[Stargate] Re: [Westgate] Populace this Wednesday!

[Michael Tucker]

> > Hillary wrote:
> >
> > > Also, as the Stargate 30th is coming up this September, and there will be
> > > lots of workers needed, maybe Westgate can volunteer to man some critical
> > > part of the event... like feast or kitchen/dishes cleanup, or troll, or
> > > setup/take-down (personally, I would volunteer for takedown as it would not
> > > require a day off like setup would, as it would be done on Sunday).  We may
> > > be able to volunteer for a couple of work areas, as they don't all happen
> > > at the same time.
> > >
> >
> > Great idea!  Michael, we know you're out there!  Any thoughts on this?
> >
> > Melody
>
> <delurk>
>
> That would be greatly appreciated! Pretty much all the big jobs are presently
> available for the taking. Why don't you all "talk amongst yourselves" and decide
> if you're interested in taking one of them on as a group. It sure would make my
> job easier! :-)
>
> Yours,
> Michael Silverhands
>
> </delurk>

Here are some more thoughts, preparatory to your meeting this Wednesday:

The site I scouted is *huge* - I don't remember how huge (Bran told me, but I've
slept since then), but I'm thinking somewhere on the order of 100 acres. I'm
sure we'll plan most of the activities to be somewhat centrally located. I even
think we'll be able to set up archery and equestrian within sight of the rest of
the activities - which would be a first, I think. Still, things could easily
become somewhat spread out.

There is no permanent kitchen facility (one of the few downers of the site). The
good news is, there is running water and electricity on site. So, that will have
to be a consideration for whomever plans to do the feast. We'll have to set up
some kind of kitchen, plan how to get the cooked food from the kitchen to the
serving/dining area, and take down the kitchen at the end of the event. I plan
to talk with Vaclav about this after Gulf Wars, when we all turn our collective
attention to The Next Big Thing. Hopefully we can work out something to use his
wonderful portable oven/grill.

There *is*, however, a permanent shower house and rest rooms (one of the many
pluses of the site). These are about as nice as the rest rooms and shower houses
at TRF - i.e. some exposed PVC pipes, plywood, etc., but a far cry better than
the primitive facilities we usually have to accept. However, someone will have
to keep them clean for the duration of the event.

Setup and takedown will probably be *big* jobs, especially considering how big
the site is (and how spread out things might become). I assume that the various
activity coordinators  - combat, archery, equestrian, etc. - will be mostly
responsible for setting up their activities. But I'm sure they would welcome
help, especially if there was a team available for just that purpose. It would
be neat if a good-sized group would collectively take on these jobs (hint, hint).

Gate will be easily managed. Just inside the ever-present cattle gate, there's a
"blatant" place for setting up the registration tent. When I looked at the site,
they were pouring a concrete pad at the obvious location. There's a huge,
cleared field just across the street from that location. The road continues,
across a bridge into the rest of the site, which is screened from the parking
area by a creek and a line of trees. Even though parking will be only about 100
yards from the center of activity, we won't be able to see the cars. (Yay!) But,
people will still be able to drive across the bridge, drop off their stuff, and
head back to the parking area to stash their car. Someone may have to man the
bridge, to help control traffic during setup and takedown (it's only one car wide).

Hmmm... well, that's about it for now. I'll add more as I think of stuff. Let me
know what I can do to help you.

Yours,
Michael Silverhands

p.s. I've cc'd this info to the other local lists, since it's of general interest.