From: Diva Las Vegas organizers (dlvorg@geekbabe.com)
Date: Mon Jan 11 2010 - 08:01:22 CST
In this mailing:
Org List
Latest updates
Ending
Beating a dead horse
Pity Party and such
Ending thoughts
Working schedule
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Org List:
This is the DLV 2010 Organizational Mailing List (dlvorg@geekbabe.com)
Replies to this message will be forwarded to the DLVORG list and not
the DLV-Announce or DLV-Discuss list.
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Latest updates:
We're now sitting at 95 for validated headcount. We could
very well break 100 before newcomer registration opens! It
almost happened last year, with a count of 98 on February 1.
Other key indicators such as web site hits, mailing list
joins, and discussion forum activity are up.
Yes, we are most definitely going to have a very good
crowd in April!
I would like to start publishing the working schedule in
the general mailings, but I want to see some kind of a
semi-solid plan for the ending before this happens.
. . . . .
Not to bring up the divisive topic of weather again, but
Las Vegas Advisor had just such a question as their Question
Of The day:
(Las Vegas Advisor © 2010 Huntington Press | All Rights
Reserved, excerpted, claiming fair use.)
[ Removed in web archive copy. ]
Las Vegas Advisor subscribers and members can read the entire
article at the usual location.
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Ending:
Please continue discussion on our Friday evening ending.
See ideas and discussion below.
One item which was brought up to me off line, which I do
admit I'm often guilty of, was that some may be hesitant
to make suggestions regarding the ending affair since I
often times "jump on" anyone who suggests something and
coerce/suggest/hard-ass them into volunteering for such
an activity.
Please don't worry. The burden of the final evening is
not going to be forcefully subjected on any one individual.
It's a job to be shared among all of us, myself included.
Also, if I suggest something for you to do and you really
don't want to do it, for whatever reason, please feel free
to decline.
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Beating a dead horse:
JoAnn writes:
>>Thoughts, gang?
>Not to beat a dead horse, but.... not to go on a "big hunt" for
>an alternative, just yet---
>Maybe we should ask again the question about the dinner at the
>Italian American Club?
>What if we had a simple menu spaghetti/meat balls or ravioli and
>salad along with the Pity Party/Formal, could the price breakpoint
>at $40 not impact attendance negatively?
>The evening does offer several things that should attract
>attendance--- pity party, opportunity for formal attire, dinner,
>and a very affordable price.
Thanks, JoAnn.
Gang, if the price point is pushed down into the $40 range, which
would include food, although limited, is this acceptable?
Comments, please!
Nora, would something like that be possible?
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Pity Party and such:
Rosada writes:
>First of all, let me say I am happy to hear that a Pity Party
>is not dead.
Yes, and Pity Party fans, please proceed with your thoughts.
I currently see three possibilities for the Pity Party:
1. As a modified single-track Pity-Formal with an abbreviated
menu, as per JoAnn's plan above.
2. As a Pity-Formal, including food, as per Amy's idea, but
not as a single-track max-attendance activity.
3. As a stand-alone activity, yet to be planned.
>The other thing I want to add is a possible idea for a venue.
>Have you girls thought about looking into a social club that
>might rent it's social hall. (cheap)
>Don't all of you laugh at the same time, but perhaps something
>like the Knights of Columbus or a church social hall that
>might want to rent us a space for our final party.
I'm not going to laugh. Any suggestions are appreciated.
All else please feel free to jump in here ...
The preferred venues for DLV activities tend to be in
unquestionably-mainstream locations, such as restaurants,
clubs, etc. I'm under the impression that the Italian-
American Club is/was "on the edge" of being "mainstream
enough" for our people, and that a more secluded hall (KOC,
union hall, church fellowship hall, etc.) would be over
that line in the wrong direction.
If anybody thinks I'm mis-reading the group here, please
chime in!
As for a church hall, MCC has been brought up, but many
churches (including some MCCs) have a no-alcohol policy,
which would never fly for a major DLV activity.
>This would have to be arranged by someone living in LV
>though. At least I think it would. Okay, you can all
>laugh now!!!
As I said, I'm not laughing.
I think what we need to do is to continue brainstorming
on all fronts, things like do we want to continue with
the idea of a Pity-Formal as an ending bash or do we want
to split things up? Plus, we need to explore possibilities
for venues for any and all of the above.
I think the scope of the activity (possibly activities)
and the venue(s) are interdependent.
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Ending thoughts:
Kat writes:
>A Large ending bash is always appreciated by those of us who
>can not arrive in the beginning We have saved for this event
>and will continue to do so but one of the reasons we liked
>the ending formal is we don't really care for the food at
>Trevi.
>And the limo tour is the night we arrive and I do not think
>we will be up to that. (although we are considering coming
>Tuesday so that may change) But if we don't sign up soon we
>will not get into the limo tour anyway.
Just as an aside here, and this has been brought up off line
recently, for those who are concerned about activity sign-up
and being pushed onto a waiting list, returnees do have an
advantage in that activity sign-up mailings are sent out in
batches by roster order number, with some significant delays
between batches. As long as you sign up for activities
promptly, you, as a returnee, should not have any concerns
about being stuck on a waiting list.
>We liked the pity party but agree it needs a bit more dressing
>up first and maybe a slightly bigger place (although THANK YOU
>to Amy for letting us use her shop at all).
>The place for the ending bash? Well I do not know Vegas but
>times are tough economically speaking and almost any restaurant
>will invite a big party with separate checks b/c it represents
>money in an otherwise hard time.
