SELEM 2020 possible date change - discuss!

[hakzaw1]

I agree.
Some here may not know how hard it is to get a venue anything even close to SELEM. Because of that many LEMs dont happen.
TEXLEM 2012 was held (in San Antonio at URBAN 15 center for the arts)the ONLY weekend open--SuperBowl...as much as I enjoy the game-- I would have been fine with that weekend forever.
Sadly now even that weekend is booked--..AND no other weekends are (ever) unbooked.. too bad as, it was an excellent place in every way. (imho better than the SELEM venue in some ways)--we had a place to spend the nights--big kitchen and shower room.

I have spent time every year since TEXLEM just trying to find a good place (in TX). I had hopes that a TX member would see the great advantages of having a venue so close that they can sleep in their own beds etc. and find us a venue-- and I am concerned more about the event vs the when and where.---I have always felt that TX has enough members in DFW (as well as Houston-Austin-San Antonio etc) and a few others.---- we just need an affordable and suitable venue that works. Line up the venue and THEY will come.

SO-- do SELEM no matter what--almost every member attending their 1st LEM ( SELEM et al) plans to attend next year if at ALL possible and if not they should hold a small local one).... the SELEM venue is awesome....
I held a MINI POP_UP LEM just a few months after my 1st SELEM and tho very small I considered it to be a great LEM. Any such LEMs could be the start of a great one every year. Special thanks to Evil300 and Platinum for coming to my tiny LEM and putting on a great laser show...

One more point--We have a few outstanding members who pay early (very important btw) and sometimes cannot attend-- they never ask for the fee back--bas, I guess, n they consider the event more important--- refunding is not possible for many good reasons... I plan to pay for next year NOW-- for some that makes going more likely. Hope to see you all in 2020.... Going by the response-- it does not look good for DFWTEXLEM 2019.

any Tx venue in any area is acceptable btw..

The weekend in the TEXLEM (in the DFW area) thread has not gotten many posts--- Too bad coz Rick and Tiffany will be doing a free Pink Floyd concert near DFW-- it would be a awesome Sat night highlight for the event. 'Bricks' was afaik the first PF tribute band AND IS the best.


The laser show just might be even better the the ones at PF concerts.
I will in that area before and a while after.. so DFWLEM 2019 might just be a few members-- Kevin (gadget) can be counted on ... as well as a few others close-- (even if it is only us 4)so while it may be small, it WILL still be a great LEM. ...and hopefully we will have a LEM somewhere in TX..

Lase on!!!

hak

ps
I am Happy to answers any Qs about LEMs and if I can't --- we will ask Buffo.(he da man!!)- Due to a few members at LPF who are not here at PL -there will be TXLEM threads at both forums..

[hardstyletoaster]

I for one am fully in favor of pushing selem a week forward. It's unfortunate that we may not have everyone that I'm used to in attendance (looking at you swamidog, that Floyd lightshow brought tears to my eyes) but there is a very real benefit to us providing the lights and lasers to the townspeople that I feel really helps to smooth out any of our otherwise precieved oddness. (I mean I haven't seen any other Mohawks around town for starters haha)

So I fully believe the benefits outweigh the costs involved.

[aberry]

Maybe I'm a selfish jerk, but I'm going to go against the grain and say that to me SELEM is 100% about spending time with brilliant and fun people I don't get to see very often, let alone all at once, let alone in an environment designed entirely around a shared passion as cool as lasers. While doing the show for the community is great and I fully support giving back to this town (and venue) that have been such a great place for the last <mumble> years, it's definitely secondary, and I think that SELEM should be scheduled as works best for the PL folks first. I don't know which weekend that translates to, on the one hand it would be a huge shame to lose swamidog, but if the earlier date works better for others as Brad mentioned then maybe we have to sacrifice swamidog for the greater good. Or move up another week?

[dkumpula]

Well, perhaps having a very early crew do the show followed by SELEM is an option. Attending part of the time to account for conflicts is another. That said, don’t hard-core SELEM attendees plan their year around this event? What could be more important? I can’t think of anything short of the funeral of a close family member getting in the way of me being at SELEM. That scenario would only have me miss a day or two. . . 😆

David

[Stuka]

Might have to schedule a separate REM (Radiator Enthusiasts Meet) if there's a schedule conflict with Swamidog.
I'm guessing there'll be a pretty good concentration of new Radiator pilots hanging around Newton next year...

[buffo]

Hey Everyone!

Thanks for all the feedback. I really appreciate hearing people's thoughts on this!

Just to clarify though: The dates we initially picked were August 4th through August 9th. Basically the first full week in August.

The question is whether or not we should push the event 1 week later, so that it would start on August 11th and run through August 16th.

Pushing the event 1 week later means that at the end of SELEM (Sunday, August 16th) we would finish up just as the town's "Soldier's Reunion Festival" was starting up, so we could do the outdoor laser show with the orchestra again. But this also means that Swamidog would not be able to attend, and it's likely that at least one or two other people would have conflicts.

