From: Diva Las Vegas organizers (dlvorg@geekbabe.com)
Date: Tue May 04 2010 - 10:23:33 CDT
In this mailing:
Org List
Follow-ups
Laundry list
What worked
Fremont St. FireFly and Beauty Bar
Thrift shopping
Volunteer load
McMullans
Administrivia
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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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Follow-ups:
Thanks to all who sent in no-show and headcount updates.
We have a few missing headcounts, and we'll move those to
the Laundry List and post a final summary when we get all
of them accounted for in some way.
We had our Call For Photos begin last weekend and many
have started to come in. I'm going to try to have the
staging area open sometime next week, and this year I do
want to move the photo process along.
Call to rate our volunteers, plus reminders on the other
items, will go out tomorrow.
The big one, Call For Volunteers, goes out this weekend!
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Laundry list:
We have a few headcounts which we're missing ...
+Rocky Horror Picture Show (Onyx Theater) - ?????
Did anybody attend this? The hostess did have a medical
issue and could not attend, so we were unable to get any
kind of an official headcount.
. . .
+Mortons HH and Dinner (Morton's) - ?????
Alanna? How many? This has been rated, so I know there had
to be at least one present. :)
. . .
+Viva Elvis show (Aria - City Center) - ?????
Ginger? Anyone? Estimated turnout?
. . .
+Glamour Boutique Open House (Glamour Boutique) - ?????
Any estimate of turnout?
. . .
+Fashion Show Lunch (Fashion Show Mall) - ?????
+Fashion Show (Fashion Show Mall) - ?????
Edy? Others? any estimated headcounts on these?
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What worked:
These are my personal observations.
I'm only reporting on those activities I attended.
Pre-DLV gathering, Las Palmas:
Worked. We had maybe 25 or so, many of whom ordered dinner
and the crowd hung around until late evening.
They had a wedding reception going on at the same time, and
one of our people told me she was a bit uneasy in the ladies
room with a mom and her kids in there. I don't think that
anybody said anything, however.
Although I did not witness this, I heard that shortly after
we left, there was some kind of disturbance there, due to
some rowdy patrons.
. . . . .
Studio Lites Open House (Studio Lites) - mv
Worked. For a commercial activity with two different
conflicting (noncommercial) activities at the same time,
I think we had a good turnout.
I had a good conversation with the proprietors regarding
how they can better serve the TG community in LV in general
and the DLV group specifically.
. . . . .
Sin City Happy Hour (Sin City Brewing - Flamingo) - ms
This worked very well! I was pleasantly surprised at the
turnout, despite the fact that it was right out there in
the open, exposed to the public crowds, who didn't really
seem to give the group any more attention than other people
who happened to be in the area at the time.
We did have a few who chose not to follow us to the Flamingo
Buffet for reasons as "I heard it sucked" and the like. :)
It really did not suck. (Honestly, Ginger!) :) The prime
rib and sides that I had were all excellent.
. . . . .
Flamingo Buffet dinner (Flamingo) - ms
Worked, but we had more at the HH than at dinner, even though
we picked up a few who were dining only and not doing the HH.
I did hear one negative comments about the food, but I forget
the specifics.
. . . . .
Alternative common gathering (Escape Lounge) - sv
Worked. Smaller crowd, as I had expected, but all appeared
to be having a good time. Several LV local regulars were
there, as well as a few who admitted that they were still
a bit nervous.
. . . . .
Makeover Tips with Stacey, session 1 (Bare Escentuals) - mv
Worked very well.
As I told Ginger, I was very impressed with the firm and with
their product line!
I think this firm may be good to promote as a comfortable
"stepping stone" from alternative vendors to mainstream
vendors, for those who wish to go more mainstream but don't
want to plunge into the icy cold water head-first, so to
speak. :)
The degree of individual attention was impressive!
I was almost "fashionably late", as it took me a while to
find the shop in the mall.
. . . . .
Lunch With Ginger (Stratosphere Buffet) - ms
Worked. Another very pleasant surprise! For a more inexpensive
buffet, the Stratosphere was not bad at all. I did appreciate
the staff leveraging the discounts so all of our group could
dine at the reduced price.
. . . . .
Happy Hour (Firefly Plaza) - mv
Dinner (Firefly Plaza) - mv
Welcome Meet and Greet (Firefly Plaza) - mv
What more can I say!
To say that this one "worked" is an understatement!
This, ladies (and gentlemen), was DLV's finest hour!
My compliments to Marisa for the venue choice and the overall
coordination of what was DLV's highest-attended activity of
all times!
Also, I think that JoAnn's original idea of doing a "soft
start" on Sunday and having the Big Bang opener on Monday
was the correct thing to do.
They say to never rent a hall you can't fill. Well, we did
fill it, and we had people spilling out into the hallway
and the bar. I would much rather have it this way, slightly
overloaded, than have our group rattling around with much
too much space to fill.
The only down side was that quite a few attendees picked a
seat and stayed there, to avoid losing it. I wish there
could have been a bit more active mingling, but overall it
worked very well and I'm sure it will be highly rated.
