(no subject)

[kimberlogic.livejournal.com]

x-posted from kimberlogic

It's been a week since Baitcon XVIII ended ... a weekend of fun in the (mostly) sun with ice cream (94 flavors!) and good people.


For the first year at a new site and the largest number of attendees, the event went reasonably well from a logistical standpoint. That is largely due to the BCC's effort & committment. They work hard and tend to keep smiling & laughing, even when it rains throughout set-up & tear-down. They are also all multi-talented and kind. They rock. My gratitude and love go to these folks:

Doug aka blackanvil
Phil-the-Bald
Anne Troup
Dr. Jen aka jeneralist
Tamar aka tamidon
Phil-the-balding aka frobswiththingz
Liz aka klingonlandlady
Jess (hennaJ)
seph
Rob aka sensesurfer
Rachel aka doze_e_fish
Judy
Marc Drexler
corwin
and JB aka jbsegal

plus Hobbit, who couldn't be with us this year but offered a lot of support before the event.


Additional thanks go to:

This year's great medical crew:
Dr. Jen, Dr. Jon, Derek

Chip&Anne as well as Tamar's boss for the loan of extra freezers.

Everyone who helped with meals, dishwashing, and other tasks. Gratitude and thanks to Sam, Jacob, Lindsay, Derek, Ian, Adira, Alyssa, Paul, Mary, Rhetta, Ron, Chameleon, Laurie, Santiago, Janet, Ariel, Donna, David Silber, Amy, Carolyn, Ben Cordes, Topper, Talis, Angela, Wotw, Naiad, Ben Levy, Ann Thomas, Stephanie ... This is no doubt an incomplete list so please let me know (and don't take it personally) if I've forgotten someone here

The members of ENSMB for a great performance!

Phil, Liz, Rachel & Rob for setting up the rig, giving us a great performance and helping folks try out the silks.

Carl & Navin - our mountain caretakers who welcomed us with open arms and helped make things work well.

Peter & Tracy for organizing a contra dance, the musicians who came together to play late into the night, and the callers and dancers!

~~~~~
My priorities for Baitcon generally revolve around the event being safe, fun and functional for everyone. This year was also one of the best Baitcons for me personally (YAY!) and these are some of the folks that made my weekend wonderful in various ways:

HennaJ - for brushing my hair, working so hard, making sure I got rest, staying up late to help with
my tea, and always having a hug for me
xlii- for sparing my back from the loading (and unloading) of the car, helping whenever I needed something, snuggles, not caring about the bullshit said around us and making yummy ice cream.
nacht_musik - for stepping in with much-needed cope during tea-prep, providing lots of hugs and letting me taste all the Grains of Paradise mixes so often!
hammercock for pre-prep, scones, ginger-plum sorbet!, quality time and such
tamidon for tea-sandwiches, being a bad-ass kitchen chick, quality time and such
plaidsheep for much-needed sharing, laughing and quality time
kirkcudbright for great conversation and hugs across many hours
folzgold, Lindsay, Ian and Gabriel for late-night laughs (loving yourself with humor)
weegoddess for hugs, smiles, tea and all attempts at massage ;>
jeneralist for unexpected wild berries
rmd for hugs, laughter and next year's most exciting flavor idea
ceelove for the always wonderful bodywork, talking & understanding
miss_chance for the nectarine
kjc007 for the support pre & post event and the great sushi decompression lunch!
Anne B. for the help, kindness and conversation across all 4 days
Ellen, David & Benjamin (TJ) for hugs and harp and water help
Phil-the-Bald for making more thai-tea ice cream on Monday since I'd missed it
water-bearers who helped me soak JB and those that provided photo documentation!
corwin for the eggs & coffee and the extra assistance on Thursday, Sunday&Monday
JB for the dance, understanding, lifting/carrying plus not taking up Benjamin's offer of revenge in the form of a fully operations super soaker


and huge thanks to everyone who came (or tried to) & helped make the weekend wonderful!

Also - the Ginger-Plum sorbet, Hot Date, Carmelized Pineapple, Orange-Saffron-Chocolate, and the Grains of Paradise really rocked my taste buds this year.



This site had pros & cons. Overall, things went well though the road needs work (and apparently will be worked on both this fall and next spring) and the stream was further than we prefer and a bit low.
I have more thoughts, as I'm sure everyone might, about the site and the event. Alas, I'm busy with something else this week so I may not post them here, though I'll be sharing them with BCC.
In a week or two, we'll be putting up a survey on the website and on the LJ community - please share your thoughts with us so we can make Baitcon even better for all of us.

Comments

[quietann.livejournal.com]

I ought not to toot my own horn in public, but I put in several hours at the dishwashing station, dumping and refilling bins, doing dishes, directing people and so forth, for Saturday lunch, Saturday evening ice cream, and Sunday breakfast...

[thespian.livejournal.com]

yeah; though I did 4 hours of breakfast on Saturday, starting at 6 am with the dishes, when I woke up because it was SO COLD and I knew if I helped cook I could be near radiant heat. :-) So my volunteer hours started out pretty self serving ;-)

[kimberlogic.livejournal.com]

Thanks for letting me know!

[kimberlogic.livejournal.com]

Actually, I'm glad you did - I want to be able to thank everyone!

[ceo]

And, most of all, thank you!

[redknight.livejournal.com]

Yes, thank you!

[weegoddess.livejournal.com]

What they said: you did so much and are so awesome. Words fail.

But hugs don't. [HUUUUUGS!!!!!]

[hammercock.livejournal.com]

It was a great weekend! I just wish that we could have arrived earlier...next time I'm definitely taking off the Friday.

late but no less heartfelt thanks

[(Anonymous)]

Dear BCC:

Thank you for an amazing weekend. You all did SO MUCH to make it a wonderful experience that it's hard to pick out highlights. When I wasn't juggling, hiking, eating, dancing, snuggling, or helping out with odd jobs, I had a great time just doing nothing. I loved the site as much as I'd thought I would, and I hope it can be used again. (How DID you arrange for such perfect weather, anyway? Can I borrow that voodoo sometime?)

The general vibe was kind and welcoming, which is a credit not just to organizers but to everyone who came... and while there were a whole lot of people, it never seemed crowded, even during Ice Cream Frenzy. I was ecstatic that the dance came off successfully -- it felt like magic.

Be well, recover, and hope to see you sooner than next year.

-Derek