Official: SELEM 2020 in Newton, NC has been cancelled

SELEM 2020 in Newton, NC is officially cancelled.

I know this is bad news for a lot of people, me included. I am not happy about it. But I've made my decision. Interestingly, while COVID-19 concerns still weigh heavily on my mind, in the end the virus risk was not the sole deciding factor.

I just got a call from Kelcie at the Auditorium. She confirmed that the Auditorium has booked two events that conflict with SELEM - one on August 7th and one on August 8th. She said that the Auditorium board set up a separate committee that was in charge of bringing in new events to the Auditorium, and apparently the director (Marietta) gave the board the wrong dates for SELEM. Obviously no one bothered to contact me about this.

Note that I have been trying to reach Marietta (or anyone at the auditorium) since late January without any success. I've reached out to the new owner of the Trotthouse, and also to one of our long-standing "babysitters" (Davis-Ann) to try to get someone from the Auditorium or the School to call me back. I've sent e-mails, left voice messages, and even called Marietta on her cell phone several times. No replies. At least not until today...

In fairness to Kelcie, she's only Marietta's assistant, and since the lockdown she's only been working 1 day per month. I honestly can't fault her one bit. But I'm furious with the Auditorium and the board. After 13 years, after the "come to jesus" meeting last summer, after replacing their stove in the kitchen, after everything we've done for that venue and the community, this is how we're treated. I'm at a loss to explain these people.

I'm sorry folks, but I am not willing to work with these people anymore. Yes, I'm butthurt about it. But I'm also not willing to subject myself to the ever-increasing stress each year that is caused by their utter incompetence, if not outright malice, regarding how they manage our event. I just don't have the stomach for it anymore. And I'm tired of making promises to the laser community that I can't back up because I can't rely on the Auditorium (or the school, or the town) to follow through on their commitments.

Admittedly if I wasn't so fed up I could beg and plead with the Auditorium to allow us to hold SELEM a week or two later in August. And they would probably be able to find a window for us to squeeze the event in - perhaps by only chopping off one day from the schedule. But there's still no guarantee of any of the school properties (cafeteria or gym) being available for our use, and COVID-19 is still a significant risk. With that much uncertainty at just over 10 weeks to go before the event, I decided to make the call to cancel.

Again, I apologize to everyone who was really looking forward to SELEM this year. I'm just as bummed out as you all are. Maybe more so, because to me this feels personal.

If anyone has suggestions for a new venue for 2021, please post them below. I'm happy to consider non-traditional options too. The magic number we need to hit is in the $5000 to $6000 range. That's what we can afford without making SELEM too pricey for people.

Adam

Honestly, I think that was the right call to make. VirtuaLem, anyone? i'm pretty sure we all have Zoom now, and we could still organize talks and demonstrations, and set up live streams for some of the show playing, etc. Thoughts?

Thanks for this information, Adam. I respect your decision and would further wish to express my profound appreciation for dealing with the administrative headaches this and all prior years. There are few, if any, people in our community with the skill sets necessary to plan and implement this large operation and probably none that would voluntarily pick up the job and run with it as you have. SELEM is a phenomenal event and I look forward to being there in 2021 wherever it may be. I'm here for whatever you need as we explore alternative locations and begin planning for SELEM XIV.

-David

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dkumpula

Thanks for this information, Adam. I respect your decision and would further wish to express my profound appreciation for dealing with the administrative headaches this and all prior years. There are few, if any, people in our community with the skill sets necessary to plan and implement this large operation and probably none that would voluntarily pick up the job and run with it as you have. SELEM is a phenomenal event and I look forward to being there in 2021 wherever it may be. I'm here for whatever you need as we explore alternative locations and begin planning for SELEM XIV.

-David

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What he said!!!!
I couldn't say it any better.

Here to help in any way possible.

Chris

Canceling it this year seemed inevitable but I didn't expect to hear it wouldn't be going back to Newton. I can fully understand your reasons, though, and am 100% behind you.

This news is bittersweet since I lived near Newton as a kid and it was always a trip down memory lane. On the other hand, I was kind of bored with the place, so this is an opportunity for something new.

I know some people liked the long summer camp atmosphere and the Newton venue catered well to that. I'm sure there are other places in remote locations where the same could be done. Personally, I would probably prefer the opposite. Two or three days of scheduled presentations during the day and evenings for dinner/socializing. That may not be very compatible with being able to do something like "Club SELEM" but I really didn't see the point in setting up a disco that no one went to anyway. Anyway, just sharing my opinion for whatever it is worth.

I look forward to whatever is next assuming it is not too far away.

Here's a few places to get that list started for 2021:

https://www.hollyspringsnc.us/323/Cultural-Center

https://visitpittsboro.com/location/...in-auditorium/

Adam, I didn't realize that the auditorium was such a pain for you. Obviously SELEM is a bit of a beast to manage, but the fact that you were dealing with that particular stress on top of the normal stress of running an event like this sucks. Thanks for everything you (and Chris and Brad and David and anyone else who does the organizational legwork) for everything you do for SELEM and for the community as a whole.

SELEM is a ton of fun for me, and Julie enjoys the hell out of it as well, as I know everyone who attends does, so it's a huge bummer to not have that to look forward to, but it certainly seems like the right thing to do in the current situation.

As for other venues, what are the priorities other than price? The NC auditorium is such a perfect venue (or maybe SELEM has just adapted perfectly to it) that I think anything else is likely to feel inadequate, but it would be good to have a list of dealbreakers at least, and a rough idea of the types of facilities that are essential vs preferred.

