[Artemisia] Event Thoughts

[Bruce Padget]

--- Lady Constance writes:


>> But what  of feasts at such events? When Sir
Gregory
>> and I spoke last night, he  brought up the death of
>> off-board feasting.  Somewhere, somebody  decided
>> that
>> the only choices for eating at events are
full-blown
>> feast  or off-site dining.  Nobody's fessed up, but
>> if
>> I meet the SOB, I'll  throttle him 
> 
> 
> I think you might find that the death came about
> because of several  events 
> held at hotels and other such places which do not
> allow other food to be  
> brought onsite.  Several such events occurred in a
> row about three years  ago and I 
> have not seen much off-board offered in this area
> since that  time.  Think 
> people got used to the fact that we "couldn't" do
> off board  through those 
> events and "couldn't" just migrated to "don't". 
> Again,  something for the event 
> steward to keep in mind when searching for  sites.  

I think you've hit on something really key here -- as
Lord Adric touched on (perhaps "touche'd" on, no? :D),
the dream site is almost impossible to find. 

One site says no outside food.
Another site says no flames, not even candles.
Another site locks down at 10 p.m.
Another site won't let you in before noon.
Another site says we must restrict ourselves to the
single big room we rented.

I have yet to see a site that imposes all of these
restrictions (if so, I certainly hope we were getting
it dirt cheap), but sometimes it feels like we design
our events for the most restrictive site.

While I would never advocate violating a site rule --
nothing wrecks ambience like getting the boot -- we
don't have to accept the most restrictive site rules
as our norm.  Rather, work with what each site will
permit.  If you want enthusiastic participation, stop
saying "can't" and start saying "can!"  (BTW, Lady
Constance's Site Database is a prime example of "can"
thinking.)

Lady Constance has also showed how to work with
restrictions.  She stewarded at event a major hotel,
where the rule was Food Provided and Served By The
Hotel Only. She worked with the catering staff to get
a menu and servant's livery that was reasonably 
authentic.  A little spendy, but I don't think it was
any more expensive than the rubber chicken banquet
they would have served otherwise, and no one had to
stay behind and do dishes.

Regards,
Niccolo
Abbastanza Buon Non E Abbastanza Buono
bapadget at yahoo.com