ANNI LOCATION AND DATES. Update: Potential location change!

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Karassa has the right of it!

I'm not speaking on any authority as to the actual plan of events because its still in planning. I think this is likely to be an event that is kind of a hybrid between our regular Anni's and Vegas (beyond the obvious comparison of Casinos - the big thing is we're centrally located to a ton of things to do that we don't have to create ourselves, and they're things that are really worth doing). My hunch is that we'll try to keep major Tower activities to an approachable and satisfactory minimum (Toast & Ceremonies, Tournament, Feast, Awards) and then have members (likely from the entertainment committee, but probably not restricted to) lead different activities they're interested in. Some will likely be based where we're staying (games, trivia, knitting circles), but some will likely also take advantage of visiting local attractions with participating members covering their own costs.

So, this said....
Even if you never left the facility, we're on the beach on the biggest alpine lake in North America, have spectacular views and amazing company - even if you never leave, this place is worth the trip. It just so happens we're also within a 5 - 10 mile radius of a lot of other things that are also fun.

Purely speculative, but I think you're likely to see groups getting together for things like:
- a day of skiing/snowboarding - around $100 + when accounting for lift tickets and equipment rental
- horseback riding (depends on opening day at stables - we'll be right on the cusp) - about $50
- lake cruise - 1.5 hours, about $50
- night on the town - probably the cost of splitting cabs to and from State Line (which wont be bad), the rest depending on what you want to spend eating, drinking, clubbing or gambling
- nature hikes, museums, state and national parks - there is a lot of worthy site seeing that doesn't cost a penny.

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I'm so excited about this whole thing.

Plus, anyone who wants to drive their own 4x4 to the site is welcome to run the rubicon with myself and hubby either before or after. Haven't figured out yet which way we'll do it.

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Woo hoo!

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I love camp Richardson! They hold our Renn Faire in the campgrounds there every year and that's always where I drive up to swim at Tahoe

I know this probably can't be answered now but I can't remember how it was handled at past events. Can I pay stone kind of ticket that doesn't include lodging?

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*happy dances* this is just before my mandatory work conference so I will be able to go and its only a few hours from me

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Lia Kellenit said:

I know this probably can't be answered now but I can't remember how it was handled at past events. Can I pay stone kind of ticket that doesn't include lodging?

Click to expand...

I can say that we have only very rarely done that in the past. We have a general policy of avoiding "a la carte" ticketing where people pick and choose which activities they do or do not want to do. (And in this context, one's sleeping accommodations are loosely defined as an activity. ) It affects our negotiations/agreements with providers (like the hotel), it makes a lot more work for the MoR and the Shatayan, and different ticket prices tend to create more risk that the event will run in the red.

What we will absolutely be doing is looking at how to make the event affordable for as many people as possible. That could mean a lot of things, but I won't know exactly what until we run the numbers!

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Lia, I used to work that same Ren Faire (Valhalla!)!

Some thoughts and explanation about ticket pricing and how we as a group decide what is included...

We have approached funding our events in two major ways: lodging included vs. event ticket only. Anniversaries have overwhelmingly been the former and Fall Ball being mostly the latter (there are a few exceptions either way). There are good things and challenges about both paths.

Lodging separate from event:
- Attendees can figure out their own lodging based on their budget and willingness to accept more roommates.
- Attendees can have private rooms at a level dictated by their comfort level and available funds.
- Attendees can bring family members who otherwise will not participate in any of the event, but are just sharing lodging.

All included:
- We get a substantial discounts on lodging by booking as a group. It is not uncommon for our rates to be lower by 20% or more than if we booked the same space individually.
- We get big discounts on shared/conference space. For example, we will have exclusive access to a space for $250 for the entire weekend that, otherwise, could easily cost $1,000 a day.
-Approaching the reservation communally means we are able to leverage significant discounts that reduce the cost of everything by a very substantial margin. Whether it is the cost of space, catering, lodging, etc. it is cheaper (by a lot) as a whole if we plan and pay for it all together.
- We lose the flexibility of people getting to chose their own space. This is absolutely a swap - communal purchase = lower ticket price. Separate ticket price = meeting space, food, lodging costs more per person.

For 10th Anni, we kept tickets and rooms separate, though we did negotiate for a number of rooms at a reduced rate.
Due to the recession, the reduced time to promote this event, and the lack of getting a private tour of Robert Jordan's house :P means that we're trying to price the total cost of this event lower than 10th Anni.

Either path is fine. For this event, we've chosen to go with the method that will make the event more affordable for everyone. I think its a good compromise. This can be an expensive place. We're approaching pricing as we do most Anni's with the exception of making our own food. We are securing very good prices for gathering places and other resources due to anticipated attendance.

In the end, doing everything together makes tickets cheaper for everyone. Separating everything out is an option (and sometimes a good one!), but it means that everything will be more expensive for each individual. This isn't a problem for those of us with some means. It is a problem for those of us without them.

On a personal note - I've always kind of liked how this was like summer camp except everyone is your friend and also there are adult beverages. If ever we got to have "cult camp" , I think this is it.

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Agreed.

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Oh I totally understand, I just couldn't remember how things were done in the past. I'm sure I'll buy tickets regardless of actually staying with the group or not (more babysitting involved in finding someone for the whole weekend instead of just during a day or two)

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*dances*


Excitement.....

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i too am getting very excited for this. I also want to shoutout those making this possible for us even if still early this event is already being set apart and there is so much potential you all are tapping into.

