grapes instead?

i also vote for free get togethers, makes for a more spontaneous feel and $1000 dollars to reserve the pavilion makes it start to sound like a mini-con and that is too much work.

I will do the grapes (for BC or for Rel )

/me thinks he may have gotten in way over his head now ...