Jul. 15th, 2008

arontius: (Default)
.....Last night was our 'June Faire De-Briefing'. Monday is never a good night for me as far as being required to pay attention, but I did my best. :-). The Board members put together some good observances of the Faire, and I thought that I would jot down a few thoughts from my perspective of being Renart's Camp Minister Deputy (and I was asked to do so as well :-)). Feel free to comment, poke and prod at what you see. Don't hurt my feelings excessively, but I'm not nearly as tired of June Faire as I was approximately four weeks ago. :-)

.....The Background: The site was the uplands just outside of Port Gamble. There were so many unknowns that are accounted elsewhere, so I won't bore you with too many details other than the obvious. We had approximately one to two weeks where the location was solid. There were at least half a dozen working plans, at least of what I knew, on how lay-out was going to work. Anything from the entire event was going to be held in the uplands. To where half of it was to be in the uplands. To the entire event being moved back into town. When the Board was told the cold truth from OPG, we then had to scramble to get everything squared away in time to support June Faire.

.....Renart and I took a bunch of measurements of the area reserved for camping. Renart went out several more times with others and measured other swaths of territory. We were never sure up to the weekend of the event exactly what territories could be used and what would be too boggy and wet to be used. Eventually what was available was tetris-ed onto a map of site that we used as our foundation for directing campers.

.....What Happened: On Thursday, Renart and I laid out as many lines with spray paint as possible. With all the rolling hills and boggy stretches, we had to perform surgery on the map lay-out. We ended up with at least six encampments that were 'floating', meaning that depending on who showed up to claim that space and what they had to set up, we'd 'find' space for them. The formlessness of this plan scared me, but we really had no other option.

.....On Friday, people started showing up and we were dismayed when we realized that MANY people had made NO reservations. Renart and I were running everywhere to find ANY open space we could. People were literally defending the territory they had claimed already from the site: the Marketplace, Bardic, the A&S village, archery. They all had to protect what they had. But everyone was remarkable calm and generous when we demanded that they give up bits of their territory for camping. I'm amazed that we were able to camp at least 98% of all those who wanted to camp on site.

.....Ideas To Ponder For The Future: Ideally, you assemble a 'Camp Team'. The team would be involved in the initial measurements and lay-out of the site itself. That way everyone involved has a more intimate feel on who the site will work. Its obstacles and challenges. The way the hills roll. The flora and fauna as it is distributed over the site. Then the site is divided into 8 - 12 territories depending on geographic considerations and physical site lay-out. One person is assigned to each territory. Ideally, each of those persons would also wrangle an assistant to help them so that they are not absolutely stuck with their duties ALL day and night.

.....Each territory leader would have a good idea of the lay-out of their area, as well as any open space that they have. They would also have a general idea of who is camped in their area so that they can make decisions on who to put where. Would this camp of Barbarian Pirates play nice with this camp of Mongolian Sheep Herders. Things along those lines.

.....The 'Camp Master' would stay at gate with the overall site map in hand. As people arrive on site he'd ask them if they had reservations. If so, he'd locate their camp, give the territory leader a shout on a radio (all territory leaders would have a radio and the Camp Team would be on its own channel). Then direct the camper to that territory. He should have a runner or two for direction as needed for those who need a little extra help.

.....If the camper did NOT have a reservation, the Camp Master would get the general space requirements of the camper and then give a shout out to the group to see who had what available space that could accommodate this group. Then the Camp Master could direct the camper accordingly.

.....In the interim, since each Territory Leader had a set space with which they could work, they could be patrolling their territory in order to tighten the campers there to the smallest area possible. They could arbitrate territory diputes rapidly. They could be on the look-out for potential trouble spots and ensure that firelanes stayed open. They could push people to unload and move their vehicles as quickly as possible.

.....This is just a quick and dirty. Give me time to actually put this on paper and I could overwhelm you with details. I just wanted to get something out in black-and-white before I forgot completely. Feel free to add notes, details, and better ideas ad nauseum.

.....Here's hoping to a June Faire 2009 that is perfect! :-)

.....Aaron / Arontius.

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