While it's still fresh in our minds, would everyone please tell us what you think could make an even better event for next year?

Skip the obvious, please? We already know about the hotel, the elevators, Detroit in general...

Alternative venues, activities, etc. are what we're after.

I'll start: Dinner Saturday night is tough because the local restaurants can fill up, then take too long. Before the Fest, we could set up sign-up threads for Saturday night dinner reservations at nearby restaurants. If we got 8 people for the Outback, we'd make a reservation for 8 at 7:00 under a name like Fisher, Scott, Marantz, etc. No-shows could be made up via sign-up lists at the Fest.

How about maps showing local restaurants and other points of interest available at the registration counter?

Markus

Andy & I discussed this last year and dropped the ball Marcus. Next year for sure. We're so close we take it for granted, my bad.

...Detroit in general...


With all due respect for my fellow MI ak'ers,

:lmao: :lmao: :lmao:

Of course I'm not really one to talk (ahem, ahem).

The hotel really doesn't bother me. I think NTs' and Markuses' ideas really work on the biggest problem, well that and how to win the redgum next year :scratch2: .

Pete

Copied From Another Thread:
Hi everyone,

I live in Ann Arbor, and could not make it to the fest. So, you can imagine how I feel. But, there is next year.

As for a new hotel, Grumpy, you probably already considered it, but there is the Eagle Crest Resort off exit 183 on I-94. It includes a hotel (Marriot), a golf course and a conference center. The golf course and conference center are owned by Eastern Michigan University. My company holds its annual user group meeting at this place every year in June, and it is very convenient.

The conference center has rooms of different sizes, and could work for AKFest. Here is a link to the conference center http://www.eaglecrestresort.com/index.php/e2519d/conference.

Ashok

Andy & I discussed this last year and dropped the ball Marcus. Next year for sure. We're so close we take it for granted, my bad.


I'm willing to help if you guys give me a shout. It was embarrasing - I'm 30 miles away, but I couldn't find jack sh*t in Southfield.


Markus

A conference is one thing, the fest is another. "You want us to gut out an entire floor of our hotel for what"? I'm not so sure that many hotel managers would be as accomodating, but I guess it's worth checking into. Grumpy has a lot invested with the management, and they seem to put up with us very well.

As a hotel manager I can tell you that very few hotels would be this accomodating...:yes:

I like the hotel. It's got neat Detroit charm. I can just imagine the manager of that place thinking about us: "They may be loud, but at least there's no gunshots..."

Eagle crest still has not returned my calls.......................from 2 years ago !

Please keep in mind that the minute you tell them you will have 30-40 rooms loaded with audio equipment they shut down on you quicker then an 8 mile whore outta crack..

I've been to a bunch of audio shows in much nicer hotels and you will definitely not get the kind of freedom and tolerance we enjoy at that place - I mean I was sipping multiple beers until 4:00am listening to music...loud. Of coarse it goes without saying that the price to play at those other venues is in a whole different league as well.

Sure would be nice to have a couple functioning elevators though!

Who knows, by next year they may have completed a lot of the renovation, my room (401) was one of the completed ones, new carpet, new bed, new furniture, new TV, was decent enough.

Eagle crest still has not returned my calls.......................from 2 years ago !

Please keep in mind that the minute you tell them you will have 30-40 rooms loaded with audio equipment they shut down on you quicker then an 8 mile whore outta crack..

I'm going to start using that one..:thmbsp:

An orginized dinner would be great. Even if it is just some of us going out to a resturant. Not having a car we were limited with our food options. Fortunitly lunch was big enough we were not hungery for dinner. The snacks at night were great.

I can see the year coming very soon where one floor will not be enough. If that happens sooner than later and another floor needs to be rented, it would be nice if some rooms could be rented by Ak'ers who are looking to sell or swap some of their fine equipment ( if rooms need to be filled). I'm sure there would be tons of equipment available for such a venture.

We did have a swap room. Just ask Big "I've got the Deals" Macc!

