[TheForge] NJ Fairgrounds - Attn: Phlip

[Dave Mudge]

On 2/27/07, Saint Phlip <phlip at 99main.com> wrote:
> Thanks, Bruce. Place I'm thinking of has both primitive and hookup
> camping, is close to motels, and $2000 general site fee includes
> portapotties and showers. However, we'd need to figure out camping per
> person- my thought was to roll it into the site fee- won't be much for
> essentially a weekend.

......It takes a every minute of a solid week in advance to set-up a
conference and then Wed - Sun for the actual event then two - three
days to tear it down and pack it up. How many days does $2,000 cover?
>
> What I told them was essentially a long weekend for the event itself,
> total of a week to include set up and break down- not sure where some
> estimates are wanting to take 3 weeks for set up and teardown.

......What sort of foundations do they have for big air hammers? Can
we get the fuel trucks in to refuel the generators and air
compressors? Is the ground solid enough for cranes and fork lifts and
pegs for large tents? More than one vendor operates out of a semi.
Will they get stuck? What is the local availability and price of BIG
generators, BIG air compressors, rough terrain cranes and fork lifts,
hundreds of feet of 2 inch (or larger) air hose, hundreds of feet of
electric cable, tents, bleachers, water, propane, coal, fans for "cool
tents" for old people, steel, rentals for welding, burning, and
general fabrication equipment? What about facilities for registration,
with high speed computer and telephone lines, ABANA and Conference
sales. These areas must be lockable at night. Can't forget computer
and phone lines for the majority of the vendors. We have indoor
vendors and outdoor vendors. The indoor vendors want to be able to
lock their area after hours. Where do the galleries go? Don't forget
lighting, display and dry for the galleries. We will need at least
half-a-dozen class / lecture rooms with seating and Power Point
capabilities. Where are we going to hold the auction? (seating, audio
/ video, computer  / phone lines to process credit cards, lighting,
secure and dry storage and display area) Is this camping area covered
by "wireless" so that we can run the credit cards and the vendors can
run their credit card sales and we can run the world-wide web cam? OR,
will we have to hard wire telephone lines for all of that? ( dsl?)
What are the local fire / safety codes? Will a group of this size
require hired security? EMS? We will need at least 10 port-a-pots and
a service plan. What about parking? public transportation? Contracts
with food vendors and all of the above mentioned equipment and
supplies.
......See the above comment. Still think that it won't take a week to
set it up? I am sure that I haven't covered half of what is really
involved in putting together an ABANA conference. It must be done in
an organized and professional way. It is after all the ABANA member's
money that we are spending.
>
dave mudge