[EAST] Planning Thread: Girls Meetup

MaiSheri

This is going to be my first PAX East and I'd love to join you ladies for brunch! Time, location, price, etc. are all OK by me ^_^

LedaXI

I had a blast at the meetup last year, so count me in for this. And an extra dollar won't break my piggy bank. No worries.

Themiscyra

Okay, I just got the proposal back from Max & Dylan's. Their group rates do NOT include 7% tax, 14% gratuity, a 4% staffing fee or an unspecified admin fee, as it turns out. If I drop that into the individual tickets, that's going to push them up to around 30 bucks or so before PayPal fees. There's also a $1000 food and beverage minimum, which means y'all would pretty much need to order $250 or so worth of drinks on top of the meal tickets themselves. And there's a $300 upfront deposit.

At this point, I'm just not in a position to take the financial hit if something goes wrong, and boy howdy is this shaping up to be way more expensive than last year's brunch. So we have a couple options here:

1. Someone takes over for me. I'll refer the guy from Max & Dylan's over to said person, they'll be responsible for gathering funds and for paying the restaurant on the day of.
2. We go with another venue, possibly for more of a lunch rather than the brunch. I've had no trouble at all working with Uno Chicago Grill on the QUILTBAG meetup so far; not the most upscale venue, nor is it super-close to the BCEC, but at this late date...

I'm sorry, folks. I really want to make this work, and I sure as hell don't want to be the one to end the tradition of the Girls' Meetup at PAX East, but I'm kind of freaking out here. To be quite honest, I probably bit off more than I could chew on this one, especially given the time constraints we're under.

MarciaWebb

I'm in for whatever, wherever. I say just pick a spot that's easy to get into and we will just take over and pay our own way.

tvethiopia

has anyone been keeping a running tally of how many people have declared interest thus far? is it totally outrageous for us to just show up somewhere without prior arrangement?

Themiscyra

According to my list, we're looking at 22 to 29 people right now. (The uncertainty comes mainly from people who said they might bring a +1, or +2, or +3, etc.) At that point I think I'd strongly prefer to at least have a reservation in place.

tvethiopia

just throwing it out there, but what about the restaurant at the westin, sauciety? they serve breakfast from 7am to noon on sunday. it's not what i would consider cheap, but it's still cheaper than our previous option. also it is the ultimate in convenience. thoughts?

Themiscyra

I've been there before, and it's decent food, if a bit overpriced. However, I know M.J. O'Connor's isn't accepting reservations during PAX East (unless you're willing to buy out the whole restaurant, which costs thousands of dollars), and I'm betting Sauciety will be the same. That said, if everyone would be comfortable with showing up there and trying our luck, it might be our best option at this point. Certainly it would be a load off my mind.

treeza

I would be down for breakfast at sauciety.

TurtleFlower

The pricing does seem a bit weird but, if it is attached to the convention center than it is definitely less complicated. However, if it has that sort of proximity would it not be completely swamped the entire weekend? If they are accepting reservations than I would be interested in looking into it though just out of convenience!

Themiscyra

I can ask just to be sure, but I can virtually guarantee that Sauciety won't be taking reservations. We would basically have to troop down there and try our luck. Sunday morning might not be so bad, with people heading off for brunch elsewhere or going straight into the queue or whatever, but I'll admit it's not my ideal option either. If it were just a few of us, fine, but 30 or so? At this point I'm half-tempted to suggest we just merge with my QUILTBAG meetup on Friday night. :P

I guess I'll poke around and see if I can find anything else in the area. I'm really not sure how @juju pulled this together last year, because I know I didn't pay more than $25 for my meal ticket! Either Max & Dylan's has seriously raised their prices, or she shouldered a lot of the financial burden herself (which I really, really wish I could do, but not right now), or there are possibilities here I'm just not seeing.

TurtleFlower

It looks like between 35 to 40 people went to it last year, just checking the eventbrite ticket sales. And it was $24.73 total with fees... so I suppose it could be a combination of price increase/volume. I would love to go to the QUILTBAG meetup if I did not have plans on Friday night.

Consequently I wish I could help lessen the financial burden of planning as I do love to encourage things like this, but unemployment ruins such desires.

stardust462

On the hotel's website it says Sauciety has semi-private rooms are available for groups, maybe that could be an option?

Themiscyra

Okay guys, I just heard back from Lucky's. They can give us a 30-person group reservation at 10 am on Sunday, March 24th with individual checks -- everyone just pays for whatever they order. That sound cool to everyone?

Themiscyra

On second thought, BECAUSE it's so perfect and takes a HUGE load off my mind, I'm making an executive decision and pulling the trigger on the reservation. So!

WHERE? Lucky's Lounge, 355 Congress Street, Boston, MA 02110
WHEN? Sunday, March 24th, 2013 at 10 am

WHO?
So far I have the following people on my list. If you're bringing additional guests for sure, if you're on the list but can't make it, or if you're not on this list but want on it, please let me know ASAP. I want to get a final headcount by Friday, March 15th, 2013.

AmberxAltF4
Amoeba
Ana Ng
Cleaner7
Delaney
embraceeternity (+1-3?)
g00dking
juju
KatieHal (+1?)
MaiSheri
MarciaWebb
punzie
Pure Din
PurpleBek
QuantumShaddow +1
SinoSamba
TabooPhantasy
tanoshiiki
Themiscyra
This-Catalyst
TurtleFlower
tvethiopia (+1-2?)
zezspecs

tvethiopia

that really IS perfect @Themiscyra, way to go!