I would like to attend seminars given by members on topics of their area of interest. Of course we had outstanding two day seminars held by those generous members that brought their equipment and set up listening rooms but that is not exactly what I have in mind here. I am thinking more of an hour long presentation on a specific subject such as "An introduction and overview of Modern Digital Audio for those (of us) folks that are still in the tube age", "What makes Tube Audio so Special", "How to get the most out of an iPod", "Things that I bet you never knew about ______________", "What is 12" in diameter, can be played on both sides, and sounds great, and why", "How to get the most out of a day spent going to garage sales", How to clean up a vintage piece of equipment, and what not to do", and lastly , for now at least, "Is there really and difference in speaker cables and inter connects?" Just kidding on that one! If you are reading this far you must be thinking of a seminar topic too! Weapons would have to be checked at the door and no rotten fruit would be allowed to be carried into seminar rooms. Vendors and Manufacturers reps could also put on seminars as long as they were required to be kept generic and not turn into a sales pitch for their product(s). There is such an incredible amount of knowledge and expertise on such a broad variety of audio related topics that I am sure that members would be willing to share with each other. We see it happen here every day. I think that seminars could be a real hit.

You know, the hotel didn't much bother me at all. Once I got used to playing Elevator Roulette, even that part didn't bother me much. Just stayed away from the elevator on the right.
My room was decent enough. Certainly was clean. The residents were also friendly enough, so no issues there either. I'm afraid that any other venue we might find would not be as understanding of what we are doing as is this one.

As far as changes, how about a listeners choice award of some kind where people get to vote on their fav listening room. Wouldn't mean much in the greater scheme of things, but it would be a nice little acknowledgment to give to those who came and set up rooms.

Loved the live music. Definitely a keeper!

I agree with Ultra Hog but then we would be turning the fest into a week long event. I would love to spend a day learning and watching Ecowars rebuilt a spec amp. Another day watching Rob bring a CR-2040 back to life. Or half a day and a bigger room so we could all join in on the DAC shootout.

I think Ultra Hog has a great idea.

I thought the whole event was just magical. One of the best times of my life. Some kind of magic. I'll never miss another one.

Don't change too much.

Eric, two (or was it three?) years ago, Glen brought all his test/bench gear, and worked on gear, at the Fest. Not much fun, that's for sure, since he is reknowned for his thoroughness. Same would apply to Rob. I do like the DAC Shootout idea.

Bigerik, that is a great idea, a "People's Choice" award!

I would like to attend seminars given by members on topics of their area of interest.

The topics you mentioned were interesting, but are many people going to want to do that kind of thing? Speech-making is not everyone's forte.

It would be great if people are willing to do it, but I'd like to suggest a different kind of seminar too.

How about having people demonstrate how to do things? How to bias output tubes. How to setup a cartridge. How to make your own speaker cables or interconnect cables. How to solder. How to read a schematic. How to measure a speaker driver. Etc.

I'm betting this kind of hands-on thing would be popular, and it's something you can't get anywhere else.

The "How To" topics would be great. Short and sweet. As far as the swap room, if all members attending brought one item, it would be filled to the roof. I know the Fest is not a swap meet, maybe next year I'll just bring a couple item to swap or sell. Otherwise, the Fest was great fun and is only logical that the people putting it together will continue to do a fantastic job. Can't wait till next year!

I was thinking about doing a passive versus external crossover demo next year with a pair of Infinity RS 2.5's.

That is if I could talk Retro into bringing the Spec 1 and two Spec 2's needed since I have such a hard time getting mine out of the rack eh Greg?

Then people could hear for themselves the difference between passive and active biamping...

Also could do a workshop on refoaming woofers if there is any interest at the same time.

Just a thought or two...

I was thinking about the seminar thing too. I'd be up for an hour on refoaming a wooger or refinishing a cab. FWIW, the rooms would only handle about 30 folks tops, and they are at a premium too.

And sorry about that restaurant fubar! I'll get with some other locals and build a nice map for the future.

You know, the hotel didn't much bother me at all. Once I got used to playing Elevator Roulette, even that part didn't bother me much. Just stayed away from the elevator on the right.


