Author: Mary Pucel

Yup, it's time to think about beer, and St Patrick's Day, too. The 16th annual beer tasting and competition will take place on March 9th. You do not have to compete in the tasting to attend, of course, and can simply enjoy the St Patrick's Day fun. However, if you are competing, start thinking about your entry now!

If you wish to enter the tasting, you should bring 4-6 bottles of your entry. All types of beer, hard cider, malt beverage, near beer, maltini, non-alcoholic beer or malternative are welcome. You can even enter a soda if you'd like to, as you never know what will win. Keep in mind that the Bad Beer Board is also up for grabs, so maybe you have a noxious blend to share? Not really.

More information will follow about the party details in upcoming newsletters.

Mary

What a fun night we had at Moe's for our holiday party in December! The appetizer buffet and cocktail hour were fun and the buffet dinner was very good. The staff were friendly and accommodating, and having our own private area was also a plus. The cupcakes had their own special trivia question, which nobody answered correctly!

We had a gift exchange, with many wonderful treasures shared. Best of all, we got to visit and relax and enjoy each other's company.

Special thanks to those who planned and organized the event, especially Pam! The great turnout - 40 people strong - speaks for itself. Great job!

We hope to have a party room at the convention this year. If you are interested in helping, please plan to attend a short meeting after our January meeting to agree on the theme and define tasks. As always, many hands mean light work, so please help!

Hi everybody,

Well, for 53 years we've put up with it now! Sorry, I had to quote the Grinch now that it's the 53rd year of Star Trek! I hope everyone had a nice holiday season and is ready for a whole new year. My favorite number is 19, so I'm expecting great things.

We have a whole bunch of important things to discuss at our January meeting, including two conventions and many other events. Importantly, keep in mind that the payment for the January Dance is due at the meeting, so if you can't attend you'll need to pay by PayPal or with a board member. We also have several other January events, so see the details in this newsletter or on the website.

That's it for now - short and sweet. See you around the galaxy!

Mary

Greetings and happy holidays, crew!

This weather sure can't decide what it wants to do, can it? First it was super warm, then really cold, and now as I write this we're unseasonably free of snow. Go figure. One things for sure: we'll end up with a winter one way or another. I hope everybody's getting a chance to enjoy it.

Speaking of holidays, don't forget to think about two upcoming events during these festive times. First, we have the St Patrick's Day Beer Tasting Party and Potluck on March 9th, and you can often find a good or unusual beer (or other beverage) during the holidays. Second, keep your eyes open for items for our Chuckwagon Social silent auction. There are deals everywhere and you can pick up items, plus re-gifting is a valuable strategy when going for an auction item to donate!

We are gearing up for MarsCon 2019. We don't have details yet, but we hope to have a room at the convention in addition to our annual MarsCon Blood Drive. If you have ideas, please bring them to the January meeting. We're particularly interested in low-impact projects that take fewer hands.

We really hope you can come to the holiday party on the 8th, so we're going to remind you lots of times during this newsletter! It should be a fun time, and we're very excited about being able to keep the cost to $19 for everyone, so see the details below and pay (online or to a board member) by the 28th.

See you around the galaxy!

Mary

We had a fine time at the planetarium after our November meeting. It was a good show and many of us said we'd love to go back for one of the others. Afterward, we headed over to Stout's for dinner and visiting. It was great, as always, and it's always fun to do new things together.

Hello Crew!

Welcome to the Holiday Season! We sure have some fun things planned in the next few months, and I hope you can join us. We've worked hard to get the word out quickly to help you with your planning.

First, join us for our fun-filled meeting day in November. In addition to our regular meeting, we'll have a yummy, fund-raising bake sale. Bring your appetite, your dollars, and your favorite recipe to sell. After the meeting we'll head over to the Bell Museum for a space-lover's dream - the new planetarium! You need to buy your own tickets for this show, and the website is: http://bellmuseum.umn.edu. Of course, no meeting day is complete without a meal, so we'll cap our day with dinner together at the nearby Stout's Pub. Don't miss the fun!

The November meeting marks the end of our regular calendar year meetings, as we choose to take December off to have fun. We are thrilled to be able to offer a wonderful holiday party at Moe's this year. More information is in this newsletter.

After the holidays are over, we'll move to 2019 with a few fun activities in January. Find information in this newsletter for those, and make sure to sign up!

Speaking of signups, we're trying to get better at getting everything online. Those who sign up at the membership meetings will find their names transferred to the online signup sheet. This is a wonderful process, as it ensures that you get a reminder and all the details. We are surely moving to the digital age!

See you around the Galaxy!

Mary

We have a wonderful evening planned for Saturday, December 8th and we hope you can come! The event is at Moe's in Mounds View (www.moesamericangrill.com) and it starts at 5:00 pm.

We'll begin with a social hour, complete with light appetizers and a cash bar. At 6:00 pm, we'll have dinner and more socializing. We've chosen a buffet that we're sure will please, and we'll have cake for dessert. During and after dinner we'll have the Secret Sarek gift exchange. If you'd like to participate, please bring a wrapped gift to put in the pile (suggested $10 maximum).

This event is Dress Your Best, so you can pick what that means to you!

The best part...ready for it? The best part is that we are able to offer this event for just $19 per person. This is due to the crew's hard work on the Chuckwagon this year, which allows us to cover a large part of the meal and all of the appetizers! What a great feeling it is to reap the fruits of our labor! Great job, everybody!

Very important: if you plan to come, you must pay by Wednesday, November 28th. This is necessary so that we can make the reservation accurate. You can use PayPal or send to Pam.

If you have any questions, please contact me, Pam or Roxanne. We hope you can all come!

Mary