Notes from the planning meeting

In attendance: Mac, Dave & Judith, Amber, Sandy & Jerry, Jim K., Bernie, Yvonne & Gary, Floyd & Dannette & Chris, Vince, Diane M., John H., Doug, Kim.

Notes from brainstorming: We should consider more/Different cultures, maybe via home/tent life? More (planned) spontaneous interactions on the street, less of a booth atmosphere. More tents, especially on the new street. How about some "Dung" (aka trash) piles? We should look at the interpretive content of the event from weekdays, vs. weekends, should we have more planned content for the weekends? How about if we planned for a building to be constructed during the event, as part of the content? More benches for visitors to sit. More applications on hand for the following year participants. We should have people moving in or out of the event, during the event, using handcarts, etc. Interpret people entering/leaving the diggins, selling off their tools, etc. Do the same for the stores, have wholesale deliveries being received and unpacked. More period items for sale. More information distributed ahead of time as to what characters and activities are occuring, so more interactions can be planned (maybe use this blog to help distribute that info?). We agreed that this type of brainstorming should be a continuing part of the event planning.

Meeting dates: Park staff will be scheduling all meeting dates for the event, within the next couple of weeks. They will be posted here. Feedback from those present felt that having meetings on Saturday evenings would be more convenient for those who worked days, and those who had to travel to make the meetings.

Construction: It was discussed that it would be great if construction could be started now/soon. Lumber has been delivered. Since Larry is on a trip with Susie, Jim, Lindy, Dwain this weekend, we would talk to him and set up a meeting soon to see what could be started while the weather is nice. Some venues have requested changes/improvements which might be able to be implemented now.

Next Meeting: We would like to have venues committed in January so people can start working on them. Everyone was asked to give some thought to planning changes/new venues.

Staff proposed changes: Amber suggested that having routine tours of the camp on weekends would help visitors have a better introduction to the event, and have more confidence to interact. Improved venue scheduling and scheduling docents to "rove" during the event were also proposed improvements.

Communication: Improving communication is a big committment from staff. This blog is new idea to implement communication improvements. Volunteers and staff are encouraged to submit idea, research sources, photos and costuming sources, etc, to be shared. Character bios & scheduled interactions during the event can also be posted on here, as well as registration paperwork, etc.

Thanks to those who were able to attend and help get planning off on a positive note. Staff will post the planning schedule soon, so watch for it here.