It might be nice if some of the local people could come up with a list of recommended nearby restaurants and stores for next time.

I had a good dinner at the hotel restaurant, but some other people weren't happy with what they had.

- edited later - Looks like that's being taken care of. :)

I was thinking about the seminar thing too. I'd be up for an hour on refoaming a wooger or refinishing a cab. FWIW, the rooms would only handle about 30 folks tops, and they are at a premium too.


Maybe the hotel would let us use a larger room for that? Even the bar could work. Just put a table on the stage and turn on some lights so people can see.

Maybe the hotel would let us use a larger room for that? Even the bar could work. Just put a table on the stage and turn on some lights so people can see.

And maybe have a couple of guys doing it staggered in verying stages in case you walked in at different times.

The topics you mentioned were interesting, but are many people going to want to do that kind of thing? Speech-making is not everyone's forte.

It would be great if people are willing to do it, but I'd like to suggest a different kind of seminar too.

How about having people demonstrate how to do things? How to bias output tubes. How to setup a cartridge. How to make your own speaker cables or interconnect cables. How to solder. How to read a schematic. How to measure a speaker driver. Etc.

I'm betting this kind of hands-on thing would be popular, and it's something you can't get anywhere else.

That's exactly the kind of things that I have in mind. Mine were just what happened to pop into my head late last night, they were not intended to be real topics, although they could be, just typical ideas. A seminar would not have to be formal or fancy. We are all friends here. The simpler the better. With a little planning I think that short seminars could be a real hit and a lot of fun.

Three Days ??? I don't know,would it be too much.It seems a shame for people that have to travel across large parts of the continent to turn around and go home after just two days of fun....




David

I have to agree.. two days is awfully short..

The "Peoples Choice Award" is a great idea.

The Seminars are also cool, but again, time is a constraint.

Although Eric and I were laughing about it at lunch, the hotel isn't that bad. Stayed in worse. Elevator roulette was kind of fun. I'm assuming they'll be working better next year, and if they ever get their liquor license back, the bar would be a totally hoppin' place around midnight Saturday. Especially if they let US play the music! (I'm guessing I was the only one using the practice putting green on the west side of the building!). Plus, wi-fi and a coffee maker and I'm good to go.

List of local restaurants, plus a sign-up sheet so people could hook up in groups and go somewhere together. Maybe a mod for each group, plus it would help attendees who don't have their own transportation meet up with other folks and get to know each other a little better.

There was a lot more gear in the swap area two years ago, when it was in the lounge. I enjoyed it, and took home a pair of EPI's. Maybe we could talk it up a little bit more for next year.

The idea of seminars or how-to demonstrations would be outstanding. I'm thinking of woofer refoaming, maybe some coupling cap replacements for tube gear, control cleaning, cartridge set-up, etc., would really draw some interest. Having done exactly this type of work in real life, however, I can tell you what the problem will be: Because it's close-in work, only three people will be able to see what you're doing. So, we'd need to do something like use a video camera connected to a projector or a flat screen tv, or something similar, so the whole room would be able to see. Not a trivial effort. But, it might be worth looking into. It should be a room set up only for these seminars/demonstrations, with a posted schedule, with times, for each one, so folks could plan ahead. Min 30 minutes between each one for setup/teardown.

A handout sheet listing each room and vendor/member/gear. It would help each attendee keep track of what rooms they've seen, and which ones they haven't seen yet. And, each sheet could have a ranking or scoring column. At the end of the Fest they could be dropped in a box for a drawing after the Fest is over, and the prize could be mailed to the winner. Most importantly, we'd learn which were the most popular rooms/vendors, etc., and could make some modifications to the next year's Fest accordingly.

And, we could have a "Best Vendor Room", and "Best Member Room" award.

If the relationship with the management is good, and we could somehow get one or two of the larger conference rooms, we might be able to set up a larger room for one of our more loyal vendors. That way, that vendor might get a room with a volume more conducive to letting the speakers work a little better. Downside would be that it would be on a different floor, security, loudness, etc., so might not work out in actual practice, but it's a thought.

