Pre-Dig Gig, Rehash Bash and other Cooler events

Sorry you won't make it.

This is the latest word from Ramsey County parks:

Bring a generator. The outlets are turned off for the winter and not sure how many outlets there are in the gazebo. We don't rent that out as a picnic facility so I can't remember what is there.

NOTE: I did thank them for their willingness to work with us regarding the gate, and invited the 2 of them that I've been emailing with to stop out for lunch if they are able to do so. I also mentioned that we usually end up in a St. Paul Park or Battle Creek Regional and there is always power available so we were surprised to find the outlets weren't powered at Tony Schmidt.

I hate to say this, but it's a little iffy whether I can make it today. I was feeling pretty sick with a cold yesterday and I'm not feeling much better today.

Allison - do what you need to do to take care of yourself. If you don't make it, we certainly understand.

AW has my prizes.. :frown:

Allison - if you got his prizes, you best show up!

:pbpt:

I found the raffle tickets. Since I don't live too far away, I'll try to stop by for at least a little bit.

KC0GRN, I guess we missed each other all through the hunt this year. I still have that pewter plate in my car.

Sorry Eags, I ended up having a bunch to do today. Well hmm.. I suppose you're not around the east side much? I work over at 3M. Live nearby that.

Sorry I missed it guys but we had to bring Carter to the doctor on Sunday as he has not been feeling well for over a week now and he took a turn for the worse. Hope you all had fun.

Hope the little guy is feeling better Rob

We had a pretty good size group for Cooler Crew knighting too!

I wanted to say they are apart of the Hotel Coolerfornia, You can never leave.

but forgot.

THANK YOU TO EACH OF YOU WHO CAME (I think over 50 people!).

GREAT pot luck food this year!

my personal favorite: That wild rice with apricots was so yummy!

And 50+ treasure hunters out there couldn't find a tooth. I don't recall who the young girl was that lost it but I hope the tooth fairy didn't forget about her.

thank you for having the tickets AW.

I almost bought some and was worried.

I hadn't been on the boards here to see what people were bringing.

Every year everything always seems to work out as far as what people bring.

I don't think we have been short on much over the years except prizes a couple times.

ooooh you coulda came from 11:30 to 1:30 - however most everything happened from 12:30 to 2. sad to not see you.

Glad you enjoyed the wild rice salad.

So where was this weather yesterday?!?!? It's 39 degrees and sunny.

Well, using your 20/20 hindsight - would it been a wiser decision to start the Predig AFTER the Wild game had started - like 8:00 instead of 6:00? I realize there are kids and curfews involved, but geez, this is an ongoing problem of overlapping the party crowd with the dinner crowd. Parking later might've been worse, but it wasn't impossible - even at 7:00 when I arrived.

I also thought we were going to use one of the park shelters for the Rehash - if I had known we were out in the open I would've brought some real firewood.

Regardless, both events were a LOT of fun and got to meet some more new people; COOLER!

Jeremy,

The leftover apple crisp (that I was lucky enough to be the beneficiary of) was really a hit at work! Kudos to Erin...I need the recipe! :grin: and Thanks!!

There are some that bring their kids to both the PDG and the Rehash Bash.

The parking downtown when there is an event at the X is a problem when not everyone can get to the PDG because they can't find parking.

Having the event start early allows for people to choose when they can make it. I really think we should try Joseph's next year. Parking won't be a problem and we would be our only crowd if we had our own room.

darn I didnt get any :frown:

geeesh cluey we talked about this and kids- KIDS GO TO PREDIG - YOU decide to stay later is all.

1) If the 1st Clue is released early/online, does it really matter if the Predig is anywhere NEAR downtown?

2) If the 1st Clue is released early/online, does it really matter if the Predig is on FRIDAY instead of Saturday?

3) I'd rather spend $8-$10 on drinks/food than downtown parking fees. About $5 a household would easily pay for a reservation fee at a lot of rooms that don't need parking ramp fees. The b*tch is getting someone to collect the $$ ahead of time. Think about that for next year.

