[Stargate] [Hou-announce] Sunday in the Park

[Michael Silverhands]

On May 23, 2006, at 2:51 PM, ihon & Isabeau wrote:

> Greetings all
> Last Sunday in the Park, we received what we thought was an  
> excellent suggestion, to-wit to move Sunday in Park to Hermann Park  
> near the Natural History Museum.  It seemed an especially good idea  
> for we are much more likely to find people interested in the SCA at  
> a museum than jogging.
> This last Sunday, we drove to Hermann Park to see what situations  
> we might face.  The good news is the area betweeen Miller Theatre  
> and the Zoo and the area between Miller Theatre and the front  
> Circle (ie directly across from the museus) are both more than  
> adequate.  The area where the pagoda is does not seem workable.
> Now -- the bad news.  Parking will be a big problem.  When we got  
> there (between 2 and 3 pm) there as not a single open space in  any  
> of the outdoor lots or on the street.   I doubt anyone wants to pay  
> for parking and even those who might be willing will then have to  
> lug their gear quite a distance to get to either or the potential  
> sites.
> Any ideas?
> ~i & I~
> B and B

Your Excellencies,

That seems like a wonderful idea. After all, a large reason for our  
outdoor practices in public places is to be seen, and thus to stir up  
interest and recruit new members.

Regarding parking near the museum: this is a problem faced by most  
urban groups. We are lucky in that free parking is still plentiful in  
most of the greater Houston area. That's not necessarily the case in  
many of our sister groups across the country.

That being said, I have two suggestions:

1) Carpool (or, more accurately, van-pool). Cram as much stuff and  
people as you can into a single vehicle. This minimizes the impact  
felt by limited parking (or non-existent nearby parking).

2) Drop off passengers and gear, then the driver can go park the  
vehicle. Even if it ends up being a couple of blocks away, we can  
still avoid the hassle of schlepping gear long distances.

Combining these ideas makes parking in the paid parking garage less  
painful. I.e., if a group van-pools and drops everyone off before  
parking in the garage, the parking fees get split among several people.

Hopefully others will also offer their thoughts, and you can make  
this idea a reality.

Michael Silverhands