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[PRIME] Pre-PAX Dinner: Get Involved

beta_angelbeta_angel ColoradoRegistered User regular
edited September 2012 in PAX West
After being involved in the Pre-PAX Dinner for a few years, taking it on as my own, I think it's time to move on.

I have numerous things in front of me that will be preventing the Pre-PAX Dinner from being the priority it needs to be. In years past, we've come together and been able to pass the torch along to keep this great tradition going and it's my time to do that for Prime.

I'm looking for a person (or people) who are willing to put effort into this community driven event, to make it fantastic and make it their own. There will be time, work, MONEY and probably some tears (usually regarding the money) but dammit...this event should go on.

If you're interested, please PM me on the forums and let me know what you're thinking. While nobody 'owns' the Pre-PAX Dinner, I'd really like to try and keep the Official Un-Official Pre-PAX Dinner going. I don't want to hand it off to somebody who will just let it fall by the wayside and have everybody eating a bag of greasy Dicks (Yeah...it's still funny.) I want somebody who will love this, who *wants* to put this on and be involved (or multiple people, make it a party!).

So, all that being said...help me help you keep this alive.

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Posts

  • Menolly07Menolly07 Registered User regular
    We love you, and the dinner will simply not be as amazing without the planning your glorious hair provides. <3

    Still PAXing strong. [E] for lyfe. ELand forever.
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  • LexiconGrrlLexiconGrrl Registered User regular
    @beta_angel, I think you'll be sorely missed. Anyone who's planned a PAX event understands how challenging and exhausting it is.

    That said, there was a Pre-PAX Pig Roast at East this year that didn't conflict with the PPD. There was MUCH happiness at the whole roasted pig experience and the event easily could have attracted many, many more folks. I'd like to suggest to whoever does take this on that you consider the feasibility of a pig roast for the PPD this year (recognizing that non-pork eaters need options too).

    I know that Chow Foods has done them before at the 5-Spot, and Fresh Bistro & Joule have as well. Some of the smaller Filipino or Vietnamese restaurants or even local breweries would probably love to make room for a crowd of 100 in their parking lots.

    Anyway, I'm already booked with Cookie Brigade responsibilities the week of PAX, but I'm fairly down with the Seattle restaurant scene so the New Guard want any pre-work help (like the scheduley-stuff that happens a month out from PAX), I'd be happy to lend a hand.

    Happily on Sabbatical. Don't bug me.
  • TOGSolidTOGSolid Drunk sailor Seattle, WashingtonRegistered User regular
    Boo, if only I lived in Seattle.

    wWuzwvJ.png
  • Jenny_SpaghettiJenny_Spaghetti I am 3 ginger midgets in a trench coat. Calgary, CanadalandRegistered User regular
    While I'm not *strictly speaking* local to Seattle, I'm more than willing to help with whatever doesn't require close proximity to the city. (e.g. registration, buttons, throwing money at situations...)

  • MelesMelesMelesMeles Registered User regular
    I'm in for three. Happy to get involved in helping make this happen! Though I'm in London, so would need a local agent to arrange for kidnappings, blackmail and location scouting.

  • LexiconGrrlLexiconGrrl Registered User regular
    Unless an individual steps up to fill beta_angel's shoes...

    Since I'm local, I volunteer to do restaurant scouting. If the team really really wants to, we could use Face Time to virtually tour the restaurants from afar.

    Happily on Sabbatical. Don't bug me.
  • adias.angeladias.angel Tech-Savvy Wife Kalamazoo, MIRegistered User regular
    Unless an individual steps up to fill beta_angel's shoes...

    Since I'm local, I volunteer to do restaurant scouting. If the team really really wants to, we could use Face Time to virtually tour the restaurants from afar.

    I loved your idea for the pig roast. Would that help reduce the work for everyone if we went that route?

    Prime '12, '13, '14, '15, '19 .. East '12
  • LexiconGrrlLexiconGrrl Registered User regular
    Unless an individual steps up to fill beta_angel's shoes...

