SELEM V in Newton, NC August 19-21; Need input (and volunteers) now!
Hey folks!
It's getting close to that time of year again, so I thought I'd start getting some input for the 5th annual South Eastern Laser Enthusiast's Meeting. The dates have already been set: August 19th through the 21st, and the venue is the same as always (in the Newton - Connover Auditorium).
Budgeting for this event is going to be interesting, as the cost has more than doubled from where we started back in 2007, due to inflation, the extended hours, the extra day, and the use of the upstairs classroom area. Even so, the event itself has also grown, so the entry fee will still be quite reasonable. I'm shooting for a not-to-exceed price of $50, including 1 shirt. (I should have that price nailed down here in the next couple weeks.)
As we discussed last year, for this year I've decided to extend the event by one day. So the load-in and setup will be on Thursday, August 18th, with the main event commencing Friday morning at 9 AM. We'll run 3 full days: Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
Unlike previous years, I'd like to keep shows running pretty much continuously in the auditorium for all three days, with other events (like seminars, presentations, repairs, etc) going on in other rooms (or even on stage behind the curtain) while the shows are running. We will have the upstairs classroom available for at least one day, and possibly all three days, depending on what our needs are. (This gets expensive, so I don't want to book the upstairs area for all three days unless we need it.)
I want to publish a show schedule in advance, so everyone will know which shows will be running at which times (and on which days). This year we'll have the main stage curtains closed on the main stage as much as possible (with the projectors and scaffolding sitting on the forward part of the stage, in front of the curtain), so we can be running shows in the auditorium even if the lights are on in the stage area behind the curtain (where all the computers are set up). However, in order to do this, I'll need a list of shows from people in advance so I can block out times and publish a list.
I've already had one request for an hour time-slot so we can run "The Best of Echos", which is a series of Pink Floyd shows that were created by Mike Dunn. (DZ bought these shows a while back, and they're a popular favorite at LEM's.) I'm also blocking out a couple hours for Frank (Flecom) so he can run some of his converted ADAT shows through his sound-card DAC.
But I'm sure we've got *TONS* more shows (both graphics and beams) that we'd like to run. So if anyone else has a bunch of shows they'd like to display for the group, please contact me (or reply here) with the show list and the approximate running time so I can add the shows to the master schedule. I plan to have a single dedicated graphics projector for graphics shows, and I'll also have my ILDA splitter present if we want to run a beam show on multiple projectors. (This will work no matter what controller you play the show on, so even someone with a sound card DAC can run their show on up to 10 projectors.)
I have been trying to line up a few guest speakers, but I don't have any firm commitments yet. Also, I've been considering having another safety-related lecture on the Monday after SELEM. That seemed to go over really well last year, so if there is enough interest, I think we could do something like that again. I considered having Greg Makhov from LSDI come up to put on a Laser Safety Officer course, but I think that would probably end up costing in excess of $400 per person. Not sure how many people would be interested in that... I'm also looking into having Casey Stack from Laser Compliance come back, which would probably be cheaper.
Beyond that, I need input from you people. I'd like to know what you think about the event. What would you like to see, and what do you want to do this year?
I'm also looking for volunteers to help organize and manage the event. At a minimum, I need people to help with food preparation, networking setup, stage / scaffolding setup, sound system setup, power distribution (on-stage and back stage), name tags & waivers, Auditorium show schedule organization and management, setup and management of the for-sale area, and daily seminar organization.
So if you've got ideas, let's hear them. And if you want to get involved with SELEM, speak up! I need all the help I can get, especially now that this event has become so large.
Adam
I'm in!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Adam,
Like last year, I can provide name tags again, although I was thinking lanyards this time since the stickers peeled off.
If everyone liked the layout last year with your screen name, real name and avitar, I'll keep it that way.
I was also thinking of making them a little bigger. That way they are easier to read.
Let me know.
Chris