4) If the PDG is a "family" event, why was it at a darkened supper club downtown with a bar, and not at Davanni's or other Family restaurant? -- I'm not discouraging kids from attending, I'm just pointing out the contradictions with that location & timing. To me, the few children that do attend makes little motivation to start at 6 pm instead of 8, especially when we don't get around to any group photo until after 10:00.

5) If we had it in a prepaid, preplanned banquet room type of place, the staff can plan accordingly for food service and such, and having conflicts with a dinner crowd should be minimal to non-existent. That means the start time does not matter. We could say 4:00 if we have the place for the whole evening.

Agreed- since the pre dig no longer coincides with the clue release- no need to have it downtown or on Sat necessarily. Sunday evening might be the easier night to schedule for restaurants/bars etc, but I know many like being up late partying etc and most work on Monday.

The only question I have if a place doesn't charge us a room rental fee and they only require minimun food purchase - does that mean they want the food purchased ahead of time like a buffet or are they fine with individual food purchases throughout the evening? And how would they track this?

Not understanding that requirement - the profit margin on drinks is way more than food. Not calling you all boozers :sillygrin: but I would argue that at least 50% of the coolers at the predig spend more on drinks than food. It only takes 2 alcoholic drinks to surpass the cost of meal at most establishments.

1) If the 1st Clue is released early/online, does it really matter if the Predig is anywhere NEAR downtown? I personally feel connected the closer we are to DT.

2) If the 1st Clue is released early/online, does it really matter if the Predig is on FRIDAY instead of Saturday? I like the whole day to get ready and pick up things last minute - get our nails and/or hair done - I FOR 1 do NOT want to go to a party I planned to go to ALL YEAR to go after work! a girl needs time to get beautified! :wink: -It has been a 13 year tradition.

3) I'd rather spend $8-$10 on drinks/food than downtown parking fees. About $5 a household would easily pay for a reservation fee at a lot of rooms that don't need parking ramp fees. The b*tch is getting someone to collect the $$ ahead of time. Think about that for next year. I hear you. Keep in mind a handful take a cab no matter where the party is at due to drinking AND a handful get dropped off by spouses. NEAR DT is still nice though - just not way out like Phalen way

4) If the PDG is a "family" event, why was it at a darkened supper club downtown with a bar, and not at Davanni's or other Family restaurant? -- I'm not discouraging kids from attending, I'm just pointing out the contradictions with that location & timing. To me, the few children that do attend makes little motivation to start at 6 pm instead of 8, especially when we don't get around to any group photo until after 10:00. "kids" was relative. Some are 16-20 years old and being in a restaurant/bar is just fine at any age during a large event-not like they are sitting on a bar stool pounding on the counter. If you start it at 8 then people won't show til later, an early start time gets a longer party out of a year awaited event for most of us. There is so much mingling that it already feels rushed. I think an earlier start time versus later.

5) If we had it in a prepaid, preplanned banquet room type of place, the staff can plan accordingly for food service and such, and having conflicts with a dinner crowd should be minimal to non-existent. That means the start time does not matter. We could say 4:00 if we have the place for the whole evening. not sure I have an opinion about this. Most people do not want to pay.

Haven't you heard?

We are a drinking group with a Treasure Hunting problem

Most people may not want to pay ahead of time - but they ARE paying in other ways. Some get a cab, some pay & park downtown, some even get hotel rooms. Free parking on the street is a crap shoot at best. Food and drink prices can definitely be higher downtown as well.

Keeping the party 'In-Tradition' on Saturday night is fine & good, but this is not a couple dozen people anymore - it can easily be over 100. The Supper Club or Obb's or Yarusso's WOULD work if we can take over the joint as a private party, but since no one is PAYING for a private party, there will ALWAYS be problems with crowding. So far we've just gambled on the idea that MAYBE it won't be 'too busy' that night at that place. It's not a card game we have been winning.