Message board stationed outside the registration room, so folks could post their "so-and-so, meet me in Kegger's room at 2:00" messages and not miss each other.

More use of mods to help out. Dave's family is always in it up to their eyeballs, and a few other wives helped out, but it's not fair that the "usual suspects" are always stuck in that room. I offered on several occasions, and I know I was far from the only one that did, but an assignment sheet for those mods that have committed to attend wouldn't be a bad idea. I'm perfectly capable of making change and sticking tickets in a jar, and I'm more than willing to do a two hour shift in the registration room. As are many of us, I'm sure.

A wi-fi laptop set up in the registration room for those who might want to check email but didn't have a laptop to bring to the fest. Live "FestChat" for those who couldn't attend!

An "AKFest 2007" pin for sale, with a new one each year. Collect them all! Show your friends!

I'm already pumped for next year!

And next time, I'm not going to lie down for a "short nap" after dinner, and not wake up until 2:00am, like I did this year. I'm so embarrassed, not to mention pissed off, that I missed the late night festivities.

I'm bringing an assortment of single malts next year.

Do we have a date yet?

FisherDude makes great points. I offered to help this year but never heard back. I figured it was because I was a new face. Next year the offer still stands, same goes for Nadia. As long as we know before hand we'd be willing to give an entire day.

With a liquor liscens that bar could be a great place for the evening. If there is live music next year it might be worth opening that to the public and putting a $5 or $10 cover for non fest visitors. If its a known local band the local paper that lists all the weekend activities should be willing to list it. It could help cover the costs and maybe draw more to the fest. Just throwing out ideas here.

I had WiFi working in my room. I'd be willing to open my computer up to fisherdudes idea of letting others check email.

The taxi cost $60 from and back to the airport (less on the way back, thanks to 'toze). For that much, I could have rented a car and had mobility. Won't make that mistake next year!

AK could look into some kind of group rate. We may not have enough folk for that, but it's worth a look!

Good grief, I completely forgot to mention the only thing that really irritated me...we've GOT to have a small PA setup in the lounge so everyone can hear the MOTY presentation and other announcements that are being made.

That's really the only time during the entire Fest where "management" can talk to all the attendees, both members and potential members. It's an opportunity to make all feel part of the group.

The taxi cost $60 from and back to the airport (less on the way back, thanks to 'toze). For that much, I could have rented a car and had mobility. Won't make that mistake next year!

AK could look into some kind of group rate. We may not have enough folk for that, but it's worth a look!

Enterprise has been my favorite ever since the first time I used them. Always friendly & helpful.:thmbsp:

Plus, wi-fi and a coffee maker and I'm good to go.

The first room they gave me was missing a working door lock and a working phone.

The second room didn't have a couch, table, hangers in the closet, or a coffee maker. :tears:


List of local restaurants, plus a sign-up sheet so people could hook up in groups and go somewhere together. Maybe a mod for each group, plus it would help attendees who don't have their own transportation meet up with other folks and get to know each other a little better.

I think this would be a good idea too.


The idea of seminars or how-to demonstrations would be outstanding. I'm thinking of woofer refoaming, maybe some coupling cap replacements for tube gear, control cleaning, cartridge set-up, etc., would really draw some interest. Having done exactly this type of work in real life, however, I can tell you what the problem will be: Because it's close-in work, only three people will be able to see what you're doing. So, we'd need to do something like use a video


Yes, you're probably right. Although maybe some AK member is into video and would like to do this?

I know I'd be very interested in seeing some of the things that AK members have learned to do, so I think seminars are a great idea.


A handout sheet listing each room and vendor/member/gear. It would help each attendee keep track of what rooms they've seen, and which ones they haven't seen yet. And, each sheet could have a ranking or scoring column. At


I would hesitate on this one. I don't think that the Fest should become a contest. People shouldn't have to compete to have the best room.

Yes, I have definite opinions about who had the best sound, but we as a group should not be judgmental about the people who showed off their systems. They all worked really hard and were nice enough to share their systems with us.