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OMG!!! Wow! This sounds AWESOME!!!! Horses? Check...Swords? Check... Swords on horses? Not sure... (Probably not) Saidar/Saidin on horses? Priceless! horsey:horsey

Tahoe is sooooooooooooooooooooooo beautiful!!!!!!!!! And Anni is sooooooooooooooooooooooooo fun.... Okay, so I've only made it to 10th Anni, but still GREAT PEOPLE = GREAT FUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Will there be beer tasting this year? Or wine tasting?

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I'm up for tasting....... things.

I"m so excited by the work you're all doing. So proud of you all for every ounce of effort being put forth.

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Awww you crazy kids.

You being excited is making me double excited - we're going to do our very best to make this an event worth your time, worth your investment, and full of amazing memories you'll be glad to have made!!

This is a bit of a non-update, but its the best I can do at the moment.

We're sooooo close to having a final ticket price. One of the challenges in working with a historic lodge is that their staff are not as precise as those found with major hotel chains or national organizations. It means that we have to spend extra time making sure contracts are correct, etc. On the plus side, there is more negotiation allowed. But in the end it takes longer. We are currently waiting on the final draft of this contract to have concrete prices for lodging and negotiated terms on additional event related expenses. We know you need numbers as soon as you can get them - we're working on it urgently.

In the meantime, I can give you some generalizations that might help you decide if you should plan for this event.

This venue, and ultimately our ticket price, is very typical/middle of the road for our events. It will be more than 14th Anni because all food is not included, but it will be far less than 10th (which did not include lodging or food). We're trying to come up with a price that includes lodging, a meal, and major group activities. I believe (don't hold me to this) that, excluding daily food, we're looking at prices very close to 14th Anni.

Some things to consider...at 14th Anni food was included, but we had to cook, serve and clean up after it. In such situations we pay less for food because we provide the labor. At this event, there is no kitchen or dish duty. There is no purchasing and transporting and sorting for donation of goods. We may have to pay for our own meals, but we're vacationing more than we're summer camping. Also, this location is closer to food than any previous, comparable location. Grocery stores, restaurants and fast food are within a decent bicycle distance (which can be rented! Also people have cars! Also there are taxis! Also there is a basic grocer on site!). When we "Camp" we're normally many, many miles away from services. This time, we're about 1.5 miles from services. In West Coast terms, this is like your neighbor deciding to live on your lap. Its close.

14th Anni had cabins separated by a significant distance (and the communal area had to be driven to). We're renting the hotel, and the lobby is all ours. We're looking at an on-site rental for our big dinner, though that isn't set yet. Mainly, everything official we're planning at this point can be accessed by foot.

Airplane access and driving distance is also very middle of the road. From Reno, you're looking at a little less than an hour. From Sacramento, about 2 hours. The Estes Park location was 1.5 - 2 hours-ish from Denver. Corpus Christi was almost 4 hours from Houston.

In the end, it is not the cheapest place we've been. It is also not the most expensive. It is not the closest to a major airport, but it is closer to two international airports in two different States. It is technically in California but 1) there has been a year between this and 13th Anni, unlike our back to back years at Colorado and 2) This isn't Southern California. 13th Anni is at least a 9 hour drive if everything is beautiful/no traffic/potty-breaks are for the weak. Same State, entirely different region. Would you consider St. Louis, New Orleans, and Little Rock to be in the same place as Atlanta? California is a LONG State. Lake Tahoe is very far away from L.A.

Also, seriously... you could spit and hit Nevada. :P

Coming in early? I'm trying to figure out some good sight-seeing. I haven't been "home" in a long time, so this is significant to me. That said, I know fantastic tourist routes, antiquing, great food..... and I want to have a chance to visit it all. I expect, at least, I will look to host an evening in Old Sacramento and a day on Hwy 49 (the trail linking all of the major gold mining communities together). At the very least, I expect for us to flood Placerville with kindness. It wont nearly be as awesome as going to RJ's house - I don't think I can ever top it when it comes to locations so tied to our organizations identity - those were all the stops I had to pull out five years ago. But it is a region worth visiting. I'll work to personally guide those who wish to show up early. And its home. Its home I haven't seen in a long time, but it is still mine and I will make sure you are as welcome as anyone could every hope to be.

And we're working on setting prices as low as we can given projected attendance. I hope we will have a concrete number for you soon.

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:joy Thanks for the update!

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The Koyn Amyrlin is not kidding when she says you could spit and hit Nevada. My Mom and I were up at Tahoe, well, North Lake Tahoe last year for a family wedding. On our way back home we missed our turn, drove right into Nevada... for about 20 seconds, until we pulled a U-turn. lol

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Thanks for the update...keeping me excited and stuff.

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Thanks for all of your hard work, Eleyan! Counting down!

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THis sounds awesome! I hope to lead a group geo-caching at this event (there are *a ton* of geocaches in interesting places around Tahoe). Whats more a person here at Google just did this with their daughter, so i'll have recent reports on many of them

And someone can join me for 4 hours at one of the casinos at Stateline because i'll have to recharge my Electric Car (and what's better than Poker to pass the time while charging?) Note: must be 21 in Nevada to gamble, and they're quite serious about that. There are 2-3 large and a dozen or so smaller casinos in Stateline (which is directly adjacent to South Lake Tahoe and just across the Nevada/California border, in fact the border marker is just outside the lobby of one of the larger Casinos).

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Do we have any news on this front? The Mr. Ahmyra and I are trying to make this a thing for me