I'm just saying if it takes $5-$10 to secure a place that is OURS for the night, I'm willing to pay. I am not doing well financially right now, but it's only the price of a movie ticket or a drink at a bar. Getting your nails & hair done can cost a helluva lot more than that.

We've got a whole YEAR to figure this out - but as the 'seasonal' people trickle away from these message boards, I would hope they keep this idea in the back of their minds.

The discussion over paying for a place has NEVER gone over yet.

But I did hear pigs have flown before.

Josephs and DeGidio's both have banquet rooms.

I happen to really like ABB.

I like the windows open from the back Capitol Room to the main room and the fireplaces, love the fireplaces.

Maybe someone should call and ask them if they'd waive the fee. I'm just saying, it's been done before for a much smaller crowd. It sounds like AW goes there a lot. Maybe he'd call and ask them about that.

If Allison would call and verify if the $500 is for food only. Then perhaps check to see if they would waive any shortage of that $500 just in case - though I can't imagine us spending less than that, especially if it includes drinks, I would encourage him to put the reservation in.

Would they allow a DJ?

Joseph's is still close enough to downtown to make it central to those who come from the burbs and beyond.

Parking won't be an issue. We will be our own crowd.

That $100 can't be too difficult to come up with. I really think we should give this a try. I hate that people couldn't make it due to the parking issues.

I'll take care of the deposit. I already have $33 from Ken's window clings that we didn't need for renting a shelter this year plus Jake's $100 so covering it won't be an issue. I do think we should start at 6pm though because we do want people to come for dinner in order to make the food minimum. The chances of not making the minimum- 0% I'm so sure of that, that if there is a shortfall I'll make it up myself.

As for the question of whether we need to place a formal order of if it's ok to just have people order food off the menu, I'm guessing it may be in between. There's a chance they may give us a limited menu to order off of, but all of the orders would count towards the minimum.

I have had a DJ there before. There is no dance floor however as the room is completely carpeted.

I think the private room is the key thing. At Yarusso's, there was no way to tell who was there for the Predig and who was just there for dinner. At ABB, the private room filled up quickly and new people didn't really know where to go after that. And that's kind of my point, is looking at it from the perspective of someone coming to their first treasure hunt event and not really knowing anyone (because we always encourage this every year). I think it's important that we have a separate space they can look for, they know everyone in that space is there for the same reason, and there is room for them in that space. And what works for them will work for us too.

Parking isn't an issue. Even if Joseph's lot fills up (which is rare), there's a huge lot next door people can use.

And then after dinner, by 8 or 9pm, the place usually becomes largely empty. At that point people can spill over into the dining room or bar and have a quiet area to chat if that is what they would like.

The trick is not having it booked already. So we're thinking it will be January 19th?

Sounds perfect Allison. January 19th should be the date.

the 19th is the date i'm calculating too

Um, unless I'm missing something, Joesph's website says that they close at 10. Is this true?

AW - all sounds good -

NOTE: they will be playing the WILD game at the bar - Joseph's is a main hub for shuttling - A bus to the Excel will be shuttling people back and forth to the game -there is no getting away from the WILD crowd.

Maybe we can work out an advertising deal....

Nominally they close at 10. Because often its empty by then. But they will stay open if there's a crowd. I've been there past midnight before.

Let's do it. I think this could be a super cooler solution.

I MISS EVERYONE

Let's get together!

I'm up for that - Carbone's is sounding appetizing.

I am having a tough time with these post hunt blues and personal life stuff that I don't know what to do right now.

I now have an open weekend except there are so many movies coming out right now that I want to see that I may go see something. Other than that....

Name the place (Carbone's) ....and time.

Bowling?

only if it doesn't cost a bazillion dollars like it did at MOA last time.

I'm a little short this month life time

I just talked to joseph's and was able to book the date. Because they knew me from past events I had done there they didn't even charge a deposit. They were encouraging me to do a buffet because its. A busy night and they don't think they could handle an extra 80 orders but he said he'd work with us. Chances are we'll come up with a buffet option, but people can opt get something else still. For those who had to wait for their food this year, you might appreciate a buffet option.