Potluck/Games Night - Round 3 2013 - Is now on!!!

Yes, I realize that this is the long weekend and some people will be away. At the same time, others will be staying in Calgary :)

**My daughter will be home and asked for this event (she is looking forward to playing spoons and the run-a-round pool game).

Potluck and Games Night!!

Well the first and second Potluck and Games night for 2013 were a huge success. Thank you to everyone for their support and helping to clean up the house :)

https://www.meetup.com/CalgaryDoSomethingNew/events/116632752

This event will be held at Mike's house in the S.E. (Lake Chaparral - Sun Valley / Hwy 22X area). Far South Calgary!

Some of the past events games include:

• Pool table (the Runaround is one of the most fun pool games you'll ever play!)

• Wii & several other games - take the Wii Challenge!!

• Texas Hold ‘em (a friendly beginner game and not a high stakes game)

• Spoons (should we start supplying band aids? lol)

• Twister – enough said! lol

• Pool 8 Ball and Snooker (usually played later in the evening)

-Weather permitting, campfire (bring the items for smores)

-Ladder golf again???

These games nights are lots of fun and if you have another game that you feel others would like to play, please bring it with you! From past events, the games are kept shorter in length and that will take less concentration work better (there are lots of people and laughing going on, which can hinder some people’s concentration). Games with less thinking, rules to learn... are much easier on this night!

Note: This is a TEAM EVENT, so please feel free to assist and help organize games or even make suggestions – Thank you.

Potluck – Food Items to Bring:

It is great to sample all of the different food items at every event and there are lots of options. Some people bring homemade dishes, some purchase ready made trays from the grocery/deli departments, others bring desserts or late night snacks… Feel free to bring a plastic container to take some food and desserts home with you.

To help make it easier for the new members and also to give others ideas on what to bring for their contribution (this will help for a wide range of food items), I would ask that you post in the comment and then add in what you will be bringing to the potluck.

Allergies:

To be careful and to help those with allergies, please make a label for your dish - if you feel that it will help others!

No George – you do not need to label your shrimp tray – “Seafood be careful” - Kidding!

Note: There is a small dog in this home and will be kept upstairs for most of the night. Please do not feed the dog!

Alcoholic Beverages:

Alcohol beverages are BYOB, if you are having some (and have too many) it is your responsibility to call a cab or make other arrangements to get home.

Please Do Not Drink and Drive!!!!

**This event is set up with a manual wait list.

If you are on the waitlist and there are spots available, it is up to you to change your RSVP.

The cost for the event will be $4.00

The $4.00 will cover expenses and includes DSN Fee and will be collected by one of the volunteers on this night.

Please understand.... I am sure some peoople forget hidden costs or forget the expenses..... These expenses include the non alcoholic punch provided, ice, paper plates, cutlery, napkins, plastic cups, some new spoons for the game, new playing cards, new games, bottled water, cleaning supplies, carpet cleaner, replacing the tips on the pool cues, chalk…

**As a gentle reminder (not to offend anyone), this is someone’s home and we all need to be respectful in the home (please clean up after yourselves and others, be responsible for any damages etc).

The DSN group is GREAT and I hope that it lasts for many years. Most people are respectful and come out to laugh and have fun. At the same time, only some need to understand that this is someone’s home, not a bar or restaurant (we not making profits off the customers spending lots of money on drinks). We all take things for granted, remember that no one is getting paid to clean up, damages (i.e. nicks in walls, stains), laundry, tablecloths, dishwasher tabs…. can become costly and that some might not realize these costly expenses or just assume or maybe just take things for granted.

What time will the event start?

The potluck/games night will start at 6:00 pm and we usually start eating somewhere between 7:15 – 7:45 pm (giving time for the late arrivers and also for those who need time to prep or warm up their food items).

Extra help:

If there are 2 volunteers that can come an hour early to help set up would be great (i.e. setting up tables, chairs, making the punch, last minute details…). I will post the volunteers names, just so we do not have too many people showing up early.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Mike or any of the organizers directly.

Hope to see everyone there.

Mike (assistant organizer)

PS – New for this event

In the past I have had many DSN members volunteer to come over the next day to help clean up and I did take up on this offer after the last event and thank you to those who volunteered.

