December Gathering

[rengypsy]

Yall might be a bit worn out from TRF, but we need ya out the first weekend of december to establish the spirit and atmosphere for the our third year at sherwood in February.  Mostly just a fund time to gather, share stories, drink a bit, partake in some music.  Volunteer day both saturday and sunday mornings.  One crew is going to cut feld trees and limbs from the grounds.  The second group is going to work with cameleon in putting posts and ropes in the parking lot.

Family, Friends, and Strangers welcome.

All we ask you to do is bring your best to the gathering. 

Coverdish Saturday afternoon/evening at 5pm at the Seven Sisters.

Camp grounds open Friday afternoon.

See yall soon.

[dreamwalker]

Is it true there will be a job faire for Vendors looking to hire people at th Dec. gathering? When? Where? Thanks.....

[Snylor]

I was told there is a parade scheduled on Saturday that Sherwood is to attend. How is this going to effect the gathering?

[DonaCatalina]

I this planned for December 3 or December 10?

[Merlin the Elder]

It's this weekend, DC.

[maeven]

Drat. I was wanting to go. Stupid math finals preparations... *kicks dirt*

[DonaCatalina]

Oh well. Hope you all have fun and stay warm.

[mpullen]

Very good gathering weekend.

Volunteers helped move new tables and benches to the needed locations and also clean up some of the ground debris.

Very good pot-luck at the Pub followed by great music.

Large turnout at the Seven Sisters for drumming, dancing, and general fun for all.

Fortunately, the rain held off until very late in the night.

One more gathering before opening, which is the move-on date. See ya'all then.

[KiltedPrivateer]

One more gathering before opening, which is the move-on date. See ya'all then.

What exactly is a "move-on" date?  And, will the Clans get one more opportunity to do some yard work?

[mpullen]

One more gathering before opening, which is the move-on date. See ya'all then.

What exactly is a "move-on" date?  And, will the Clans get one more opportunity to do some yard work?

Err, why it's a miss-spelling of course.

Move-in date is when the vendors bring in their stock and Participants who camp can start staying in them (some have already brought in their RVs/trailers, but can't stay in them unless they are building/remodelling their shop). It is also the time where the Patrons can bring in their trailers, tents, etc. and keep them up until a week after closing day.

[KiltedPrivateer]

LOL - I understood the mis-spelling.

My concern, which has yet to be addressed anywhere, is whether the clans will be allowed one more weekend to clean up there habitats.

I must say, I have not been impressed with management's choices for work weekends.  These weekends are few and never seem to align with the schedules of my crew.  Not to go poking fingers in any one persons face, but who thought it would be a good idea to have a gathering the weekend after TRF closes, which happens to also be the same weekend as Dickens in Galveston?  That was not well planned out - or at least, was not very considerate.

I might also argue the plight of any clans that just recently obtained their plot during this past gathering.  They had one weekend to get it in order for opening.  Maybe they will get one more.  We just don't know.  Perhaps, they should get nine more as I'm sure there is a lot of work to do.

It was so much easier to keep our areas clean and livable when management allowed us to come out any weekend from the time TRF closed until two weeks before gates opened.  This allowed for better scheduling of my crew.  Better scheduling means I can a good sized crew out for an entire weekend.  And an entire work weekend yields better results than a one day, roughly six hours of work, and a skeleton crew.

You saw all three of us busting our ascii's this last gathering weekend and we hardly made a dent in the huge dirt pile left in our parking area.  Since our goal was to square away our parking, our tent area was not touched at all.  Without another (or several more) work weekends, our tent area is going to be full of poison oak and yaupon growth that will have to be pulled up before the tents can go up.  That will not make for a very enjoyable opening weekend for my group.

This may come out sounding as bitchy but my intent is two fold, first to find out if we, the clans, will get at a minimum one more weekend to clean house; and second, to see I can persuade you, Mike Pullen, as our liaison to management, to talk with the powers that be and see if they will allow us more weekends, from the time TRF closes, to do some work.  I'm sure my group is not the only group with grand plans on how we can spruce up our sites and make them more homey and enjoyable for the run of the faire.  We are finding it very difficult to do this when the restrictions on when we can come out do work are so tight.

I can fully appreciate the faire's concerns for wandering souls getting lost in places they shouldn't be in.  This could be mitigated in several ways.  As I understand it, there is always a staff member on site.  Perhaps there could be a sign in / sign out methodology in place.  When a clan signs in, they are told specifically to stay in their site with the exception of using the privvies.  Break the rule and you are excommunicated until opening weekend.  These clans are run by adults.  We don't need to baby them.  (Obviously I'm not a proponent of the 3 strikes rules - One strike and you go to the chair (o: - But thats just me)

Ok - I've rambled enough.  Try not to hate me.  With the few number of "official" work days, and my real life job keeping me on the road, I'm frustrated that our group has done nearly no work.  And now back to my day job.

[mpullen]

Okay Mike (KP).

When we have a gathering, management has to make arrangements for the port-a-johns, so that campers have a reasonable expectation of having clean johns. If we open the campgrounds more often, that means more expenses (plus the labor to cleanup campgrounds). We do not charge for camping on the Gathering weekends, nor for the beverages at either the Pub or the Seven Sisters.

When there are Patrons in the campgrounds on non-gathering weekends, a staff member must take time out to tour the campgrounds and maintain security and safety. Those two staff members have more than enough in-Faire work to perform.

There is a January Gathering (see separate thread).

For the new clans/groups, I have posted the availability for several months. If they wait until the next-to-last or last Gathering weekend to claim and clear their areas, why would I be responsible for giving them enough time, as I am only onsite for Gathering weekends and during the Faire season (I do have a paying job M-F).

[KiltedPrivateer]

Fair enough concerning the new comers.

Concerning non-official gathering weekends:

I can understand managements concerns over security and cleanliness.  Again, I'm not a very tolerant person, so it's good I don't make the rules and run security.  I would throw out first offenders without batting an eye.

I really hate being punished for the stupidity of others, yet honestly that truly is the world we live in, isn't it.

I still think a compromise could be made to allow work to be done on non-official gathering weekends.  Perhaps we stick with my original plan of sign in / sign out, but we add that no camping will be allowed.  Workers will have to stay off site.  My group would deal with this.  We can find somewhere in the Austin area to stay for the night.  And of course, Absolutely NO Entrance To The Faire Grounds (With the exception of the privvies).  Make all traffic use the main gate (Butterfly gate) to keep track of who comes and who goes.

These are just ideas to throw around in hopes of a future at SWFF where we can come in at our best convenience and make improvements to our sites.

Again, in hopes you can take this to management as a discussion item for your next board meeting (o:

And thanks for listening to my rants Mike - Your patience and efforts are always greatly appreciated.