Many restaurants are very fastidious regarding larger groups,
often insisting on limited menus and bundled payment. Some are
willing to work with us (Bahama Breeze) and others have some
limits (Hard Rock) on how many they are willing to serve from
a regular menu with separate checks. Some (Trevi, Carluccio's)
want an up-front deposit for a large group.
We also run up against the occasional problem of attitude
toward our group. In this day and age, I doubt if anyone
from a restaurant's staff will say it out loud, but they
do have concerns about such things as the visibility of
50-100 TGs, use of restrooms, and such.
>Of course I am a new volunteer so maybe I am way off base but
>well we would like to see and ending bash and my SO would love
>formal if possible.
Here's the thing. Finding a venue for a large DLV function
can be quite a challenge. Many of our attendees can be very
picky and particular.
We are lucky to have Nora locally, who volunteers to do a
lot of the legwork regarding facilities. Nora does have
limits, however, and Nora is also very familiar with the
restaurants in Las Vegas, particularly those who are in
any way TG-friendly.
As of last count there were 40-some vendors listed under
"Food" on our Big List and Nora is responsible for the
entries for most of those.
When Nora sent in the note regarding the "No Deal" on the
proposed Pity-Formal, the first thing I did was to go to
the Big List, looking not only at "Food", but clubs and
hotels as well.
It was very easy to go through a process of elimination
and come up with a few venues which may work.
Things like inadequate facilities (PT's, Crown And Anchor,
Cafe Heidelberg, countless others), too far away from
things (Famous Dave's, M Resort, others), lack of universal
appeal such as limited menu, too ethnic, etc. All kinds of
factors come into play here.
Those still standing after the battle include such things
as Carluccio's and Bahama Breeze, both known quantities,
but both capable of eliciting grumbles from our group.
Another possibility is Macaroni Grill, which was suggested
once by a former volunteer but nothing really happened.
There's also the remaining Blue Ox, waaaaayyyy out west on
Sahara, roughly between Red Rock Canyon and Bakersfield. :)
It may be worth circling back to that idea.
I thought of Maggiano's Little Italy - I know they can
easily handle the gang - but IIRC one of our people ran
into a brick wall trying to arrange something realistic
with them a few years back.
Alexis Park? I really haven't heard anything else bad
about them. We may never know if the disheartening reports
were genuine concern or that of an envious competitor. In
any case, it is a possibility should we want to go down
that road.
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Working schedule:
Diva Las Vegas 2010 schedule
Tentative and subject to change
All times Pacific Daylight Time
Sunday, April 18:
0:01am: Rocky Horror Picture Show (Onyx Theater) - sv
10:00am: Religious services (Metropolitan Community Church) - sv
2:00pm: Studio Lites Open House (Studio Lites) - mv
6:00pm: Happy Hour options (various)
6:00pm: Irish Pub Happy Hour (McMullan's) - ms
7:00pm: Dinner options (Various)
7:00pm: Irish Pub Dinner (McMullan's) - ms
9:00pm: After-dinner common gathering (TBA) - mv
Monday, April 19:
10:30am: Makeover Tips with Stacey (Bare Escentuals) - mv
1:00pm: Lunch With Ginger (TBA) - ms
3:00pm: Beginner Open House (See notes) - sv
6:00pm: Happy Hour (Hard Rock Cafe Strip) - mv
7:00pm: Dinner (Hard Rock Cafe Strip) - mv
8:00pm: Welcome Meet and Greet (Hard Rock Cafe Strip) - mv
Tuesday, April 20:
8:00am: Diva Las Vegas Invitational Golf (Desert Rose) - ms
10:30am: Makeover Tips with Stacey (Bare Escentuals) - mv
1:00pm: Lunch With Mary Beth (TBA) - ms
3:00pm: Beginner Open House (See notes) - sv
7:00pm: Murder Mystery Interactive Dinner-Theater (tba) - sv
7:00pm: Eating Out Night (Various)
7:00pm: Milano's option (Milano's) - mv
7:00pm: Joe's option (Joe's Crab and Steak) - ms
8:30pm: Mainstream-Alternative Night (Various)
8:30pm: Pub Crawl (TBA) - sv
9:00pm: Viva Elvis show (Aria - City Center) - ms
9:30pm: Divas - Frank Marino Show (Imperial Palace) - ms
Wednesday, April 21:
1:00pm: Lunch With Ginger (TBA) - ms
2:00pm: SO and Partners Get-together (TBA) - ms
3:00pm: Beginner Open House (See notes) - sv
6:00pm: Quiet Evening At Home HH and Dinner (See notes) - sv
6:00pm: Happy Hour (Trevi) - ms
7:00pm: Dinner (Trevi) - ms
8:00pm: Pajama Party (See notes) - sv
9:30pm: Limousine Tour (TBA) - ms
Thursday, April 22:
2:00am: Charles Bar (Bellagio) - ms
11:00am: Glamour Boutique Open House (Glamour Boutique) - sv
1:00pm: Lunch With Ginger (TBA) - ms
5:00pm: Night Of The Soiled Doves (CR) - mv
6:00pm: Local Happy Hour (TBA) - ms
7:00pm: Local Dinner (TBA) - ms
11:00pm: Dancing at Paris (Paris) - ms
Friday, April 23:
9:00am: Pistol/rifle shooting (TBA) - ms
1:00pm: Lunch With Kimberly (TBA) - ms
2:00pm: Walk off your lunch (TBA) - ms
3:00pm: High Tea (TBA) - ms
11:00pm: Dancing at Paris (Paris) - ms
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