Search continues for new SELEM venue for 2021 - post your ideas here!

[JohnYayas]

Is Newton still "cancelled"?

[buffo]

Is Newton still "cancelled"?

Good Question, Gary.

As far as I'm concerned, the answer is yes; Newton is most definitely cancelled. The management at the venue essentially ceased to exist last summer, and the school (which was notoriously hostile to the idea of us, or anyone, renting their facility to start with) has not picked up the slack since then, so to me there's nothing to work with and zero trust.

Recall that if we had not been forced to cancel SELEM last fall due to COVID-19, we would not have had the venue available to us for several days because they double-booked it - despite the fact that we've been there since 2007 *and* signed a letter in 2018 clearly stating our intent to return in 2019 and listing the dates we needed. It was 100% their fault, but rather than own up to it and address it, they just abdicated...

I never even got a call from the auditorium management about this problem. Instead, the part-time secretary (who at the time was not being paid and was already owed several weeks of back-pay) noticed the conflict and decided to give me a courtesy call right before she quit. She told me that the "executive director" was likely still unaware of the problem because they were not performing any of their duties, and ours was just one of several cases that were going to have issues soon. This failure of management (plus not being paid) is why the part-time secretary was quitting.

That's when I decided it was time to cut our ties with the Newton Auditorium for good. It may sound petty, but I have decided that I will not be groveling at the feet of the Newton Auditorium or the school on behalf of our group ever again.

Presently my plan is to host SELEM in Delaware at Brad's facility, unless a better option presents itself before, say, the end of May.

I should point out that I'm not trying to be a tyrant or a dictator here. SELEM has always been a group effort, and if the group wants to return to Newton, that's fine with me. But in that case, someone else needs to come forward to take up the torch for Newton in my place.

I'm happy to hand over the reigns and let someone else negotiate with them, but I am not willing to discuss things further with anyone at Newton, nor am I willing to put my name on the line for any event hosted there. I've just been burned too many times to trust them anymore.

Adam

[JohnYayas]

Good Question, Gary.

As far as I'm concerned, the answer is yes; Newton is most definitely cancelled. The management at the venue essentially ceased to exist last summer, and the school (which was notoriously hostile to the idea of us, or anyone, renting their facility to start with) has not picked up the slack since then, so to me there's nothing to work with and zero trust.

Recall that if we had not been forced to cancel SELEM last fall due to COVID-19, we would not have had the venue available to us for several days because they double-booked it - despite the fact that we've been there since 2007 *and* signed a letter in 2018 clearly stating our intent to return in 2019 and listing the dates we needed. It was 100% their fault, but rather than own up to it and address it, they just abdicated...

I never even got a call from the auditorium management about this problem. Instead, the part-time secretary (who at the time was not being paid and was already owed several weeks of back-pay) noticed the conflict and decided to give me a courtesy call right before she quit. She told me that the "executive director" was likely still unaware of the problem because they were not performing any of their duties, and ours was just one of several cases that were going to have issues soon. This failure of management (plus not being paid) is why the part-time secretary was quitting.

That's when I decided it was time to cut our ties with the Newton Auditorium for good. It may sound petty, but I have decided that I will not be groveling at the feet of the Newton Auditorium or the school on behalf of our group ever again.

Presently my plan is to host SELEM in Delaware at Brad's facility, unless a better option presents itself before, say, the end of May.

I should point out that I'm not trying to be a tyrant or a dictator here. SELEM has always been a group effort, and if the group wants to return to Newton, that's fine with me. But in that case, someone else needs to come forward to take up the torch for Newton in my place.

I'm happy to hand over the reigns and let someone else negotiate with them, but I am not willing to discuss things further with anyone at Newton, nor am I willing to put my name on the line for any event hosted there. I've just been burned too many times to trust them anymore.

Adam

Thanks for answering. I don't blame you at all for feeling that way and unless they completely change management I would agree that they are not worth bothering with. I was mainly curious if it would be an option if nothing else presented itself. I thought I read that Brad's place wasn't available but maybe that was from years ago or I was just imagining things. It's good to know there is something in the works.

[Shadow]

I'm sure something will come up if everyone keeps looking.

[bradstockdale]

Thank you for all your continued efforts Adam. It's appreciated by us all.

