clark
April 13, 2004, 09:32 PM
Mods, if you think this thread fits better somewhere else, feel free to move it.
This thread is primarily geared for people who've attended freethought/humanist/atheist conventions. I've attended a few conventions recently and will be assisting in planning two this year. After several years of attending freethought conventions, and co-organizing a regional one at Lake Hypatia for several years, I put together my own opinions of what makes for a good and not-so-good convention. I hope to forward such a list to some other people that actually plan these things. I put comments in parens after a couple. Please comment on these, or please add any suggestions.
1. a. Banquets suck. I have yet to meet anyone who likes banquets. I have never heard anyone say, "I'm really looking forward to tonight's banquet" at a convention. Hotel banquet food is usually sub-par, and quite overpriced. Finicky eaters are limited to one meal, or a choice between regular and vegetarian. Banquet meals are overpriced - $40 or $50 for glazed yardbird. They're elitist and stuffy, and deter younger people and people with kids from attending. The worst thing is having major speakers at a banquet as either non-banquet purchasers can't attend or they can attend but have to sit waaayyy in the back behind all the tables. (Most conventions let any convention goer attend speeches even if they attend the banquet, but you need binoculars. One upcoming convention is requiring banquet purchase to hear the speakers.)
b. There are two better solutions for meals, meals-on-your-own and buffet style. "Dining on your own" works in large hotels with multiple restaurants or in hotels adjacent to malls or other shopping or tourist areas, like the Las Vegas Strip. In isolated hotels with limited restaurants, "dining on your own" is not feasible. Buffet style meals work well. Buffet style meals are usually cheaper than banquet meals and offer more of a variety for picky eaters. Buffets also tend to promote socialization. Buffets are usually set up in separate rooms, leaving the plenary room set in auditorium style seating. (The buffet style worked well at the Randi Amazing Meeting in January and last year at the AAI convention in Tampa. I've also like "dining-on-your-own" as you can get out of the hotel for an hour or two.)
2. Always have conference registration and food registration separate. Combined reservations tends to deter local people from attending.(Coloradoans know this problem from last weekend)
3. Music is risky, unless it's a "proven commodity" like Dan Barker. Musical tastes of freethinkers vary widely. Music can work well as after hours entertainment or as entertainment during a (buffet style) meal. Music should generally not be scheduled as a plenary. Musicians that encourage the audience to sing along should be especially looked on with extreme skepticism. If we wanted to hear bad singing in unison, we'd return to the Catholic Church :).
4. Many speakers are prone to exceed their time. The emcee should enforce time restraints. Very rare exceptions occur when an audience is enthralled by the speaker and the schedule has some padding. A good emcee can look at an audience and tell if the audience is focused on the speaker or fidgety and looking at their watches.
5. Dancing is usually a bad idea. Very few men at freethought conventions enjoy dancing, and women don't often dance without male partners. (I was recently at a convention with a "DJ" and dancing scheduled. Not a single person whatsoever danced. I think the DJ felt miffed.)
THOUGHTfully Yours,
Clark
This thread is primarily geared for people who've attended freethought/humanist/atheist conventions. I've attended a few conventions recently and will be assisting in planning two this year. After several years of attending freethought conventions, and co-organizing a regional one at Lake Hypatia for several years, I put together my own opinions of what makes for a good and not-so-good convention. I hope to forward such a list to some other people that actually plan these things. I put comments in parens after a couple. Please comment on these, or please add any suggestions.
1. a. Banquets suck. I have yet to meet anyone who likes banquets. I have never heard anyone say, "I'm really looking forward to tonight's banquet" at a convention. Hotel banquet food is usually sub-par, and quite overpriced. Finicky eaters are limited to one meal, or a choice between regular and vegetarian. Banquet meals are overpriced - $40 or $50 for glazed yardbird. They're elitist and stuffy, and deter younger people and people with kids from attending. The worst thing is having major speakers at a banquet as either non-banquet purchasers can't attend or they can attend but have to sit waaayyy in the back behind all the tables. (Most conventions let any convention goer attend speeches even if they attend the banquet, but you need binoculars. One upcoming convention is requiring banquet purchase to hear the speakers.)
b. There are two better solutions for meals, meals-on-your-own and buffet style. "Dining on your own" works in large hotels with multiple restaurants or in hotels adjacent to malls or other shopping or tourist areas, like the Las Vegas Strip. In isolated hotels with limited restaurants, "dining on your own" is not feasible. Buffet style meals work well. Buffet style meals are usually cheaper than banquet meals and offer more of a variety for picky eaters. Buffets also tend to promote socialization. Buffets are usually set up in separate rooms, leaving the plenary room set in auditorium style seating. (The buffet style worked well at the Randi Amazing Meeting in January and last year at the AAI convention in Tampa. I've also like "dining-on-your-own" as you can get out of the hotel for an hour or two.)
2. Always have conference registration and food registration separate. Combined reservations tends to deter local people from attending.(Coloradoans know this problem from last weekend)
3. Music is risky, unless it's a "proven commodity" like Dan Barker. Musical tastes of freethinkers vary widely. Music can work well as after hours entertainment or as entertainment during a (buffet style) meal. Music should generally not be scheduled as a plenary. Musicians that encourage the audience to sing along should be especially looked on with extreme skepticism. If we wanted to hear bad singing in unison, we'd return to the Catholic Church :).
4. Many speakers are prone to exceed their time. The emcee should enforce time restraints. Very rare exceptions occur when an audience is enthralled by the speaker and the schedule has some padding. A good emcee can look at an audience and tell if the audience is focused on the speaker or fidgety and looking at their watches.
5. Dancing is usually a bad idea. Very few men at freethought conventions enjoy dancing, and women don't often dance without male partners. (I was recently at a convention with a "DJ" and dancing scheduled. Not a single person whatsoever danced. I think the DJ felt miffed.)
THOUGHTfully Yours,
Clark