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Baltimore Pride Festival
Jun. 23rd, 2008 01:53 pmSunday was a very, very long day.
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kent4str and I were calling for the Chesapeake Squares in the park's picnic pavilion, our fourth year of doing so. The snag this year is that all vehicles had to be off the grounds by 9 AM, an hour earlier than last year's. This meant the alarm clocks sounding off at 6:30 AM. Oy.
We were there on time and were witness to the usual confusion and difficulty of vendors & community groups getting their materials onto the grounds and their vehicles off of the grounds. The volunteer managers/coordinators were doing their best but the roads are narrow and too many vendors were either late or simply impatient. One must have the patience of a saint to keep from going insane.
We were indeed set up at the pavilion by the deadline but then had to wait nearly three additional hours for any significant number of pride attendees to actually begin filtering through the park. Yeah, that was time well spent. :-^
This year, we had a demo square with simple choreo dancing at 15 minutes before each hour, then we opened the floor to teach newbies a handful of very simple calls for about five minutes. At every opportunity, we talked on the mic about upcoming open houses, the fun of dancing, how no one needs prior dance experience or a partner, socializing with others, etc.. By intent, no mention was made of classes or lessons. Lots of bookmarks, business cards and brochures were distributed at the pavilion; there was also a table on the other side of the park with the community groups but I have no idea how effective they were at either distribution or collecting of contacts.
In all, we did five presentations. It doesn't sound like much but it was somewhat draining. Fortunately, the pavilion offered shade from the sun and a fairly constant breeze kept the humidity and heat tolerable.
Shortly after 6 PM, vehicles were allowed back in to clear out the park. Being relatively close to the edge of the park, we were able to pack up our stuff and run for the hills in short order.
Our pride season is done for another year. It seems to take more energy and effort every time even as aspects of it get easier. Right now, I need a good night's sleep.
kent4str and I were calling for the Chesapeake Squares in the park's picnic pavilion, our fourth year of doing so. The snag this year is that all vehicles had to be off the grounds by 9 AM, an hour earlier than last year's. This meant the alarm clocks sounding off at 6:30 AM. Oy.We were there on time and were witness to the usual confusion and difficulty of vendors & community groups getting their materials onto the grounds and their vehicles off of the grounds. The volunteer managers/coordinators were doing their best but the roads are narrow and too many vendors were either late or simply impatient. One must have the patience of a saint to keep from going insane.
We were indeed set up at the pavilion by the deadline but then had to wait nearly three additional hours for any significant number of pride attendees to actually begin filtering through the park. Yeah, that was time well spent. :-^
This year, we had a demo square with simple choreo dancing at 15 minutes before each hour, then we opened the floor to teach newbies a handful of very simple calls for about five minutes. At every opportunity, we talked on the mic about upcoming open houses, the fun of dancing, how no one needs prior dance experience or a partner, socializing with others, etc.. By intent, no mention was made of classes or lessons. Lots of bookmarks, business cards and brochures were distributed at the pavilion; there was also a table on the other side of the park with the community groups but I have no idea how effective they were at either distribution or collecting of contacts.
In all, we did five presentations. It doesn't sound like much but it was somewhat draining. Fortunately, the pavilion offered shade from the sun and a fairly constant breeze kept the humidity and heat tolerable.
Shortly after 6 PM, vehicles were allowed back in to clear out the park. Being relatively close to the edge of the park, we were able to pack up our stuff and run for the hills in short order.
Our pride season is done for another year. It seems to take more energy and effort every time even as aspects of it get easier. Right now, I need a good night's sleep.
