Since people tend to have previous plans on Halloween, we're looking at hosting the kick-off party on the weekend before the start of NaNo - some time on the 24th, 25, or 26th. We want this to be open to as many people as possible, but we also need a rough headcount to ensure we can fit everyone in our chosen venue.
Since it was such a big hit last year, we want to host the party at the Black Rose Caffe, but they're booked solid that weekend. The first day we'd be able to get in is Monday, the 27th. This is a great day for me, but how do the rest of you feel? Please let me know what you think of the following options:
a. Outdoor, daytime event on Sunday, the 26th (might be cold - weather is finicky)
b. Black Rose Caffe, Monday evening, the 27th
c. Squeeze into a restaurant somewhere on Friday or Saturday evening and hope for the best
Other suggestions? Please let me know!
----------
Municipal Liaison for Tucson, AZ - on call 24/7 during November
~~~~~ Winner 2002 * 2003 * 2004 * 2005 * 2006 * 2007~~~~~
0 / 50,000
oct. 8, 2008 - 15 32
Monday nights can be difficult for me but the weekends are fine. Considering it's the kick off I would try to make that Monday work. I don't want to miss the opportunity to meet folks. Regards.
11,024 / 50,000
oct. 8, 2008 - 15 39
Personally, I say go for Monday evening, the 27th.
I'm usually not great on doing things during the week, but I can make a special effort for nano-time kick off.
margaret
----------~not all who wander are lost~
2008: Don't Blink
51,182 / 50,000
oct. 8, 2008 - 15 44
Sunday would be a lot better than Monday for me.
Is there not going to be a midnight kickoff this year?
----------2003 - The Long Road | 2004 - The Circle of Many Faces | 2006 - Searching for Sunset | 2007 - Souls in the City | 2008 - The Murmuring Mirrors
65,700 / 50,000
oct. 8, 2008 - 16 38
I would love to do a Midnight Dashing on Halloween. If we could find a place to invade that wouldn't mind us dropping by, that would be great. I will make that my personal mission to make that happen.
----------___________________________________
*Co-ML for Tucson, AZ*
You see these? You see these words? These are REVLON words!
0 / 50,000
oct. 8, 2008 - 16 42
I say Saturday evening or Sunday anytime. (this is a totally selfish request. I need to throw a "Thank got that #(*@%_^ test is over" party for myself anyway :-)
----------I have a plethora of piniatas
50,658 / 50,000
oct. 8, 2008 - 17 23
There'll totally be a midnight dash. This is just the big kick-off party to attach faces to names and stir up some NaNo excitement. Midnight dash'll likely be at Ihop again, as they're the best about letting people camp out if they're on a roll.
----------Municipal Liaison for Tucson, AZ - on call 24/7 during November
~~~~~ Winner 2002 * 2003 * 2004 * 2005 * 2006 * 2007~~~~~
51,182 / 50,000
oct. 8, 2008 - 18 29
Okay, good! I was just concerned since you mentioned Halloween is often busy, so I wasn't sure.
But yay midnight dash!
I'm not sure if I could make a Monday kick-off at all, though of course I would try very hard. Basically any other day works; Mondays I work late because I have physical therapy (stupid ankle).
----------2003 - The Long Road | 2004 - The Circle of Many Faces | 2006 - Searching for Sunset | 2007 - Souls in the City | 2008 - The Murmuring Mirrors
7,628 / 50,000
oct. 8, 2008 - 18 53
I'm with the weekend people, but if I can make it Monday I will. I'm not sure how much NaNo-ing I'll get done this year; I'm working on my Master's on-line, which is taking up a lot of time! But I'm getting better at getting classroom stuff done before I leave (or ignoring it once I get home).
----------2007 -- Cafe & Chalk
2006 -- unnamed (IIRC) and unfinished
2005 -- unnamed (IIRC) and unfinished
2004 -- REACHED 50K ON THE FIRST TRY!!
30,103 / 50,000
oct. 8, 2008 - 19 07
Monday at BRC works for me.
ali
http://www.a-katz.com
----------ali
http://www.a-katz.com
"For a long time now I have tried simply to write the best I can. Sometimes I have good luck and write better than I can." ~~ Ernest Hemingway
0 / 50,000
oct. 9, 2008 - 09 00
Mondays and Sundays make me a sad panda. <;;>
Much rather do Friday or Saturday. Of course, I have no life, so this isnt' a problem for me.
-----------Allison Fraclose
-------------------------------------------------
http://afraclose.livejournal.com/
http://www.myspace.com/afraclose
http://afraclose.blogspot.com/
52,143 / 50,000
oct. 9, 2008 - 10 15
Monday evening works for me, or Saturday evening or Sunday during the day. And midnight Halloween for sure!
