> -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On > Behalf Of Shawn > Sent: Friday, May 13, 2005 12:06 PM > To: CLUG General > Subject: Re: [clug-talk] Installfest > > I just spoke with the City of Calgary Recreation department (the folks to > talk > to about booking school gyms and such). To use a gym at someplace like > Western Highschool will cost ~$114/hour, while a smaller facility would be > ~$90/hour. So, we would be looking at a cost of approximately $800 - > $1200 > for a day. That cost would drain the funds we have available at this > time. > So, we're looking for an alternative still. :)
Good on you Shawn for looking into this. This could potentially have been a good option. I think the rate is too rich for CLUG at this time. I do hope that you guys are going to put the final decision on such a large expense to the group if you decide to do something like this. I suspect based on your last comment that you have dismissed the idea. > I've been following the thread, and have noted the comments about a big > event > and/or soliciting donations/support from our sponsors for such an event. > I > like the idea, but not for an Installfest. It has been suggested (via > conversation and the member survey) that we hold an Open House. I think > this > would be a better type of "big event" - maybe with an outdoor theme? > (hmmmmm... beer garden.......... :) ). I think an Open House would be grand. I think it is about time we did something like this. We've gone to CUUG's open house two years in a row and neither time were we able to put our A-game on. I am seeing a fairly consistent thing happen. When we plan for a larger event things tend to degrade rapidly and the event doesn't happen. We have far more success with the smaller events like normal InstallFests, workshops, BBQ and to some degree Convergence. While I like the idea of a larger event, I think we will evolve this way naturally over the course of time. I think we should stick to the smaller events until they are second-nature to us. I think that unless we get someone with loads of experience with large events that we will end up spinning our wheels. This is not to say that we don't have capable people organizing or running these events. I think we do the best with what we have and I have always tried to thank our volunteers as much as possible. I have always tried to keep things realistic. We have big dreams and aspirations but there are only so many resources we have at our disposal. > On the otherhand, we do need to do a better job of promoting the > Installfests. > The purpose of an Installfest (in my opinion) is to help the > community/public > install Linux and provide a forum for questions/answers. However, the > past > few Installfests have mostly been attended by existing CLUG members. One > would think that an existing member already has some familiarity with > Linux. > I'm not saying these members shouldn't be attending, but that we need to > expand the target audience for an Installfest. This is an issue that will > require some thought on how to address it properly. I think we do need to promote our events more, that is for certain. I to have been following this thread with interest and I am not seeing much coming forth which convinces me that we should stay where we ARE offered space consistently and that is VFXweb and Computer Surplus. It frustrates me (and I am sure others) that we cannot seem to get something more central so that people don't have to travel as far. However, until something more central comes along people will just have to deal with it. These locations are better suited to this type of activity. I think trying to do an outdoor InstallFest is a recipe for disaster (and possibly litigation). Have you guys secured insurance yet? I would not risk bringing my computer to an outdoor event unless I had the proper gear to protect my investment. There is also the risk that the more open a setting, the more risk of people walking off with other people's equipment. So far we have been lucky and nobody has had anything stolen. Nope, we should only hold these things inside. I have said it before, I think trying to mix several types of events into one is a mistake. A BBQ should be a BBQ, plain and simple. An InstallFest is an InstallFest. Ne'er shall the twain meet... IMHO. There is nothing wrong with trying to theme an InstallFest or feature a presentation. I did an IPCop demo at one of our past InstallFests. I would consider the Super Burner we had at VFXweb another kind of demo. There's real things that can be done. Simpler, more focused events are easier to plan as well. <hint> I am not trying to discourage planning a large event, honestly. I just want the Executive to try and keep perspective here. We are now at the middle of May, five months into the new year and now InstallFest so far. That is just too long. I know you guys have a lot on your plates and more so because you are new at this. Keep up the good work, your efforts are appreciated. Jarrod _______________________________________________ clug-talk mailing list [email protected] http://clug.ca/mailman/listinfo/clug-talk_clug.ca Mailing List Guidelines (http://clug.ca/ml_guidelines.php) **Please remove these lines when replying