This will be the second time that I will be asking/setting up a DSN meet up to help clean up… This will only be on the main house level where the event was held and just to help with any clean up from the event! (i.e. helping to put away tables, dishes, chairs, vacuuming, washing the hardwood floors… ).

For the volunteers, after supporting the DSN clean up event. Maybe we should start a new meet up? i.e. Relax with a glass of wine and a movie or a soak in the hottub.

Thank you again to all of the DSN members for their support.

QUESTIONS ABOUT THE AUTOMATIC WAITLIST:

I can see that there are some questions about the waiting list and I hope that this email will answer some of the questions or confusions.

Note: I have posted this under the event description and have also sent this email to those that are on the YES RSVP and Waitlist.

There are 2 ways that an organizer can control the waitlist and for each event (it is up to the organizer to decide which they feel works best for that event). Unfortunately, with either choice, you will not be able to make everyone happy.

If the event is full and there is a waitlist, the first option (if a member changes their RSVP to No) would be: The first person on the waiting list moves to attending the event. In some instances/events this would be the best option.

The second option, (if when a member attending changes their RSVP to No), is an automatic notice from the meetup website is sent to the waitlist, making them aware that a spot has opened. In most cases, those members who have an IPhone or Blackberry will see this email and will change their RSVP to Attending and will fill the empty spot right away. This may not seem fair, to someone that was higher up on the waitlist or without all day email access (I understand the frustration), and at the same time I will explain below why this event is set up with option 2 (a member must change their RSVP to attending).

In my past experiences “Option 1 works better for events that are at a public location…

For example, movie nights, pub nights, going to outdoor concerts, zoo lights, restaurant/dinner events…

One example would be having an event at a local pub listening to a live band and let’s say the event is set for 40 people and another 20 people are on the waitlist. With most events, lets be honest some people are just going to be a no show (factoring in about 20-25% for these types of events). Now the organizers have only reserved/saved 25 seats, knowing that there will be a few that do not show, others will come and go, others will stand, so attending/space should be ok… No organizer will be out any money (for paid admissions) and if the automatic waitlist moves people to the open spots and they show up, then Great!

If they do not show, not a big deal as this event is being held at a business, the local public will fill the empty space, the pub (business) could pull away the empty tables/chairs to give to the local public walking in, which in turn could fill the location to maximum capacity.

Also, for this event we might have placed the maximum to 60 members. We may not have reserved enough seats, but as this is at a public location, if early enough we might be able to get a few more tables, members could stand around the open spaces, there might be a few no shows, all in all we should be good…

For the Potluck Games Night, I chose to use option 2 for the waitlist, it is up to the member to change their RSVP on a first come/first served basis.

By doing this, the event is full and we are able to make more DSN members happy (as they can now attend the event) versus moving the waitlist to the open spots and most times many no shows…

Some reasons could be that the members did not have all day email access, that they have made other plans now (lets face it… some sign up and never change their RSVP even if they know that they are not going to attend).

By members having to change their RSVP, they have now confirmed that they are attending, the chances are that this is event is now full to maximum capacity and more DSN Members are able to attend.

BTW, I did try at one Potluck/Games Night to bump the full waitlist to attending (thinking that we would have the usual 20-25% in no shows). Guess what? Everyone attended the event and at a home (versus a local pub), there was no extra room for these people. We had people sitting on the stairs, floor… Some games did not get played, as there was not enough room, table space, chairs…

Again, I do understand some member’s frustration. At the same time, we are trying to make as many people happy as we can, we are not a tour group, paid event planners, at most events the max charge is the $1.00 to help cover the expenses and the meetup website fees.

I know that I could write more, but I think that this information will give enough for people to understand the decision on the automatic list and that they must change their RSVP.

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact any of the organizers directly.

**Please go to their profile and email from there. If you just hit reply, sometimes it just goes to the meetup website getting rejected, it might automatically go to David’s email (vesus the event organizer for that event)…

Thank you to the DSN Members and ORganizers for their support and understanding (it is greatly appreciated).

Have a great evening.

Mike