HALLO OUT THERE!

[lithera]

I have gotten a party room reserved for NorWesCon.

This is actually happening. I am throwing a Con Party.

There are a few things I will need help with, those of you on my LJ friend's list who go to said conventions. (Or if you go to Cons and aren't local but have experience with these sorts of things...)

I have approached some of you for various things I will need help with - if you can do them, awesome. If not, I totally understand. There are plenty of crazy plans I come up with that don't end up happening and I will not hold you to commitments you made loosley six months ago.

1 - Floor. There is a CRAZY damage deposit on this room. I don't blame the hotel in the least but this means I need some help on figuring out how to protect the floor and yet make sure that it is dancable. I would love to put like plastic on the floor but heels and plastic is bad. If anyone has any idea about how to make a quick customizable dancefloor, I would love to hear them.

2 - Drinks. I need drinks that are good and mostly inexpensive to make as I'll be making a LOT OF THEM. I have ideas about vodka and Kool-aid but if anyone has any more specific ideas, please let me know. CODY! Do you still have any crazy awesome cherries left? I would be willing to buy them off of you for this - or I'd be willing to buy materials for you to make them with. Let me know! (I also have Christmas prezzies for you. We should get together.)

3 - Music. I think I have this covered. Andy, are we still good with this?

4 - Bouncers. I know a lot of big strong men out there. I also know a lot of smaller vicious guys to. Anyone willing to check IDs and generally watch people? I'm not expecting this to be totally crazy or anything and the room is smaller than the lakeside ones (those were all taken) but I still need probably two door guys and one inside guy. (Possibly to help with drinks too?) I'm sort of winging this because I haven't done it but I'd rahter have more than I need than not enough. I will make sure you get a T-Shirt! Holly is helping me by desgining things and posters and we'll get t-shirts and... just... STUFF!

5 - Not thinking of. Anyone out there have more experience with these sorts of things than me? Is there something I'm not thinking of? Is there something you would do that I've not mentioned? Is there something I /have/ mentioned that you think is an awful idea? HELP ME OUT PEOPLE!

This will be quite an undertaking and as always for these parties, I am looking for financial backers. We're going to be relatively new to this thing, so I don't think I can seel t-shirts at the parties just yet but, hell, I might well have them around just because. We shall see. If you want to help - awesome. If you'd rather not and you will be at the Con - come to the party once I know where it is. I promise, there will be posters at the time.

I ONLY HAVE FOUR MONTHS! AHHHHHHHHHH!

Thank you.

Comments

[sepulchrave.livejournal.com]

What's your theme? If it's cool, I can provide a photoshoot and we could adorn the walls with cool posters.

[jameel.livejournal.com]

Damn. I wish I were going, because I'd totally be a bouncer.

Anyway, you can rent a dancefloor that you assemble. I've seen them at cons.

[lithera.livejournal.com]

If it's cool? *prods at Angel some*

I'll drop you an e-mail.

[lithera.livejournal.com]

Well, it'll been in April. You have some time, if you want to make it out. And that's a good idea. I don't exactly know the measurements for the space I have but that's something to keep in mind if I can learn what they are.

[fireballof3.livejournal.com]

But which night is the party?
I can prolly help, but I also should be present for Easter in Oly.
Also, don't forget about sip & go naked! (1 bottle cheap vodka, one 6-pack cheap light beer, one can lime-aid, ice, mix ingredients together. Do NOT add water, the beer is water enough to make the lime-aid work)

[lithera.livejournal.com]

I don't know yet because I don't know which night Andy is DJing the dance. The night he isn't DJing the dance, he'll be at the party.

[apestyle.livejournal.com]

At the edges of my mind, I'm somewhat interested in being a bouncer.
Some questions:
-How big is the room and what is the capacity?
-I haven't been to a Con in a looooong time, so I'm not really clear on how rowdy a crowd to expect.
-In case a fight breaks out, do you plan on having radio contact with the hotel's security staff?
-What would your policy on contraban be?

[foxfyre.livejournal.com]

RE #1: A dropcloth would help solve some of the floor-protection problems, though it wouldn't be the coolest dancefloor around. Something like this I mean, not just a sheet of plastic. Just tossing the idea out there.

I'll keep thinking to see if I can suggest anything else you might need to consider, but it's been a long time since I hit a con...