How tied are we to the region? Obviously it needs to be some place with nearby accommodation and access to air travel. I have a few contacts in the DC area at venues that might work well, but accommodation is likely to be more expensive, and there'll be traffic to deal with.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by lulighttec

Here's a few places to get that list started for 2021:

https://www.hollyspringsnc.us/323/Cultural-Center

https://visitpittsboro.com/location/...in-auditorium/

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If it ends up in Holly Springs I would freak out because that is where I lived after Newton.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dkumpula

Thanks for this information, Adam. I respect your decision and would further wish to express my profound appreciation for dealing with the administrative headaches this and all prior years. There are few, if any, people in our community with the skill sets necessary to plan and implement this large operation and probably none that would voluntarily pick up the job and run with it as you have. SELEM is a phenomenal event and I look forward to being there in 2021 wherever it may be. I'm here for whatever you need as we explore alternative locations and begin planning for SELEM XIV.

-David

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Ditto to everything that has already been said!! :)

All things considered, maybe a year off to "regroup" might not be such a bad thing.
Now that there are so many regular attendees, I feel certain that collectively, this group will find a venue that meets or exceeds what we've grown use to over the years.

Well done these many years Adam, and looking forward to many more!! :D

Randy

Thank you to everyone who has commented or reached out to me by phone or e-mail. Your kind words mean a lot to me!

Regarding a "virtual SELEM", I think this is a great idea. Adam Raugh has been working on a number of ideas related to this topic, so we'll probably start a separate planning thread for this in the next day or two.

Newlin, the venues you suggested look promising and I'd like to take a closer look at them. However, their standard hourly rates are not going to work for SELEM. If they're willing to consider a discounted daily rate for the duration of the 6 day long event (4 days of SELEM plus load-in and load-out), then we have a shot. Are you interested/able to reach out to them to float our ideas?

Regarding the ongoing troubles with the Auditorium, I try not to complain too loudly here on the forum, but this has been a thorn in my side for a very long time. The trouble started shortly after Reggie Helton stepped down as the director of the Auditorium. After Ingrid Keller left things got *really* bad, and the last 3 years have been pure hell.

Twice in previous years I've had to ask Anne Steadman (former owner of the Trott House Inn and also the former Mayor of Newton) to intervene on our behalf in order to get things resolved. In both of those cases there was a serious threat that SELEM would have to be cancelled if we couldn't come to an agreement. That's why we had the "come to Jesus" meeting last year between me, the school representative (Kirsten), the Auditorium director (Marietta), and Ann Steadman, who was the out-going Mayor. Evidently that meeting was all for nothing.

For any new venue to be seriously considered, there are a few "Must Haves":

First, it must fit our budget. We can afford to spend about 5 grand on the venue. (Last year the venue rent in Newton was $4400.) If we forgo the shirts we could maybe stretch the venue budget to $6,000, but that's an absolute hard limit. Affordability is a big deal.

Second, the venue must allow us to use fog and haze *without* tripping the fire alarm. That means if they have particulate smoke detectors we have to perform a test on site before the event, both to see how much fog we can use before we set off the alarm *and* to prove that they know how to disable the monitoring system so the fire department isn't toned out every time the audible alarm is triggered.

Third, we need the ability to have a loud sound system operating in the space, even if the event runs late into the night. (This goes for the graphics show area as well as the live environment, Club-SELEM.)

Fourth, they need to be OK with the idea of having lasers in the space. (I know, sounds obvious, right? But it's something we have to verify.)

Fifth, the venue must be large enough to house all the things (or at least most of the things) that we do at SELEM. A single auditorium is *not* going to be enough space. We need space for the buy/sell/trade area, space for the presentations, space for us to serve food, and space for the live show environment (Club-SELEM). We'd also like to have a space for the "demo / show off" room, and don't forget the ion laser work room and VR demo rooms.

Ideally we'd like 3 large spaces and then 3 or 4 smaller ones, but we can be flexible with this - particularly if budget is tight. Note that we don't explicitly need an auditorium for the graphics shows. We could make do with a generic open space that simply has a tall ceiling, even if it doesn't have a stage. (We could even erect our own screen.) Also, we do need a good bit of autonomy in how we arrange the equipment in the room, how we run our power and data cables, and how we manage the event itself, but we can work within reasonable guidelines provided that the rules are clearly spelled out well in advance.

We can be flexible when it comes to power. Ideally they'll have both ample 120V / 240V power and at least some 3 phase 208V available. However, if they don't have 3 phase power, or if they are unwilling to allow us to touch their power panel, we can work around that by renting a 3 phase diesel generator for a few days if needed. The same goes for water. (Can hook up a recirculation system to a tote of water outside for short-term use by the Ion Laser Work Room.)

I'm probably forgetting something, but this should cover most of the basics at least.

Questions to ask potential venues: Do you offer flat day rates for multi-day events? Can we use Fog? Can you disable the fire alarm? How late can we stay in the building each day? Is there a noise ordinance law / is there sufficient sound insulation that noise isn't a problem? Do we need insurance? How much 120 V power is available? Do you have 3 phase power? Can we connect our own distro to your power panel (or do you have cam lock connections)? Can we bring in our own food and drink? How do you control access to the building(s)? How close can we park? Do you have a loading area or dock? Do you have a kitchen we can use? Is there anywhere in the building that we could run water hoses to fire up the ion lasers? Do you have Wifi?

I would prefer to keep SELEM in the NC/SC/GA area if possible, but I'm willing to consider venues in other areas too. Ideally I'd like to avoid a major metropolis due to traffic, cost, and the potential for what I'd call "suffocating oversight". :) I think we're more likely to find an affordable venue in a smaller community. But again, I'm open to alternatives if you can find them.

Adam