    Since I'm local, I volunteer to do restaurant scouting. If the team really really wants to, we could use Face Time to virtually tour the restaurants from afar.

    I loved your idea for the pig roast. Would that help reduce the work for everyone if we went that route?

    That's funny, you totally read my mind. I was just poking around my phonebook this morning, talking to a couple of my restauranteur friends to find out the answer to that very question. It would be super if it was!

    Happily on Sabbatical. Don't bug me.
  • LewieP's MummyLewieP's Mummy Registered User regular
    Oh, I'm too far away to help sort this out, but I'll be there with bells on (and tiara)

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  • MelesMelesMelesMeles Registered User regular
    Unless an individual steps up to fill beta_angel's shoes...

    Since I'm local, I volunteer to do restaurant scouting. If the team really really wants to, we could use Face Time to virtually tour the restaurants from afar.

    I loved your idea for the pig roast. Would that help reduce the work for everyone if we went that route?

    That's funny, you totally read my mind. I was just poking around my phonebook this morning, talking to a couple of my restauranteur friends to find out the answer to that very question. It would be super if it was!

    I'd be super in for that plan, definitely ask around! If not pig roast, then something similarly feast-y would be cool.

  • TOGSolidTOGSolid Drunk sailor Seattle, WashingtonRegistered User regular
    Actually, I could be available to help throw money at this (which is how I solve most of my problems anyway) and help where I can as an out of state guy with planning and what not.

    What about reusing last year's location?

    wWuzwvJ.png
  • TOGSolidTOGSolid Drunk sailor Seattle, WashingtonRegistered User regular
    edited April 2012
    Actually, I could be available to help throw money at this (which is how I solve most of my problems anyway) and help where I can as an out of state guy with planning and what not.

    What about reusing last year's location to minimize potential clusterfucks?

    TOGSolid on
    wWuzwvJ.png
  • LexiconGrrlLexiconGrrl Registered User regular
    TOGSolid wrote: »
    Actually, I could be available to help throw money at this (which is how I solve most of my problems anyway) and help where I can as an out of state guy with planning and what not.

    What about reusing last year's location to minimize potential clusterfucks?

    That's awesome! And I think we can safely assume that reusing a previous location is definitely on the radar.

    Happily on Sabbatical. Don't bug me.
  • beta_angelbeta_angel ColoradoRegistered User regular
    edited April 2012
    Here are a few tips:

    - Barca (the bar from last year) would gladly do it again. You'll need to find a caterer.
    - The caterer from last year will not do it again. He is a friend of mine and was doing that as a favor to me. He really doesn't do that kind of eventing anymore (which sucks because he's great at it).
    - You'll want to consider keeping the Dinner up on Cap Hill...the Tri-Wizard Drinking Tournament takes place on the Hill and a LOT of Dinner attendees generally plan to do both. Saving them cab fare (i.e. money) was a paramount concern for me and I believe it should be for anybody who's willing to do this. Which leads me to...
    - The Prime PPD generally has around 120ish people attending. This is a problem for many restaurants and can have impacts on dietary considerations. Using the bar last year was a limiting factor in that it was 21+ BUT there aren't a LOT of under-21's that attend (sorry guys, it's true. I'm not saying NONE, please note). I know East has successfully used restaurants but I believe the attendance is lower. While it's totally viable, I had the preference to not do that. A caterer, while they can be more expensive, can be a bit more flexible. HOWEVER, this is all up to you guys. These were my experiences.


    There's more, I'm sure, but i'm tired and hungry.

    EDIT TO ADD

    Oh and there's one other big thing you need to remember:

    Whoever takes this over, you need to *KNOW* that your credit card will be hammered. Probably pretty hard. There are down payments, up-front payments, afterwards payments....Ideally, you'll set the price to cover costs, but I've lost money every year I've done this (I expected to) BUT it was *ALWAYS* worth it.

    beta_angel on
    UEAKCrash wrote:
    BETA IS FUCKING CREDIT TO TEAM.
    EvilBadman wrote:
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  • TOGSolidTOGSolid Drunk sailor Seattle, WashingtonRegistered User regular
    edited April 2012
    I have a completely empty credit card just begging to be tied up and told that it's been a bad boy so that's not an issue. So, mark my words people, the dinner is happening this year even if I have to drag it kicking and screaming the whole way with a halibut hook.