----------(if you ask me where my own home is, the only answer I can give is that it's not a place but words. I live in words and words are where I belong.)
69,842 / 50,000
oct. 9, 2008 - 12 49
Monday is actually PERFECTION for me. It's the only night of the week that my place of employment isn't open, and by definition, I'm not working. I adore the BRC, but if everyone wants to go somewhere else, I'll try my best to attend regardless. :)
----------NaNo '06- Darkness Falls In (winner!)
NaNo '07- 15th Avenue (winner!)
AugNo '08- Two Steps Back (46,059 words)
NaNo '08- The Moon and its Keeper
51,056 / 50,000
oct. 10, 2008 - 22 29
Anytime so far for me is good. I find I am more excited to get going this year. So when ever where ever is a - okay for me.
52,878 / 50,000
oct. 11, 2008 - 06 43
I was actually looking forward to the Kick-Off Party on the 31st this year, since it's a Friday and I won't have to get up at the crack of dawn and go to work the next day.
That will still be a concern if we schedule our Kick-Off party for any weeknight, though not having the Midnight Dash to follow wouldn't be quite so bad.
As far as venues, there should be loads of options for that. We could check the availability of one of the community rooms at a Bookman's location (and knowing Bookman's they'd probably also give us a bit of publicity). We have a number of Borders and Barnes & Noble here in town that have the coffee shops inside, and any one could be a viable location for a WriMo Kick-Off party. With Bookman's, Borders, and Barnes & Noble, we have the obvious connection of writers and bookstores, so there's a logical association between the event and the venue.
IHOP is, of course, an easy choice for the Midnight Dash, as they're already open 24 hours and seem very tolerant of groups such as ours. It might not be quite the ambiance of the Black Rose, but IHOP could be a reasonable choice for the Kick-Off Party also.
----------"We do not quit playing because we grow old; we grow old because we quit playing."
2006 - The Daedalus Child - Winner.
2007 - Lana's Pack - Winner.
2008 - Precocious by Design - Winner
55,289 / 50,000
oct. 11, 2008 - 07 21
I'm out of town on the 31st, so can't make that. The 27th is bad for me 'cause I have a Scottish Gaelic class that night. Sat. or Sun. (25th or 26th) I can do. If I can't make the kick-off I'll make extra effort to get to one or more write-ins, though. :-)
Ashleen
----------meet me at www.AshleenOGaea.com
50,658 / 50,000
oct. 11, 2008 - 07 47
Unfortunately, Bookman's closed their community rooms to make way for more retail space (at least, that's what they told me - haven't checked it out in person yet). Also, we've outgrown them. Same w/ the bookstores (who are remarkably hostile to groups of more than 3 or 4 people, alas).
Black Rose, otoh, goes out of their way to accommodate us - offering discounts, staying open past their usual business hours, etc - so they're first on the list for venues.
Having said that, though, I'm sure there will be a gathering before the traditional IHop midnight sprint. Venue is TBD (and may well end up being Ihop), but a little pre-midnight psych up is always called for.
----------Municipal Liaison for Tucson, AZ - on call 24/7 during November
~~~~~ Winner 2002 * 2003 * 2004 * 2005 * 2006 * 2007~~~~~
52,878 / 50,000
oct. 11, 2008 - 10 34
I hadn't heard that about Bookman's; historically, they've always been very accomodating to community groups, and that was one of their selling points. Did the person you talk to say whether it was all Bookman's, or just the one location you spoke with? I could definitely see the Grant Road location needing to do that, but Speedway seems better planned and laid out, and when I was in there a couple of weeks ago, the community room was still present and had the sign up with information about reserving it.
It's rather a shame if Barnes & Noble and Borders are that stand-offish to larger groups, particularly a writing group such as NaNoWriMo. The community goodwill of hosting such events is probably worth more than many thousands of dollars of advertising.
(Not that I'm opposed to the Black Rose; I was just tossing out some ideas)
For the Pre-midnight psych-up, I can always bring our copy of "Apples to Apples"; it's a simple game, a blast to play, and doesn't require any special accomodations. It's also a great way to get to know a bit more about people, as you're trying to outguess what cards they picked for any given category.
----------"We do not quit playing because we grow old; we grow old because we quit playing."
2006 - The Daedalus Child - Winner.
2007 - Lana's Pack - Winner.
2008 - Precocious by Design - Winner
12,919 / 50,000
oct. 11, 2008 - 16 15
Not to mention the increase in writing book sales if we met at a bookstore...
----------http://www.ameliajune.net
2005--Triple X (winner)::2006--Waking Kiara (winner)::2007--Maya's Web (winner)::2008--Seducing Seshat