[lithera.livejournal.com]

- The room is not too large. I'm getting one of the family rooms which is essentially two rooms joined together, with one being cleared out for the party. I can't give you exact dimmensions yet as I don't ahve them from the hotel currently.
- I'm not expecting too rowdy, simply because they don't tend to get that way even at Biohazard and I'm not going to have the ability to have that many people since my room is smaller and this is the first year I'm doing this, among other awesomeness.
- I'm going to learn what hotel and Con policy on this are and follow it. Same for contraband.

[lithera.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[fireballof3.livejournal.com]

AH-SO. Okeeee dokeeeee.

[apestyle.livejournal.com]

3 security staff sounds adequate, when you describe the room.

If you want my help, lemme know what the schedule would be and I'll see what my time constrains might be. I might even wanna have cool security shirts made. :)

[lithera.livejournal.com]

*grins* The plan was to have everyone helping me out get cool t-shirts at the very least.

It'll be Easter weekend, I'm not sure which day Friday or Saturday yet.

[pullthestars.livejournal.com]

no food?

[lithera.livejournal.com]

AH HA!

See? Something I'm forgetting always.

I would want it to be simple and not too messy. I don't have much space, so I might have to have food in the other room? I'll have to think about this but I think cheesy bean dip and chips and maybe veggies?

Hrmmmm.

DanceFloor

[princessgeek.livejournal.com]

You can rent portable dance floors from rental places, they're basically wood squares that lock into each other. Alternatively, and possibly cheaper might be interlocking laminate flooring. It's not designed to go over carpet but it could if you wanted it to.

I would be glad to help with any other party organizational things you'd like help with. (Decorating, catering etc) Although: I've never been to a con so I have no idea what to expect.

Re: DanceFloor

[lithera.livejournal.com]

The laminate flooring idea is a good one. I'll have to look into it, Any ideas as to where would be a good place to look? I might just end up going to Home Depot and asking them what they think.

Thank you for the offer! I am going to be thinking about the catering aspect, brainstorming some.

RE: Con Party OR HALLO OUT THERE!

[sordidatus.livejournal.com]

Floor: Get a one inch or half inch thick vulcanized rubber mat. The stuff probably comes off a roll at Home Despot. This stuff looks like tire rubber and they cut it to fit right in the store. You can also make minor fit adjustments with a pair of heavy duty scissors on the last minute. You can sweep it / mop it, nothing will soak through it, and it is heavy enough not to be picked up by heals, nor is it slippery.

Drinks:

Get two of those big drink coolers like what they put the gatoraid in at football games. Fill one with margerita and some ice. Fill the other with ice and then fill it half with soju and half with Coke and then give it to me. Just kidding about the "and give it to me" part. If you don't want to fill it with Coke you can fill it with strawberry kool aid. Also a large pitcher of midori sour might go over well. Jello shots also are an excellent way of economizing liquer.

Bouncers:

I might be persuaded to do a four hour shift if it is economical feezable for me to go and tax season is over. I would recommend looking for people who can spot fake IDs. The local police station might offer this training periodically.

All in all sounds like fun.
I hope that I can make it.
If I think of any specific way I can help you out I'll let you know.
If you think of any specific way I can help you out pleast let me know.

[pullthestars.livejournal.com]

Costco is your friend for that kind of stuff.

[fixerbard.livejournal.com]

Well I do DJ the Convention Friday Night Dance, I just got confirmed on that, so I can do saturday night.

[lithera.livejournal.com]

Totally.

*nods* Completely and totally.

[lithera.livejournal.com]

Rock on. Saturday it is.

Re: DanceFloor

[apestyle.livejournal.com]

I'd try ikea for the wood floors. super cheap. or maybe a flooring "superstore" might have something on clearance.,

Re: DanceFloor

[princessgeek.livejournal.com]

oops that was me and I think jello shots is an awesome cool idea too. You can get little cups and lids at cash and carry and make them up way ahead of time. I can help if you want.

Re: DanceFloor

[lithera.livejournal.com]

I have like... no experience with jello shots, so any help I could get would be awesome.

[obake.livejournal.com]

Floor: A painting drop cloth, the heavy cloth kind. It's not pretty, but it'll be unique. Maybe you can get a used one on the cheap that already has paint on it--it'll be like a Jackson Pollock work on your floor! Or just the drop cloth with other colored el-cheapo fabric (the stuff you can get for a buck a yard) over it.