    Since we're gonna have new people managing this this year, I HIGHLY suggest we go with the KISS rule and minimize our headaches. First off, sticking with Barca is gonna be a really, really good idea since that will be one unknown taken care of. We know it's in a good spot and that the staff there are very accommodating to our shenanigans. Yes, it means no one under 21, but to echo Beta, the dinner really is just a giant "get food in stomach before we get sloshed" get together anyway. Barca was packed last year so potential attendance loss due to the age thing isn't gonna be a problem. Barca wants us back so we might as well let it rock.

    That means with one phone call we can entirely skip that headache and cut straight to catering this shindig. As far as diet goes, the typical "red meat/white meat/vegetarian" setup should cover our bases.

    I know that there is a temptation to try and do something wild and zany and different but it'll only lead to tears and new cases of alcoholism. Let's keep this year as easy as possible and once we figure out how all this will work and the costs and all that, we can shoot for next year to scout new locations, try different ideas, etc.

    NOTE: I am a sailor, I work roughly two weeks on, two weeks off save for May where my schedule will be a little goofy since I did some week swapping so that a coworker could go to his daughter's HS graduation. During my two weeks on, I'm still available via email and phone so that's not a problem but phone calls will more than likely be a voice mail thing. The flip side here is that during my two weeks off I literally will have nothing better to do all day and can get a ton of work done on this in a short amount of time since I will be home all day every day.

    TOGSolid on
    wWuzwvJ.png
  • LexiconGrrlLexiconGrrl Registered User regular
    Agreed, there's a strong argument for keeping the same location. That still begs the question of catering though, and we'll need to contact them to ensure they're available for the date this year. This thread has been up for all of one day, so what say I give them a call say, next week, after this thread has had a chance to mature a little and possibly pick up other organizer(s)?

    @TOGSolid - we have to get together and swap sea stories over drinx.

    Happily on Sabbatical. Don't bug me.
  • TOGSolidTOGSolid Drunk sailor Seattle, WashingtonRegistered User regular
    Sounds good. We're not hurting for time yet so we can start preliminary research into catering options while this thread gets attention and then secure Barca in the next week or two. The biggest issue for me is that since I'm not there in Seattle (and have a terrible sailor grade pallete that consists mostly of MOAR HOT SAAAUUUCE) someone will have to be a reliable food tasting minion.

    @lexicongrrl Lol, sounds good.

    wWuzwvJ.png
  • GamingGoddessGamingGoddess Profesh Nerd Phoenix, AZRegistered User regular
    I would love for the PPD to be all ages ;) but alas, there's always the possibility it won't. Either way, this needs to keep going! I'll be 21 eventually, and I hope that when I do I'll never have any excuse NOT to go :) I went two years ago and it was something I'm glad I got to experience. Live long the PPD!

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  • TOGSolidTOGSolid Drunk sailor Seattle, WashingtonRegistered User regular
    I would love for the PPD to be all ages ;) but alas, there's always the possibility it won't. Either way, this needs to keep going! I'll be 21 eventually, and I hope that when I do I'll never have any excuse NOT to go :) I went two years ago and it was something I'm glad I got to experience. Live long the PPD!

    Yeah, finding somewhere all ages would be cool, but I think that will be something to do for next year since there are a bunch of FNGs running the show this year. Minimizing potential headaches will be paramount this year while we're getting the hang of this.

    wWuzwvJ.png
  • beta_angelbeta_angel ColoradoRegistered User regular
    I've gotta say that I'm happy to see you all jumping into this.

    Having met and talked to TOG last year, I'm very confident in his abilities to work with LexiconGrrl and anybody else who is interested in making this a fantastic year for the PPD.