PurpleBek

Awesome, that is really close to the BCEC. I am in!

TabooPhantasy

I am perfectly happy with this! Thank you so much for doing all this legwork!

Pure Din

Add me to the list I can definitely make it. Thnk you for figuring all this out!!!

tvethiopia

it should be noted that we will be there for lucky's sinatra brunch, which features a live vocalist doing sinatra tunes. i may just pack a fancy dress.

tanoshiiki

Thank you so much for organising and the hard work put in, Themiscyra

TurtleFlower

Oh! This is definitely perfect, excellent call! Thank you for making the arrangements @Themiscyra.

Themiscyra

Okay, word of mouth is spreading on this, so I'm not going to be able to keep my own list on this one. I've set up an Eventbrite page with free tickets for logistical purposes -- please ONLY reserve tickets for people you KNOW you're bringing! Including yourself, of course, even if I've tagged you in the list above. I'll try to release a few more tickets if necessary, but obviously there's a point at which Lucky's may no longer be able to accommodate us. As before, I will be trying to give them a final headcount on Friday afternoon.

GO HERE TO RSVP FOR THIS EVENT! http://2013eastgirlsmeetup.eventbrite.com/

stardust462

I'm in, just registered

Thank you so much all your work in putting this together!

HydraQT

I love the idea of meeting up with a bunch of girls with similar interests. I'm leaving Sunday afternoon so
I'll have to check with the schedule. Is there any other event similar to this Friday or Saturday?

Themiscyra

There was talk of an informal tea on Friday; I think @tvethiopia was going to decide on the details once the schedule was out?

MaiSheri

I just registered for myself and my travel/hotel friend. Looking forward to it!

tvethiopia

Themiscyra wrote: »

There was talk of an informal tea on Friday; I think @tvethiopia was going to decide on the details once the schedule was out?

yeah, about that. it turns out the place i thought would be super perfect has since been closed forever. i've been looking for something comparable, but as we know, the options close to the bcec are pretty slim. open to suggestions though, if anyone has ideas.

donnanoblehasbeensaved

Alternately, if someone wants to do a quiet(er) earlyish lunch on Friday or Saturday (caveat being that I am going to the Stitch 'n' Bitch at 1:30 on Saturday come hell or high water), I'm interested in walking over to the Yankee Lobster Company one of those days and would love to do it with others! It's casual counter food, walkable (half a mile from the BCEC entrance), and relatively inexpensive compared to the food court, and I've heard good things. Any takers?

(And apologies if this is starting to veer off-topic.)

juju

Yay! Thanks so much for taking over. You should see the massive undertaking of stuff piling up in my new cubicle. You're my hero @Themiscyra!

treeza

I've been trying to coordinate a meet-up with my friend who lives in Boston sometime over the weekend, and I'm now meeting him on Sunday for lunch, so I won't be able to attend the Girls Meetup. However, if people are doing afternoon tea on Friday, I might be able to join in for that!

Props to @Themiscyra and @tvethiopia for organizing! ...yeah i said props. O_o

tanoshiiki

Hmmm, when and where's the afternoon tea?

Themiscyra

24 hour warning! I'm locking in the headcount at noon tomorrow, Friday, March 15th. Please be sure to RSVP on the Eventbrite page before then!

tvethiopia

ATTN THOSE INTERESTED IN AFTERNOON TEA:

it looks like although the place i had my heart set on is now closed, they should be reopening any day now in a location that is still close to the bcec (approx same distance as lucky's). this new location, in addition to the cafe, will have a deli and gourmet grocery with fresh local produce and other awesome things, so it would also be a nice opportunity to stock up on some delicious non-con food for your weekend! so unless there's significant objection, here's what we're going with:

when: friday 4-6pm (drop in and out as you wish)
where: bee's knees supply co, 12 farnsworth st, boston
who: any ladies who would like to stop by. this is totally informal, nothing to sign up for, just show up and see who's around! (wearing pax badges is recommended to identify each other, but you are welcome to do as you wish)

if bee's knees' opening is delayed or anything else prevents us from going there, we will relocate to flour, which i believe is practically next door. i didn't think this warranted a whole new thread, but i would like to keep from muddling up the brunch convo, so if you would like to express your interest/intent to come, please just agree or awesome this post to identify yourself. thanks, see you ladies at pax!

embraceternity

I'll try to sign up on the eventbright page asap! as well as hassle my two friends into deciding whether or not they want to join.

tvethiopia

yikes! 7 tickets and less than two hours left! go ladies go!

SinoSamba

Ah, event closed

Been busy with new job and forgot to check forum.

Is the event full? Would it be OK to just show up at Lucky's?

Themiscyra

@SinoSamba If it's just you, you can just show up -- we came in just under 30 RSVPs on the Eventbrite page, and the reservation is currently for 30 people. If you're bringing a group, please let me know how many people will be with you so I can adjust the reservation accordingly.

SinoSamba

Themiscyra wrote: »

@SinoSamba If it's just you, you can just show up -- we came in just under 30 RSVPs on the Eventbrite page, and the reservation is currently for 30 people. If you're bringing a group, please let me know how many people will be with you so I can adjust the reservation accordingly.

Thank you! It will be just me.

And double thanks for setting this up.

LedaXI

Would I be able to squeeze into this, too? I originally said I was going, but didn't make it onto the list and with all my midterms never made it onto the Eventbrite page. It will only be just me, I'm not bringing anyone.