Even though this was our largest assembled group of all
time, I'm unaware of any issues or incidents. The only
negative thing I heard (and observed) was that the sole
bartender in our area was overloaded and the line was often
long. A couple times I just stepped out to the main bar for
another drink.
. . . . .
Official group photo (Firefly Plaza) - mv
Worked.
Herding cats, in and of itself, is a challenge. A bigger
challenge is when you have the cats all in a herd, getting
them to face another direction because the photographers
want a different angle! They did it, eventually. :)
. . . . .
Beauty Bar Karaoke (Beauty Bar) - ms
Worked. Yet another pleasant surprise. I was expecting a
less downscale facility. However, I was comfortable there
and it appeared that our group fit in well with the others
there.
It was a "very nice dive bar." :)
This year I had to honestly answer "yes" on the question
having to do with difficulty finding venues. I thought this
was right on the corner of LVB and Fremont, and when I got
to the corner, it was not obvious. I had to ask one of the
bartenders nearby.
. . . . .
Lunch With Mary Beth (Hilton Buffet) - ms
Worked, and we had a good showing. My conclusion is that the
Hilton Buffet has definitely improved.
. . . . .
HRC Harmon Happy Hour (Hard Rock Cafe HARMON) - ms
Worked, although we only had 4 in attendance. Most chose to
go directly to Milano's. (Do not pass GO ...) :)
It's very obvious that the crowd is down a bit at the old
original HRC since the new HRC on the Strip opened.
Still, the service was excellent. A couple of our people
took an on-line survey using a PDA for some kind of a
discount.
. . . . .
Milano's option (Milano's) - mv
Worked, and again, we came close to overloading the place,
as we have many times. :) Great food as usual, and a good
showing by the DLV group.
. . . . .
Alternative Bar Crawl (Goodtimes) - sv
Worked, but we made the decision that we were only going to
"crawl" to one more destination, that being the Escape Lounge
and ...
. . . . .
Jam Session (Escape Lounge) - sv
Worked, but would have been better if the musicians would have
taken "Green Grass and High Tides" to completion. :) :) :)
Again, a good showing from the DLV group.
. . . . .
Boutique at Power Exchange Open House - sv
Worked, and we had a much greater turnout than I had ever
expected. We probably would have had more, but somebody {blush}
put some confusing hints on the schedule as to how to find it.
I was unaware that they were on a small disjoint section of
Highland in a "you can't get there from here" situation. The
phone rang several times and Stephanie said "No, you go to
Polaris, then turn left on Highland ..." :)
We got to tour the main Power Exchange facility, which was,
well, uh ... :) :) :)
. . . . .
Happy Hour (Trevi) - ms
Dinner (Trevi) - ms
Again, worked very well.
I think our area was somewhat understaffed, but I appreciate
the fact that they allowed ordering off the full menu.
Even though there were two other multi-tracked activities,
we did have a very good showing.
There were some comments that service was slow. They only
had one server for our area, both for drinks and food, and
he was obviously overloaded with 30-some diners. However,
given the choice between slower service and limited menus
and/or combined checks, I would prefer the former. I have
a feeling that a limited menu and/or one check per table
would have resulted in a lot of complaints.
There was one dress issue, and I'll admit that I may be
partly responsible for it. The individual in question had
asked me if a Victorian ballgown would be appropriate for
the Limo Tour and my response was that it was impossible
to overdress for the Limo Tour and my only remark was that
such an outfit may take up quite a bit of room in the limo.
Well, I didn't even think of the pre-Limo at Trevi. There
was a brief discussion among some of the volunteers as to
if something should be said, but no action was taken.
In the future, we need to emphasize that prior activities
need to be considered when selecting an outfit for one of
th activities at which dress guidelines are permissive.
One restroom issue, to which I was a witness -- twice!
When I was in the stall in the ladies room I heard loud
male voices out in the common area of the restroom. :(
This could have just as easily been a very intolerant
and closed-minded civilian instead of me! The first time
it happened, the group was gone before I left, but I
"shushed" the second group quite assertively!
. . . . .
Limousine Tour (Caesars) - ms
I think it worked very well this year. Limiting the number
of cars helps to keep things manageable, plus it assures
that the demand exceeds the supply and thus eliminates much
of the hassle in back-filling seats due to no-show/no-pay
people.
JoAnn, Vivian, and I did a fairly thorough check-out of
the Venetian, plotting the exact path to the location of
the performing mime. The afternoon security guard did point
out the small stage on which the mime would be performing
and assured us that yes, they would be performing up until
11:00pm.
Well, we got there maybe 10:30pm or so, got the ca^H^Hpeople
herded up to the correct area, but NO MIME! The on-duty
security guard told us that the mimes quit at 8:00pm!
The lady in the ballgown was quite a hit with the civilians,
actually, standing on the small stage, which was to be where
the mime was, and posing for photos. I heard one passer-by
remark "I think that's a statue." :)
There was a minor issue, as there was a guy, most likely
on some kind of substance, at the top of the escalators,
bouncing around with his shirt off, yelling, and bothering
patrons. Security finally got him cornered, but there were
a few of our people who remarked that they were uneasy
with the guy in our path.