    As I mentioned to TOG earlier today, I will absolutely be around for questions and I might even be able to help out a little bit, but I'm definitely leaving you guys in charge. Lemme know if you have questions...also, TOG, I'll get you the Barca contact information as I mostly spoke with him via email. :)

    UEAKCrash wrote:
    BETA IS FUCKING CREDIT TO TEAM.
    EvilBadman wrote:
    Beta_Angel is awesome. Never doubt this.
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  • GamingGoddessGamingGoddess Profesh Nerd Phoenix, AZRegistered User regular
    You're the best, Beta!

    Time off[x] Fri-Mon Badges[x] Hotel[x] Plane tickets[x] Pre-Pax plans[TBA] Cosplay[in progress]
    "Pictochat? No. Dicktochat!"
  • LexiconGrrlLexiconGrrl Registered User regular
    edited April 2012
    At East, there's a lot of importance placed on the fact that the Pub Crawl is 21+, so the dinner should be all ages. It may or may not be an option this year, but I'd really think we should at least try to find a place where nobody is excluded from this event.

    LexiconGrrl on
    Happily on Sabbatical. Don't bug me.
  • beta_angelbeta_angel ColoradoRegistered User regular
    edited April 2012
    I tried very hard last year to do just that. It was an incredibly difficult decision to make the PPD a 21+ event. All ages is easy if you're doing a restaurant, it's not as easy if you're doing a venue + caterer + trying to stay close to the bar crawl.

    However, I leave this in your capable hands.


    I want to be very clear about my involvement in this: I will be glad to answer questions, provide support and opinions...but I am, in NO WAY, making any decisions. It sounds to me like TOG and LexiconGrrl should be getting together and forming a Power Union of Dinner Decisions.

    beta_angel on
    UEAKCrash wrote:
    BETA IS FUCKING CREDIT TO TEAM.
    EvilBadman wrote:
    Beta_Angel is awesome. Never doubt this.
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  • SamuraiCiceroSamuraiCicero Registered User regular
    Way to pick up the ball, TOG! I know we shall be in capable, if drunken, hands!

  • redhaloredhalo Also a Professional Alcoholic Registered User regular
    I hear and understand the concern for all ages. BUT...Barca was pretty generous to us as a venue, about as well situated as possible for the TWDT and I don't think it ended up excluding too many people. Most everyone whom goes every year is over 21 and enjoys having drinks with friends. This is just my selfish alcoholic opinion though.

    I also trust TOG's capabilities, man is a community team player.

  • TOGSolidTOGSolid Drunk sailor Seattle, WashingtonRegistered User regular
    At East, there's a lot of importance placed on the fact that the Pub Crawl is 21+, so the dinner should be all ages. It may or may not be an option this year, but I'd really think we should at least try to find a place where nobody is excluded from this event.
    Nothing wrong with trying and looking, but offhand I can't think of anywhere in crawl walking distance that can hold up to 150 people (I always plan on overages). We can certainly look though since we're giving this thread a week or two to get rolling. However by the end of that time we should just stick with Barca if nothing is leaping out at us as a solid alternative.

    wWuzwvJ.png
  • vespachicavespachica SeattleRegistered User regular
    As a former restaurant owner, unless you buy out the restaurant 120 people is A LOT and could be a total Charlie Foxtrot if not executed correctly (i.e. picking the menu beforehand from the restaurant). I do know of some decent catering companies, though, and would be happy to help with some legwork (i.e. getting estimates, etc.). However, all my credit cards are belong to - well, not me. So, super awesome that that might already be covered.

    ufq9gj8383nh.png

  • LexiconGrrlLexiconGrrl Registered User regular
    edited April 2012
    The great thing about Capitol Hill is that there's really a ton of places there. It's less a matter of space and more a matter of who will give us the best deal.

    And @Vespachica - I am totally on board with that. I also am a Vespa Chica. We should go to the hill on our Vespas and check out options. I think we need to try the drinks at all the locations in the area. You know, just to be sure.

