3rd Anniversary Party - Eleyan Al'Landerin's Review
By: Eleyan Teyal Al'Landerin in the Tower Parties Forum on the Old Boards
- Review One - 3rd Anniversary Party
I must admit, this has been my favorite event to date. Approximately 60 of us (including children) decended upon a semi-unsuspecting KoA near Chicago to celebrate three years of existence. It was "eventful."
The weather... good lord... the weather.
Somehow, we managed to camp just as gigantic storms (huge red swathes on Doppler radar) decided to hit the area. We enjoyed torrential rain, flooding (much of the Midwest was declared a disaster area), feet upon feet of mud, gale force winds (apparently toppled some semi-trucks on the highway not too far from us), and tornado warnings (about 16 of them hit down in the Midwest that weekend). Between us we had 4 cabins (designed to sleep four), only a couple of tents that proved to be resistant enough to water for people to sleep in, a motor home, and a few vehicles. You do the math. ;) Needless to say, about 11 pm on Friday night we launched the largest rescue effort I think we've ever faced, and managed to somehow get all members into some place safe and dry (if crowded), even if the tents and luggage were not so lucky. We also, fortunately, had access to a shelter where we could hold our main event and where we could cook on some fortuitously brought camping stoves. And even if the shelter did have a tin roof (have you ever tried to project over 60 people and god pouring bucket after bucket of water over your head onto a tin roof? I don't think I've projected that much in my life), we had an admirable time!
It required flexibility, but we were more or less able to feed everyone on time (well.... excepting lunch due to car disasters... but we had snacks!), hold all of our events, and have a wonderful time.
Our dance class was well attended (although I must admit, I enjoyed my waltz with my Warder most of all!), the practice yard managed to happen outside, and the sewing circle had a couple of knitters, but mainly we just hollered with Valorian did some sort of sexy move. We enjoyed seeing a lively spar between Valorian and Ban Gaidin (sans shirts!) and I am seriously considering making it a "traditional" event. ;)
Our official party was a great deal of fun, our Gleeman competition winners quite entertaining, the awards and raising and first sister ceremonies were fantastic. We suffered a bit for not being able to hear one another, but a grand time was still had by all.
Sunday's IHOP breakfast came off without a hitch and we received probably the best service I have had in a restaurant for years.
Thanks to everyone.... it's never goodbye. It's always "see you soon."
- Review Two - TarValon.Net Survives Flood/Tornado's at Party
TarValon.Net members showed their true colors while camping the the stormy Midwest this past weekend. Apart from the rare lucid moments of sunshine, we were pounded with heavy rains, gale-force winds and flooding. Half of our camp became lake-front property, and the other half became a lake!
Through it all, our members rose to the occasion. Whether it was running from tent to tent in the middle of the storm to aid with evacuations, finding ways to stuff 10 people in a 4 person cabin, using cars to pull other cars out of deep mud, or repairing vehicles that were used to transport hot meals to us, we clearly showed that even the elements cannot dampen our spirits.
Despite the weather, we were still able to enjoy each of our scheduled activities. Dancing, sparing, sword fighting lessons and demonstrations, sewing circle, competitions and ceremonies all happened to our delight. While we're all certainly happy to be clean and dry, we all miss our most memorable weekend yet.
