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