And, we could have a "Best Vendor Room", and "Best Member Room" award.


I could go along with the Best Vendor Room since they're doing it for profit and there are lots of awards in the industry, plus recommended components lists, editor's choice, etc. We can make judgements because we do that when we decide what to buy.

Where I disagree is doing this for Member's rooms. I think everyone deserves an award just for lugging all of their stuff to the hotel and through those elevators, then manning their room all weekend while the rest of us were free to wander around.


If the relationship with the management is good, and we could somehow get one or two of the larger conference rooms, we might be able to set up a larger room for one of our more loyal vendors. That way, that vendor might get a room with a volume more conducive to letting the speakers work a little better. Downside would be that it would be on a different floor, security, loudness, etc., so might not work out in actual practice, but it's a thought.

This would be cool. Certainly those big speakers that some dealers had were too big for the rooms they were in.


Message board stationed outside the registration room, so folks could post their "so-and-so, meet me in Kegger's room at 2:00" messages and not miss each other.

A very good idea. I would have put a couple of messages up on such a board.


I'm bringing an assortment of single malts next year.

I've never really liked Scotch that much. I like Bourbon a lot though.

My wife is a Scotch drinker. She's from Venezuela and that's the only whisky they drink there. You can get plenty of different rums and also gin and vodka, but what most people prefer is Scotch. It's all blended Scotch though. They don't seem to have single malts.

The last time I visited, I brought a bottle of Glenfiddich and one of Lagavulin. Her brothers were just amazed at how they tasted and wished they could get these locally.

I also brought a bottle of Maker's Mark and that went over well too. Nobody had ever had bourbon before.

I spent a few hours last Fall in a bar in the Orlando airport with a couple of Scotsmen. They were sitting at the bar next to me and we started talking, and the conversation made it's way to Scotch.

They bought me shots of a couple Scotches (Johnny Walker and Dewar's if I remember) and I bought them shots of Maker's Mark and Knob Creek.

They suggested that I try some of the Speyside single malts since they tend to be less smoky and that's what bothers me about Scotch.

It made for an interesting afternoon. :)

Ok, here's a suggestion...Since many of you have talked about the confusion and problems with dinner Saturday night.

What if Grumpy and I did Dinner on Saturday instead of lunch?

We could do dinner, have any presentations while everyone is eating and then have some live music while everyone is relaxing after dinner. What do you think?

just a footnote...my 9 year old daughter just made a comment to Grumpy and me..."AK fest just ended - why are you already talking about next year?". I have to agree with her...but AK fest never ends at Grumpy's house. We always want to improve it every year!

Let us know what you think...

By the way the message board outside the office is a great idea!

Ms. Grumpy

I love the Dinner replacing lunch idea. Best part is it eliminates the PITA of trying to seat many parties on a sat night around here.

I love the Dinner replacing lunch idea. Best part is it eliminates the PITA of trying to seat many parties on a sat night around here.

I agree, great idea, would really make the evening a centerpiece of the Fest and solve some problems as well.

Yup, dinner is a great idea! It would keep everyone together for a bigger party, and eliminates the big push-down for lunch.

The only problems I can see are that we'd have to charge more to include dinner. Maybe $25-30 instead of $20, because dinner is more expensive, and we might want to hold the price of Sunday-only attendance at $10. Anyone would spend the extra $10 to eat anyway, and keep in mind I'm making these numbers up, so don't anyone react to them until Dave and Nancy figure out what it will really take.

Anyone would spend the extra $10 to eat anyway,

Hell, I would have paid an extra $10 for somebody who could cut that steak the other night.

Unless it's catered; dinner WILL be a ton of work for someone and I don't think that's fair; that lunch crowd was huge. Plus, wouldn't some of the folks like to get out and away from the hotel for a bit??