    LexiconGrrl on
    Happily on Sabbatical. Don't bug me.
  • vespachicavespachica SeattleRegistered User regular
    Oh, yes. "Just to be sure." That would be fantastic! I am totally down for Quality Control.

    ufq9gj8383nh.png

  • LexiconGrrlLexiconGrrl Registered User regular
    edited April 2012
    @TOGSolid - the girls are going to go scout locations. No boys allowed. We'll let you know how it went when we sober up.

    LexiconGrrl on
    Happily on Sabbatical. Don't bug me.
  • David CoffmanDavid Coffman Registered User, PAX Staff regular
    Jillian's has expressed interest in hosting a ping pong party Thursday night before PAX. If someone wants to pursue that, shoot me a pm.

  • ShocknaShockna Registered User regular
    I live in Arizona, so I'm not even close to local to Seattle, but as I'm coming in a day early (I'm assuming the dinner is still Thursday), this is an event I had planned on attending.

    If any of you awesome people organizing this on the local level need a donation, hit me up (I'm not -made- of money, but I can spare a good amount if I get some warning to adjust my budget XD).

  • TOGSolidTOGSolid Drunk sailor Seattle, WashingtonRegistered User regular
    @lexicongrrl. Oh I see how it is. *sniff* Already excluding me! Bawwwwwwww.

    (ignores the part of me not even living there)

    wWuzwvJ.png
  • MrArcysMrArcys Cincinnati, OHRegistered User regular
    Acumen used Eventbrite for registration at this years East PPD and it seemed to work really well.

    PAX East 2013: [ ] Badge // [X] Hotel // [ ] Travel // [ ] Time Off
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  • vespachicavespachica SeattleRegistered User regular
    TOGSolid wrote: »
    @lexicongrrl. Oh I see how it is. *sniff* Already excluding me! Bawwwwwwww.

    (ignores the part of me not even living there)

    Well, get your butt up here and we can all do QC!

    ufq9gj8383nh.png

  • beta_angelbeta_angel ColoradoRegistered User regular
    I've used Eventbrite every year for the ticketing and it's been fine. It can get a bit expensive, but for simplicity and ease of use, I liked it.

    UEAKCrash wrote:
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  • TOGSolidTOGSolid Drunk sailor Seattle, WashingtonRegistered User regular
    vespachica wrote: »
    TOGSolid wrote: »
    @lexicongrrl. Oh I see how it is. *sniff* Already excluding me! Bawwwwwwww.

    (ignores the part of me not even living there)

    Well, get your butt up here and we can all do QC!

    I'm on a boat yo (cue song). It'll be nice to make an appearance in Seattle in the summer but no guarantees. I'm gonna be pretty busy packing up my stuff up in Ketchikan and moving to Juneau during my off weeks.

    wWuzwvJ.png
  • SaldekSaldek Registered User regular
    edited April 2012
    TOGSolid wrote: »
    vespachica wrote: »
    TOGSolid wrote: »
    @lexicongrrl. Oh I see how it is. *sniff* Already excluding me! Bawwwwwwww.

    (ignores the part of me not even living there)

    Well, get your butt up here and we can all do QC!

    I'm on a boat yo (cue song). It'll be nice to make an appearance in Seattle in the summer but no guarantees. I'm gonna be pretty busy packing up my stuff up in Ketchikan and moving to Juneau during my off weeks.

    I volunteer to go in your place! ;)

    Saldek on
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  • MetaverseNomadMetaverseNomad Registered User regular
    edited April 2012
    If you all still need help planning and organizing, I'll volunteer to join your committee! And, assuming I'll have the time off, I'll also volunteer to assist on the day-of!

    Edit: I'm in Seattle, in case you weren't sure!

    MetaverseNomad on
  • LexiconGrrlLexiconGrrl Registered User regular
    edited April 2012
    This is shaping up to be a drunken forumer excursion...

    So I'm going to the East Coast next week but will be back the week after that. @VespaChica and I were talking about "scouting" locations via scooter maybe the week after that. Anybody down for a "research" excursion on May 11 or 12? How about a "quotation mark" event?

    LexiconGrrl on
    Happily on Sabbatical. Don't bug me.
This discussion has been closed.