[laserist]

Just a modest suggestion: pitch it as a STEM (or STEAM) event. Do part of the day showing kids how laser shows are done. If you sell it right you could get the location for free. Hell, you could even get sponsors and/or a grant. Laser shows were the original Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math/Music thing...

[VJ AIWAZ]

if you want to move farther north NYC i got a great spot that my biz partner owns

its a full on concert club

i have my work shop in the basement for tech arts

we already have concert sound and lighting and tons of lasers

im sure i can get it cheap

[DrEvil]

What kind of set up do you all think would be best? Do we want a couple large rooms? Large room and a couple small rooms? A couple large rooms and a couple small rooms? Is 3 phase and a water line mandatory? Is an auditorium type room necessary or could we get away with doing big shows in something like a gym or cafeteria type room?

[Bradfo69]

I thought I read that Brad's place wasn't available but maybe that was from years ago or I was just imagining things. It's good to know there is something in the works.

A few years ago, that would have likely been the case but, this year with our calendar having been purged as a result of COVID, we've got some more flexibility and quite honestly have been booking whatever we could get including some non-traditional events.

There are a number of pluses and a few minuses to my venue. The main negative that affects the group as a whole is a shift in days. SELEM started on a weekend and grew to nearly a week with the diehards making the whole thing and the busiest days being Friday and Saturday. With my venue, while we have the same length of time, because weekends are our busiest period, SELEM may have to be a Sunday thru Friday a.m. affair, with the old Saturday night experience being on a Thursday night. The other concern I personally have concerns alcohol. Since we (our landlord) sells and serves it, we do have it posted that no alcohol is to be brought into the facility. With many events where there is alcohol, there's even a doorman who is watching to make sure people aren't trying to sneak it in. While some of that is because of liability issues should, God forbid, someone were to get into an accident leaving the event, lets be real here and say it's more because of a loss of revenue. If you're getting your buzz on from the flask in your pocket, you're not spending money at the bar. I don't want to have to deal with a bunch of shit from the owners since that's the one area that they could be a PITA. However.... in Newton, the school had an issue with alcohol too and the theater just wanted it to be discrete so I think we can manage it.

SELEM isn't a major drinking event to begin with but, what we may have to do with the event at my place is enforce that during some of the time it be confined to outside (car, parking lot, etc.) AND on the plus side arrange for some periods where the bar is open and available for any and all to buy as much as they want. Say for example, on what would have been the old Friday/Saturday, I have have the bar open with a bartender from 6 or 7 to midnight or 1am or something like that. We've got a full bar with 8 beers on draught and very reasonable drink prices. Those details will be hashed out in negotiations for booking the event once that decision is made.

The pluses are numerous... a lot of flexible space, commercial kitchen, a reasonable amount of privacy, loads of parking, proximity to hotel(s) and things for any family to do as a side gig, 480v and 240v 3 phase readily available with cam locks, no need for a babysitter, no false smoke alarms, loads of clean electric, plenty of tables, under 2 minute drive to fast food and Home Depot, drone flying field, built in customizable sound and, as some have said, a good "test" to establish in a new environment, what amenities a SELEM venue absolutely must have going forward. Might there be a glitch we discover here and there? Maybe but, it's considerably easier to resolve on "home turf" in a building I've essentially lived in for 13 years.

Other pluses include the fact that Mt. Lasermore is in the storage facility next door and Lord knows if we need anything... it's likely in there! And, while it's also not as important, the food that would be available should be FAR better, plentiful and easier to prepare.

As a side note, ILDA was going to host the annual conference there last year with banquets, bars and all the trimmings and got cancelled due to COVID but, the venue passed muster by the conference committee so, I'm sure it can be made suitable for SELEM.

[bradstockdale]

First and foremost... Brad, your venue sounds awesome. I know it's been discussed in the past to some extent but with the situation being what it is, maybe this is a good chance to switch to a venue that would be more welcoming in many regards. Managed by a laserist too! Lol.

One high level question... And it may be too early to get a good feel for this. But is there a thought that SELEM would still be targeting an August timeframe? Again, may be way too early to even put a solid month on it given the many uncertainties. Just trying to think ahead.

Thanks!