I live here, so it's no big deal either way for me, but I really can't see imposing any further on Grumpy and his family. :no:

I'd also like to see some sort of expanded gear swap; somewhere where folks could post what they could or would bring to the Fest IF someone wanted it and vice versa; folks post what they were looking for. Especially the big stuff like those DQ-10s Pete had; I wonder if he would have had to take them home had there been a way to let folks know he had them before the Fest

Maybe just a waiver/reduction of the $50 vendor fee for AKFest or Swap table people so they could post what they had to gauge interest and bring some bigger items folks wanted. Kind of like what RichPA did with his freebies........
I know I have some bigger stuff I could have brought, but I just didn't feel like lugging it over.

I love the dinner replacing lunch idea. I was going to suggest it but was worried about stepping on anyones tose. I'd be willing to pay a few $$ extra for it and I am sure there are enough of us that would be willing to help to try to keep the cost and hastle down. With how cheap the eggs are at the resturant I ate a large enough breakfast that I didn't even need lunch. Its hard to screw up eggs.

Ok, here's a suggestion...Since many of you have talked about the confusion and problems with dinner Saturday night.

What if Grumpy and I did Dinner on Saturday instead of lunch?

We could do dinner, have any presentations while everyone is eating and then have some live music while everyone is relaxing after dinner. What do you think?...

Nancy, I need to make it perfectly clear that I'm 100% in favor of anything that makes it easier on you and Dave. I'm just not at all certain that dinner is easier than lunch.

I've probably done 10+ dinners like this at conventions, meetings, etc. The biggest one I did was over 600 people, and the tab I signed was $13,000.

Plus tip.

Are you planning on doing the food yourself? Or having it done? If you're having it done, by whom?

If we're doing it at the Plaza, I'm assuming it will be catered from an outside company. Having the Plaza restaurant do it would be very, very high risk. Eric's steak will be small compared to the potential problems. If it's catered from outside, the company will need access to the kitchens. Probably not going to happen. Otherwise, the food will need to be brought in, and then temperature will be a problem.

If YOU do the food, well, pizza and salads will seem like heaven compared to a hot dinner.

As far as logistics go, you have the option of either table service or buffet line. Table service is much more efficient, and quicker. If you do buffet line, it will be slower for dinner than for lunch. If you're planning on a Member of the Year presentation, plus the usual announcements, you won't be able to start while people are still in the food line. Then, the first ones through will be done eating while the last ones will still be in line. If you want presentations at a set time, table service is the better option. Buffet line is better if people can come and go as they like. If you want live music, it will have to be at the Plaza, or at someplace that will let us bring in the music.

I don't think there were any "problems" with dinner on Saturday night, it was just that there haven't been any formal arrangements...everybody was just on their own as far as restaurants, etc. Maybe dinner signups could be one of the things on the message board. Reservations could be made in advance for groups of, say, 8, at different restaurants, with signup sheets on the message boards, with a mod in charge of each sheet, for "BBQ", "Seafood", "Steaks", "Italian", etc. 8 might be a workable number, since that's two carloads of 4 each. By noon, a quick phone call could be made to each restaurant that would either confirm the reservation for 8, or change it to 6, or increase it to 10, or whatever.

I'm just thinkin' of you, girlfriend! Trying to keep it real!

Clay

The dinner signup sheets sounds like a plan, once we have the restaurant map available it will be a snap for me to run-off sign-up sheets to tack on the message board. I could mark in a space for the departure place and time as well, so everyone would know where and when to meet. Could also allow reservations to be made, depending on the size of the group.

The dinner signup sheets sounds like a plan, once we have the restaurant map available it will be a snap for me to run-off sign-up sheets to tack on the message board. I could mark in a space for the departure place and time as well, so everyone would know where and when to meet. Could also allow reservations to be made, depending on the size of the group.


All of these me's and I's make it sound like you are already planning to go next year. :thmbsp:

Well, I'll try to Google up some restaurants this weekend on a map and paste some mini blurbs about each to them. If I get it done now, it won't be an issue, plus I can solicit reviews from other locals on them so we aren't heading in blind.

I'll try to keep it 5-10 miles which actually is darn far; you could probably find almost anything within 5 miles of the hotel.

