We did it! Thanks to a (relatively small) group of hard-working volunteers, we succeeded in our quest to adapt our sets to the new executive suite in the Hyatt Regency Minneapolis. It was a whirlwind weekend full of hard work and hard play. The most important thing is that we welcomed many guests - old and new - to our rooms and maintained our status as the best room at con!!
The weekend started out on Wednesday, July 3rd with the loading of our U-Haul. Everything had been meticulously staged during our construction day, but it's still a lot of hard work in the humidity! We unloaded in the main loading dock of the hotel. This adventure is best shared over a strong cocktail, but many details will be outlined at our meeting in September. We resumed activity on Thursday morning, when (news flash!!) we discovered that the dimensions of the room were not as expected! Gasp! That's not really how it went - the language was far more colorful - but we had to do what the Borg do and adapt. In the end, and after 10 hours of hanging, pounding, taping, painting, lugging, considering, debating, banging, and good-old camaraderie, we opened to the roar of adoring fans on time!
The weekend went well, with about 2,000 red and green drinks served and many, many thrilling comments from the visitors. I can't tell you how many "Oh, my God" and "No way!" and "I always wanted to see this" comments we heard as people walked in. It was the best.
One wonderful addition this year was the Friday afternoon trivia session, hosted by the folks from TC Trek Trivia. It was standing room only in the Horta Cave as they help several competitive rounds, complete with prizes. It went so well that people asked all night if we'd do it again on Saturday, but alas, it was not to be. Maybe next year!
Skip ahead (due to hysterical amnesia) to Sunday afternoon, when we stowed all of our precious pieces in Cargo Bay 3 and said goodbye for a while. Thanks to another hardy crew, this work was efficient and quick and our driver Scott could return the truck and join us at the usual destination - a restaurant where we ate and drank and collapsed!
We'll be having lots of conversation in the upcoming months about plans for next year. Will we have enough helpers? Will we have more helpers when the convention is held in August, as the plan for 2020 suggests? What can we do in the new room that takes better advantage of the space? Oh, so many mysteries exist!
Thank you to everyone that helped, from construction and alterations, to being in the rooms to welcome our guests, to shopping and planning. Importantly, thanks to everyone that helped in loading and unloading and building the sets (literally the heavy lifting). We couldn't do what we do without every one of you!
Mary