Drinks: A cooler full of sangria is festive, fun, and can be done on the cheap. For harder drinks, get some of those large plastic juice pitchers (you can get them way cheap at thrift stores and when you're done, you can drop them back off there) and make batches of simple drinks like vodka-crans, screwdrivers, mimosas, non-blended daquiris, or even harder drinks like white russians, or buttery nipples, or pixie stixs. Jello shots are popular and fun, especially if you find some decorative mini-cupcake paper cups.

[lithera.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

Those are some really good ideas on the drinks.

[c-jyd.livejournal.com]

If I go to NorWes, which is more likely this year than it has been in years past (depending on finances and comicky stuff) I'd be happy to help out with security.
I'd need to sit for the most part, but I can keep an eye on the room, check IDs, and have years of security experience, and experience dealing with drunks.

[horriblywrong.livejournal.com]

I have a small supply of cherries left, but I can make more.

In fact, just made a batch using chocolate vodka...

[lithera.livejournal.com]

Woooooooo!

So, are you going to your parent's place at all this break? I would come to you but I am severely lacking in fundage for the gasoline for such and endeavour.

And thank you for the present I have yet to open!

[horriblywrong.livejournal.com]

Heading to my parents on Friday, going to be in Seattle Xmas and the 26th (if we want to meet up then, that would be a perfect day).

[lithera.livejournal.com]

Cool. I was thinking of taking the 26th off anyway.

[moriarty6.livejournal.com]

Dragon*Con regular checking in:

Floors: sordidatus has the right idea. Either the vulcanized rubber or rent a floor. Buying flooring from Ikea will almost certainly be too expensive and not as easy to assemble, and just dropping plastic sheeting will catch heels and cause slips. You can just go with a naked floor, you know. I don't know how NorWesCon rolls but even at the fetish cons back in the South we only cover the floors if we expect blood. Um.

Drinks: Skip the sujo, it'll send your guests home early with headaches. Vodka screwdrivers in Gatorade coolers are good. Add a few bottles of tonic water/Sprite/Ginger Ale when it's halfway down to both make it go farther and to slow down the fast drunks. Rum and cider also works for this.

Music: I must warn you in advance of the Inverse Rule of Con Playlists. The objectively better your playlist is, the fewer people will actually dance to it. You think I jest, and that you have an unstoppable playlist with the plague that makes your booty move, but oh you'll see. If you want people to actually dance, get an album of Gay Club Hits of the 90's.

Bouncers: I might be able to pour drinks if needed and jump in with MAD KUNG FU MADNESS if the party gets rowdy. It probably won't. Room party stress is rare even at high-tension events like Dragon*Con.

Wild Card: Just some off-the-cuff thoughts. Don't bankrupt yourself; don't spend money you can't afford to lose. Don't expect to make your money back. If this is your first room party, keep expectations modest: don't go nuts with the theme. Don't feel obliged to provide food; if you do, don't cook, just keep it at bags of chips and the like. I've been to fantabulously awesome room parties that had nothing but some Xmas lights, booze, and a stereo.

[lithera.livejournal.com]

With a $1000 damage deposit? I'm not wanting to take a risk on there being some horrible stain of something spilled on the floor. I just don't want to give them a chance to take money if I can just prepare ahead of time.

Yeah. I'm not planning on Soju. I was most planning on having water and soda and such around no matter what. The drinks aren't likely to be fancy. I was thinking different flavored (and colored) vodka drinks as well as some cheaper stuff like rum and such for general drinks.

I have the DJ of the dance on Friday DJing my party on Saturday. I think I'll be okay. If not? Eh. Screw 'em. *grins* If Andy is good enough on Friday, he should be good enough on Saturday.

Really? That would be awesome. I'm not at all expecting there to be any issues. I have never seen any issues or heard of many, except the rare, rare occurance of things. I would love to have all of the help I can get with drinks and just over all... management, you know?

Yeah. I'm not planning on making money back at all. It isn't in the cards. I know it isn't. I never expect to make money back on parties. That totally isn't the why. I've just sort of gotten to the point where I've been going to this Con for a decade and I want to... I don't know.... DO SOMETHING.

Re: DanceFloor

[sordidatus.livejournal.com]

Jello Shots:

You make it just like you would normal jello but you use alcohol for the "cold water" instead of actual cold water. It helps to refrigerate the booze before hand so it is cold when you mix it. As always with jello: measure carefully and make sure that both parts are equal. It helps to boil more water then you need and then measure it out after it boils.