Feb 09
I am remiss that I just noticed I had not yet made this announcement, so here it is:
Thank you to Deb Jarvis who has volunteered to take on the role of Activities Coordinator for this year’s Beltaine!
Her tasks will include scheduling the classes, workshops, rituals etc. for the weekend as well as making sure they all go off without a hitch. As will all the coordinator roles, she’ll be able to take volunteer minions to help with things like making sure there are enough chairs or that the class area is ready for the class. If you’d like to help her or you’d like to run a class or workshop, email her at activities@aspcanaan.org soon as the slots are filling up fast.
4 Responses to “Beltaine Activities”
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Just a few questions:
If folks are planning to attend the whole weekend, will there be adequate storage to hold food from Friday morning until the Pot Luck Feast on Saturday evening?
Should the food be hot or cold? If hot, is there a way to reheat the food?
Are folks expected to bring something for the potluck on Sunday as well?
The Food Drive says bring one non-perishable food item. Is one item all a person can donate?
Will fires be permitted for folks to cook their own meals over?
Is there a budget for the Advertising Coordinator to draw on to cover the cost of printing fliers and ‘any paid advertising’? If this is an out-of-pocket up-front expense, will expenditures be reimbursed? Is there a list for the email posts?
And a suggestion:
Potential volunteers may take umbrage at the term ‘minion’; many may not. After all, it is generally construed as (although not necessarily always used as) a derogatory and demeaning word. Still, when asking someone to volunteer their services they should at least be afforded the courtesy of respect.
Excellent questions!
Sue, can you elaborate on the food storage, fires, etc?
There will be two communal meals. The Pot Luck Feast on Saturday and the Stone Soup Ceilidh on Sunday. For the Pot Luck, we are hoping everyone will bring a ready-to-serve dish to share. For the Ceilidh, we as a community will do the cooking and we hope that participants will bring either something ready to eat OR ready to cook (or both if you so feel inclined…)
At the moment, we have not assigned any budget to the Advertising yet. As it stands, I expect to have money available to print fliers and event booklets. As much as we can recuperate from paid advertising, is how much better we can make them. Any pre-approved expenses are expected to be reimbursed if not already reimbursed before the purchase.
As for minions… I do hope people take it in stride. I’ve no intention of suddenly growing a politically correct gene at this point. Volunteer, minion, daemon, or man of business, I don’t care what you call the jobs. All the same to me and all in good cheer here.
Oh, right. Advertising – Yes, there is a mailing list. You can sign up for it on the Beltaine info page right here about halfway down the page. That’s where I expect the major announcements to go. The Advertising Coordinator would also need to have the resources to find other appropriate avenues to send announcements… such as the Facebook pages, Yahoo Group, etc.
Regarding food…
Both Sat & Sun feasts are shared meals. Folks can bring prepared foods or easy fixings.
There should be plenty of refrigeration available. We have the sandwich station (which is quite large) plus 1 small fridge outside and 2 refrigerators in the house if need be. If that overflows we’ll load some coolers with ice. A reminder that if you put something in these they’ll be considered community pantry donations.
I’ll set one shelf aside in the house fridge for baby formula, milk, and medications, please label everything.
A variety of hot and cold dishes would be nice. We can plug in crock pots and dish items can be warmed in the smoker or inside in the oven. Please add a card with a list of ingredients, we want to avoid any allergic reactions.
I’m planning on cooking meats in the smoker for both days…turkeys and hams probably.
I’d like to encourage the practice of a community kitchen area. We have the big smoker, a cut down 55 gallon drum charcoal grill, the 3 burner propane unit, and probably a couple small propane grills. Some pots, pans, and utensils will be available and a wash station. If you’re cooking please consider sharing with others. Anyone using the kitchen is required to clean up after themselves. There will be a jar to make donations for charcoal and propane. PLEASE adults ONLY in the cooking area…kids are welcome to wash dishes and clean up the eating area.
The Food Drive has no limits….bring as much as you wish to give. The local food pantry is happy to receive all we have to donate.
If you want to have a fire at your campsite it will depend on the weather. Safety is my primary concern and if the woods are overly dry fires will be limited. If you’re camping inside the tree line you’ll need to have a raised dish that has a screen cover, brake drums or rock rings need to be used in the fields. There is more information about fires in the Festival Rules & Assumption of Risk forms.
I think Brian covered reimbursements.
The term “minion” was coined by someone a few years ago. It wasn’t meant to be derogatory but it kind of stuck as a private joke. If you weren’t here for the original joke it might be taken the wrong way. I do like the definition as “one highly favored” though.
I think you know me well enough to know that I am exceedingly grateful to anyone willing to step up and help out.