Subject:
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Re: BrickFest registration fees (was: LEGO Adult Fan Convention at Legoland California?)
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.events, lugnet.events.brickfest
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Date:
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Sat, 9 Sep 2006 04:40:08 GMT
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Viewed:
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5595 times
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In lugnet.events, Anthony Sava wrote:
> Yes, there are groups making money off of Brickfest - the hotels, the brick
> bazaar sellers, etc. But Brickfest itself is supposed to be about the
> comraderie, as you said. Quite honestly I can't see how any one person
> spends thousands of man hours on putting a single Brickfest together - all of
> the events are fan-driven with the exception of the big group meeting/LEGO
> Q&A. Yeah, I'm sure there's plenty of behind-the-scenes stuff, but last I
> looked every theme had its' own volunteer organizer(s), so that just leaves
> organizing the event as a whole.
Anthony, all due respect when I say this - I think you're woefully
underestimating the time required to put on such an event. I'm in no way
speaking for Christina or the BF volunteers, but I know from my own experience
of trying to organize groups and events that it's "Death by 1000 paper cuts".
Let's think about what an event organizer might have to be responsible for
beyond the specific theme content itself:
- Locating and securing the venue
- Signing agreements, possibly working with lawyers
- Arranging for the appropriate amount of tables, chairs, etc.
- Organizing, scheduling and overseeing a group of volunteers from around the
country in multiple time zones with multiple time slots to work together
- Writing copy for event programs
- Final proofing all printed materials
- Approving print materials (this alone could take hours on hours)
- Working with fire marshal or facility managers on building/safety code issues
- Overseeing initial Web site requirements and then implementation
- Planning food, if necessary
- Working with vendors for the bazaar
- Working with LEGO employees
- Tracking down missing deliveries/packages
- Choosing name badge styles/design
- Costing out said name badges, and working on design work, printing, delivery,
etc.
- Choosing speaker line up and building an event schedule
- Tracking down speakers to get technical requirements
- Ensure rooms have necessary technical requirements
- Finding radios for the volunteers to speak to each other
- Choosing and producing volunteer thank you gift
- Writing up Web site content
My list could go on for as long as my fingers could continue to type. And each
one of those items could be hours on hours of work. Sure, working with the
printer to deliver master files, sign off on proofs, accept final delivery,
double check final deliver, and then follow-up if there are any issues may seem
like a trivial task, and sometimes it might be. But when you stack 1000 trivial
tasks together, the time adds up. Fast. Really really fast. I once spent 6 hours
on the phone trying to organize the details of a single dinner for 10
colleagues. Or heck, ever tried to pick a restaurant for lunch with more than 3
people?
Saying something like "so that just leaves organizing the event as a whole" is
like saying "Building a house is just putting up a few walls, what's the big
deal?".
Jake
---
Jake McKee
Webmaster - BIP
Private Citizen
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