And yes, I'll keep it pretty much north of Daytwah

BTW, where did everybody go and how was it? I know some folks hit the Outback and in years past Memphis Smoke (blues bar place) has been visited.
Actually, Main Street in Royal Oak could probably cover darn near all bases.

EDIT: Mapquest hits 100 restaurants within 2 miles!!!

For regular diner fare, it's tough to beat the Country Oven. Sandy G and Lauriann, Friday night, last year. Big group on Saturday night. This year, it satisfied 'toze.

Thanks Ernie, I saw that one mentioned a few times

Probably by me! lol

Less eating, more drinking= problem solved.

No po'k chops fo' y'all, next year!

Less eating, more drinking= problem solved.



Always been a good plan,why kill a good buzz with a big dinner....

As Grumpy, myself and Ernie have already started planning next year (and yes he has been looking into different venues), many people have brought up a great reason to stay at the venue we are now. First off, how many hotels would let us do what we do??? I have heard Grumpy on the phone with other hotels and I could almost hear the hotel rep. laughing at him when he tells them that we need the beds taken out of 30-40 rooms. I have also heard him when he thinks that he has found a hotel that is alot nicer, only to hear that many of them are booked thru 2009 (at least for either the Saturday or Sunday on every weekend). Guys I know that this is not the Ritz, but this is where AK fest started. This is the place that was willing to work with us, and they have - ALOT- believe me !!!

Each year we may only get one or two more things, but where else could you guys do what you do best -

:beerchug: and listen to some awesome :music:


I know that this page is for suggestions and I put one out there for us doing dinner. I know that this is something that we will do (if I have it my way).
As far as dinner goes - I know that some have made statements about Steak (dream on!!!) we cannot afford to do that, and we are not going to price this out of anyones pocketbook. I think that Grumpy and I have done a great job trying to find things that were within our budjet, while giving you guys something good to eat. We are already working on ideas for next year...it is never to early to start.

Please keep the suggestions coming...we read all of your suggestions, sometime we may put a little spin on it, but many of the things that we do at AK fest now, were suggestions way back when....

Thanks again for your great ideas!!


Ms Grumpy

The Fest was lightning in a bottle. It would be hard to find someone who doesn't think so. I had the time of my life, don't think I'm alone. There may be some rough edges, but I sure didn't notice.

I'm having trouble putting into words my feelings for the everyone involved. I get sort of choked up about it. Only thing to change may be to see that Dave and all don't have to work so hard at it. Why do they call him Grumpy anyhow.

I'm thrilled that I was allowed participate, being such a new comer. I simply cannot wait for next year! Don't change too much. Hats Off.

Anything that I can do to help?

I know that this page is for suggestions and I put one out there for us doing dinner. I know that this is something that we will do (if I have it my way).

Ms Grumpy

I thought that lunch worked out pretty well, and should be much less work to arrange than dinner.

In fact, maybe more of us could help out with serving food next time so you guys get a break?

As for dinner, I would rather have more info about local restaurants and maybe signup sheets for small groups to go out for dinner. Dinner for a couple of hundred is very difficult to pull off well unless you have a lot of time and money to sink into it.

I know that this page is for suggestions and I put one out there for us doing dinner. I know that this is something that we will do (if I have it my way).
As far as dinner goes - I know that some have made statements about Steak (dream on!!!) we cannot afford to do that, and we are not going to price this out of anyones pocketbook. I think that Grumpy and I have done a great job trying to find things that were within our budjet, while giving you guys something good to eat. We are already working on ideas for next year...it is never to early to start.


Ms Grumpy

I hope you get your way. The choice of food was great. I'd be happy if the same items were served for dinner.

In my opinion, Dinner instead of Lunch could serve multiple purposes..

1. Closing the rooms down for the evening. (They can always "Re-open")
2. Transitioning to entertainment, if that is on the schedule.
3. Not interrupting the show during the day. Sure some rooms need to close to allow the exhibitor time for Lunch, but if the room closings were staggered the show would never "close" until it's closed.

On the downside, any announcements AK wants to give, such as the Member of the Year, would likely have fewer people present.