Right now I'm leaning very strongly towards keeping the original dates of August 4th to August 9th. For one, I really want everyone to be able to attend. Also, the school has already signed off on that week, saying that both the gym and the cafeteria will be available. When I asked about moving to the next week though, the school said they couldn't give me an answer. (In fact, they are now trying to change their answer regarding the gym on the original dates as well, but that's another issue. Grrrrr.)

As far as the outdoor concert is concerned, while I know it's fun for the town, it is also a lot of work for very little benefit. The festival does not have much of a budget, and this coming year they may have no budget at all for lasers. Granted, the actual payment only amounted to a few hundred dollars for the performers (laserists), but now it looks like they won't even be able to afford that.

So why would be want to change our event to match theirs if there is no benefit to us *and* it means that some people can't come to SELEM? That's the way I'm looking at it anyway...

I welcome further discussion on this topic, but bear in mind that I will need to decide soon.

Adam

PS: One other issue to keep in mind is that we are seriously considering the idea of putting on a public laser show in the Auditorium right before SELEM starts next year. The idea would be to do something like the Pink Floyd free-for-all that we traditionally do on Friday and Saturday night, except we would do this on TUESDAY EVENING, once load-in and setup is completed. Plan would be to charge a minimal fee at the door (thinking like $8 to $15 per person) with the proceeds being split between us and the venue. (Obviously SELEM attendees and guests get in free.) Open to the entire town - assuming there are seats available. (Balcony would be off-limits for safety reasons.) So this might be a way to satisfy that "public laser show" itch without having to do the outdoor show. Nothing is set in stone yet, but there is a *lot* of interest in this.

[Stuka]

A public show in the auditorium sounds like a cool idea ~
Would put a bit more "hurry up and set up" on the front end instead of at the end of the week, but that might also mean more SELEM'ers could be available to assist with the show.

That, and the fact that it's inside an air conditioned venue during the dog-days of August might bring more folks out to see it!

Sounding more and more like keeping the original dates (albeit with a hiccup or two) would be the best way to go...

[swamidog]

Sounds more and more like we should just stick with the original dates.

I think it boils down to: "is SELEM for us, or is SELEM for the city".

Hey Everyone!

Thanks for all the feedback. I really appreciate hearing people's thoughts on this!

Just to clarify though: The dates we initially picked were August 4th through August 9th. Basically the first full week in August.

The question is whether or not we should push the event 1 week later, so that it would start on August 11th and run through August 16th.

Pushing the event 1 week later means that at the end of SELEM (Sunday, August 16th) we would finish up just as the town's "Soldier's Reunion Festival" was starting up, so we could do the outdoor laser show with the orchestra again. But this also means that Swamidog would not be able to attend, and it's likely that at least one or two other people would have conflicts.

Right now I'm leaning very strongly towards keeping the original dates of August 4th to August 9th. For one, I really want everyone to be able to attend. Also, the school has already signed off on that week, saying that both the gym and the cafeteria will be available. When I asked about moving to the next week though, the school said they couldn't give me an answer. (In fact, they are now trying to change their answer regarding the gym on the original dates as well, but that's another issue. Grrrrr.)

As far as the outdoor concert is concerned, while I know it's fun for the town, it is also a lot of work for very little benefit. The festival does not have much of a budget, and this coming year they may have no budget at all for lasers. Granted, the actual payment only amounted to a few hundred dollars for the performers (laserists), but now it looks like they won't even be able to afford that.

So why would be want to change our event to match theirs if there is no benefit to us *and* it means that some people can't come to SELEM? That's the way I'm looking at it anyway...

I welcome further discussion on this topic, but bear in mind that I will need to decide soon.

Adam

PS: One other issue to keep in mind is that we are seriously considering the idea of putting on a public laser show in the Auditorium right before SELEM starts next year. The idea would be to do something like the Pink Floyd free-for-all that we traditionally do on Friday and Saturday night, except we would do this on TUESDAY EVENING, once load-in and setup is completed. Plan would be to charge a minimal fee at the door (thinking like $8 to $15 per person) with the proceeds being split between us and the venue. (Obviously SELEM attendees and guests get in free.) Open to the entire town - assuming there are seats available. (Balcony would be off-limits for safety reasons.) So this might be a way to satisfy that "public laser show" itch without having to do the outdoor show. Nothing is set in stone yet, but there is a *lot* of interest in this.

[buffo]

I think it boils down to: "is SELEM for us, or is SELEM for the city".

This is an excellent way of putting it, and from my perspective at least, SELEM is absolutely about *US*.

Adam

[kecked]

This is an excellent way of putting it, and from my perspective at least, SELEM is absolutely about *US*.

Adam

the customers always right....who’s the customer? This dogs got two heads and two tails since you do a job for them as well as rent their school. Problem is they don’t really care if we rent the school out or not so that makes them the customer. Now looking at it as an attendee I’m the customer so I’m always right. You are thus sandwiched in human social interaction hell and why working with humans sucks. Viva la robato mister no clear choice O.