One restroom incident was reported to me. One of our people
used the ladies room at Mermaids and was confronted by one
of the employees. Apparently the security officer on duty
ignored that employee's report. :)
. . . . .
Charles Bar (Bellagio) - ms
Worked. Very well. Good showing. For a late-night (overnight)
activity, we did have a very good crowd. I ended up enjoying
this one a bit too much, and somehow made it back to the
room in one piece. :)
. . . . .
Lunch With Ginger (Harrahs Buffet) - ms
As usual, this one worked well. We had a good turnout and the
server from years prior recognized our group and requested us
in her area.
. . . . .
Pity Party (Escape Lounge) - sv
Worked well and had a very good showing.
Out of all of the years I've attended DLV, this was my first
time at the Pity Party. It's always been opposite something
(show, LT, etc.) I've wanted to do.
The Escape is a very good venue for this. On one side is
the stage, and those who want to be entertained can sit on
the chairs and couches and such and face the stage. On the
other side it's quieter and laid back, and those who want
to converse can do so. Those who want to hang out at the
bar and drink, do VP, and shoot the shi^H^H^Hbreeze can do
so as well. :)
. . . . .
Happy Hour (Bahama Breeze) - ms
Farewell dinner and social (Bahama Breeze) - ms
Worked! Without a question!
Of all the years we've used BB, I think this one was the
best of all!
Largest crowd we've ever had at BB. I counted 98, including
myself, and there's a good chance I missed a few.
This was the strongest ending we've had in YEARS! I really
think that it was to our advantage to do the strong ending
on Friday, rather than a weaker ending on Saturday following
a semi-mass-exodus out of town.
We also had the longest-lingering crowd at any BB affair,
and I was very glad to see some who usually make an
appearance at BB and eat elsewhere, stay to eat and to
socialize! It looked like they were having a good time. :)
The guitar player was a nice touch! We even had people
dancing toward the end. :)
Two issues I'm aware of. First, the unisex restroom was
locked at first. I understand they got it unlocked.
Also, our overdresser was again overdressed. I understand
that no action was taken, however.
. . . . .
Late Evening Dancing (Paris) - ms
Worked well. We had a good showing, mostly in one bolus, but
with our people scattered about the place as well.
I was able to overhear part of a conversation between two
Paris security officers regarding our group. Apparently some
kind of observation or report was made and they were sent to
check things out. They appeared to agree that there was
nothing to be concerned about, but one said he would stick
around and mingle for a while, which he did.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Fremont St. FireFly and Beauty Bar:
Ginger writes (slight edits):
>We rode the bus to Fremont Street and got to experience it
>walking to the FireFly and again during the limo tour.
>After FireFly we found a ride back to the hotel because the
>left shoe of what should have been my most comfortable pair
>of flats was mysteriously attacking my heel and I couldn't
>continue to walk let alone even think about enjoying the
>Beauty Bar.
>It is obviously safe, well patrolled, compact, and compatible
>with our group. With the bus it's cheap and easy to get there
>and there is adequate free and valet parking for those who
>want to drive.
>I think Monday night was one of our best nights ever and next
>year we should find more things to do downtown.
Thanks for the report, Ginger.
We've had things downtown off and on over the years, and
activity there is indeed picking up as the economy improves.
I know we had a very good following on the trek from Firefly
down to the Beauty Bar.
FSE is a good place to hang out. I know that a hang-out
session was proposed for DLV 2010, but for some unknown
reason it never materialized.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Thrift shopping:
Mary Beth writes:
>>I was very dissappointed at our "shows" for our Thrift Shop
>>Tour - six (6) total, including me, and two "jump-starters"
>>who were already at our first venue when the rest of us
>>arrived.
>Cynthia:
>I don't think the problem was with the activity but the time
>of day. Many of us keep such late hours in Vegas that it's
>difficult to get up and out the door for events that start
>early in the morning. I'd be willing to bet that if you did
>the same event starting after lunch at around 1:30 - 2PM
>you'd have a much stronger turnout.
Yes, history has shown that daytime things, particularly
those that start in the morning, do not generate large
turnouts. I would agree with MB that if this were repeated
with a later start time, it most likely would get far more
in attendance.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Volunteer load:
Anne writes:
>Regarding volunteer burnout and lack of last-minute
>volunteers: I would have been happy to volunteer, but
>was asked to do something that would have taken all day.
>I could not because I have to work.
>Regarding possible so-show Niya: she told me she was there,
>but did not attend any events she would have had to sign in
>for.
Thanks for the reports, Anne. Yes, I've marked Niya as
present, so she will not receive the nag-o-grams. :)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
McMullans:
Susan writes:
>Hi all,
/nick all
Hi Susan
/nick fnordia
:)
>Thanks for another great DLV, the best that I remember.
I agree. This was the best of all 14, IMAO! :)
>The counts for Mcmullan's are accurate. The jam session, I
>must admit, in the excitement of putting on a show. that I
>forgot to do a head count. Thanks to whoever did.
That may have been me. I tried to take a headcount at all
of the activities I attended, but I forget if that's the
number which was used. :) (Turning prematurely blonde?)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Administrivia:
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