Overall, I'd vote yes on the change to Dinner.

I'd be happy to put on a seminar, something 101, maybe "How to fry your amp swapping gear while drinking". Or perhaps "The finer points of dragging your needle across nice vinyl".

I'm personally ok with the hotel, it kinda reminds me of Clevelands' old Muny stadium, we can do whatever we want there. But I do understand if vendors would be a little... surprised. I hope success proved otherwise. If not it may need to be rethought.

I liked how intimate the show was Saturday. If they had a bar there it would have been packed with non-AKers. My only suggestion Grump would be to get music the thrifters would be familiar with - something like "The Singalongs - a Tribute to Mitch Miller" or "The Monster Honkers sing Streisand".

Dinner or lunch, I consider any a bonus of sorts, so however you like is A-OK with me. It seems to me lunch would be easier on the volunteers. I'd be happy to help, I can microwave a mean hot dog! :D

I have no doubt no matter what it'll be great - again.

Pete

Been thinking about this some lately.

Having a room at the fest really limits meeting and getting to know everyone. How about some sort of a cocktail hour, instead of a meal. I think it would be great to just wander around and meet more of the people that I'm sure I missed.

Presentations, drawings, etc. usually go pretty well at these types of things and maybe could be a little less work for Dave and crew.

I think we should have a really basic computer set up for the SOLE purpose of uploading photos to the Fest forum on AK. That way, there will be one central place to look at everyone's shots, and people can take more pics without changing memory cards.

I think we should have a really basic computer set up for the SOLE purpose of uploading photos to the Fest forum on AK. That way, there will be one central place to look at everyone's shots, and people can take more pics without changing memory cards.

This assumes an internet connection, which is a very big assumption, in my experience.

This assumes an internet connection, which is a very big assumption, in my experience.
I was thinking that the files could be loaded onto that computer, which would then go to Grumpy's house and the upload could occur on Monday... afternoon, a while after Dave wakes up. If there's a connection to load them in real time, even better!

Guess I misinterpreted again. Okay.

Nah, I was unclear, and you're right that the Detroit Ritz has no functional connection. Well... at least not to the internet. Anything else you want can be obtained on the third floor.

I saw a lot of the third floor - and the fifth - those are the ones that kept coming up in elevator roulette when trying to get to the fourth.

I actually got a wireless connection to work in my room but have no idea who's service I was 'sharing', it certainly wasn't the hotel's.

We had a connection on the 12 floor. Not the fastest but a couple hundred K if I recall. Problem we had was finding a notebook that had a functioning wireless card...

I let many use my laptop at last years fest.

We had a connection on the 12 floor. Not the fastest but a couple hundred K if I recall. Problem we had was finding a notebook that had a functioning wireless card...

I let many use my laptop at last years fest.

My wireless card works just fine all over the world, but it wouldn't connect anywhere in that hotel. IIRC, Big 'Un techboy there had to get a signal booster and then a super duper amplified wireless card before he could make anything connect on the 12th floor.

As it turned out even without the booster with my wireless card in Ernie's laptop it worked fine. By the time we found this out on Sunday it was all ready too late to be of much use.

I later found out that others in their rooms on the 12th floor were using the wireless with little or no probs.

We probably needed to be shielded from those damned elevators! :D

I had a great connection to the hotels system on the 4th floor. I almost always travel with my computer and would be willing to let anyone up load pictures.

I agree with Ernie, asking Glen or someone else to put on a seminar is asking alot. I'm sure that the guys would do it in a heartbeat but, I feel that they should attend to have fun. Dinner sounds great too! I also liked the idea of having a cocktail hour (or 2) to meet fellow AK'ers. I know from our get togethers in the Colorado group, over the years it is becoming a hang out session and seeing and hearing the gear that the host has ammased. One thing I really should have done in 2006 when I attended was meet more folks. The gear is great but, I think the people and music are what it is all about...

Not having been able to attend a Fest because they have always conflicted with my schedule of antique shows in the spring. My suggestion is to plan the Fest around my schedule. :D

I can always hope, can't I! :D

Terry