I'll be honest, I like to bowl! I doubt a bowling alley would be willing to shut down for an event like SELEM, but you could do some cool beam shows in the lane area, don't you think?
Marc, I found a venue near Topeka that is very similar to Newton... It's a former school that has been converted into a craft center with some of the classrooms repurposed as overnight rooms with beds and such. They have a gym with a stage, a large kitchen area, and several open rooms that used to be part of the science lab. With a little planning I think we could fit all of the normal SELEM activities into this location. The cost is higher, but since the cost includes room and board for up to 40 people it might actually work out to be cheaper in the long run.
Honestly if it wasn't so far away from Charleston I'd be willing to move SELEM to that location (assuming there weren't any show-stopping issues with power, or fog, or insurance). But given how many times I had to drive up to Newton in the past just to resolve various issues with the venue (or with the orchestra, or with the town) before each SELEM, I can't see that being feasible with a venue that is 1200 miles away. I'm worried that if I move to a venue that is too far away I won't be able to stay on top of things like I did when we were in Newton.
It's not the drive to SELEM itself that worries me. It's all those other trips... When we were in Newton I could easily take a day off work and run up there just for the day to work out an issue. I'd be back home late that same night. (It's only a 4 hr drive one-way from Charleston to Newton.) I suppose if we moved the event to Kansas I could always fly, but that gets expensive...
Adam