AvatarMeet 2013: Location and Date Proposal Poll

[Moco Loco]

Hey, I really like that Eastern Sea idea. Also, it's looking more like I'm going after all, so I voted.

[Clarke]

Originally Posted by Fiyerwall

How about Journey to the Eastern Sea or the Clans of the Eastern Sea or something like that? It's mentioned when Jake goes out to gather the clans, Horse Clan of the Plain, Ikran Clans of the Eastern Sea.

In all the maps I have, the Atlantic is the western sea.

[Niri Te]

NOOOO fooling Clarke. I think that he means that a "Clan trip " to the Atlantic ocean would be nice. The problem IS, that Washington D.C. is a long way from the shoreline. And would take time and money to get to.

Originally Posted by Clarke

In all the maps I have, the Atlantic is the western sea.

[Human No More]

Well, it's eastern in US terms

[Fiyerwall]

In relation to the last meetup locations, it would be the Eastern Sea; although to our Euro clan mates it would be western.

Or you could just turn your map upside down.

[James of terra]

Looks really bad for me to go this year...sad to say.

[Clarke]

Originally Posted by Niri Te

NOOOO fooling Clarke. I think that he means that a "Clan trip " to the Atlantic ocean would be nice. The problem IS, that Washington D.C. is a long way from the shoreline. And would take time and money to get to.

I know what she meant. I was just pointing out that some of us do live outside the US, so writing the advertising/slogans on the basis that everyone is in the US (and so "eastern sea" makes sense) is a tad unfair. And also somewhat inaccurate.

[OmaticayaClan]

the dates work for me but the location doesnt

[Raiden]

I don't mind going somewhere else besides my own coast, but it seems that certain things have not been considered.

1) Why did we do a meetup last year? Because we wanted LN and ToS to intermingle some more, and because the museum was still up and many had not gotten a chance to see it yet. We have neither a central location nor a central event or theme to have an Avatar meetup around. We could still do a meetup, but why make it about Avatar? How could we possibly make that work, when all we have in our little "universe" so far is one movie? Let's face it; we don't have a good reason to have a great big meetup again next year, and Washington DC has just as much to do with Avatar as any other city in the US right now.

2) A large proportion of people who would be attending this are students, or young people without a strong financial foundation yet. Traveling anywhere is much more of a burden, because it's tough for us to scrape the funds together for it, never mind things like food and a hotel. I'm a student right now, full time, and it's hard to even get a job because of that. Nobody wants to hire someone who constantly needs time off for exams, papers, projects, etc. etc. Washington DC is also a very popular travel destination (probably more so than Seattle), which means that things will likely be more expensive.

3) Washington DC has some nice places to go sightseeing and that's about it. A lot of the city consists of poor areas rife with crime. Also, it's a big east-coast city, which means that there probably isn't much in the way of natural spaces left around it. That, I believe, was one of the draws of Seattle; it's not far away from more open places. I can think of only one place in DC that really draws my interest, and that's the museum of natural history. If we did a week-long meetup in DC, I might as well just ask them if I could sleep there for the week. :P (more of a personal note, perhaps, but whatever)

To sum it up, I don't think we need a meetup, the location isn't a great choice, and it would be very expensive (in relative terms) for some of us to come. We don't need a meetup every year, and unless a really good location is picked, I don't see a reason to have one.

You guys are pretty okay, but I just don't see a good reason to do a giant get-together. If some people want to do an east-coast mini-meetup, cool, go for it, but there's really nothing on the east coast that has much of anything to do with Avatar.

Actually, Tammy said on Avatar Nation that she would probably be able to get her dad to pull some strings at a native american reservation that he was involved with so that we could come and learn about their culture. It's in the middle of the beautiful North American SW desert region, where quite a few indigenous cultures sprang up. There are also lots of legends and stories from their folklore that originated in that general area.

I know it's on the western half of the US again, but it is a little further east, and there's really not much to do on the east coast, aside from getting lost in nasty old cities.

[Leonopteryx]

finally, an east coast meetup.
i cant guarantee my schedule so far out, but ill plan to make it if at all possible.

[Alan]

Kaltxi ma Raiden

Irayo for your comments. I'll have a go at trying to explain what's with the thinking to answer each of the points you raise:

1) You're right the reason for the meet up this year was to pull the clans together and the exhibition at the museum did provide a focal point for that, but it was not just for LN and ToS. It was for all fans from any forum or not. Posts about the event were put on as many forums as we could get them.

Yes, there is just one movie at the moment, but I think for many people it has become more than just about a movie - it's about the community that has developed as a result. For many, that is as good a reason as any to meet up together as well as share our interest in Avatar and what it means to us.

As for Washington, well, as a city, perhaps it doesn't have much to do with Avatar unless you try to ponder links. However, it does have a number of museums that certainly do link with Avatar themes: Museum on the Native American (the Na'vi), Space and Flight Museum (travelling to Pandora and Jake's flying fulfilment), Washington Zoo and Botanical Garden (Pandoran flora and forna), and like you mention, the Natural History Museum (try to find the unobtainium!).

2) Yes a fair proportion of the attendess are young people/students, which is why there were not many people from the East Coast. Why can't it be their turn to meet up? Of course not everyone who attended was a student or young person. I think we did very well covering a wide age range from young to senior and everyone inbetween - all mixing and getting on very well together, which I think was great!

With regard to expense, if it was London where we were doing this I would totally agree, but in our research, we have found a hotel that has actually quoted a cheaper bedroom rate than the one we stayed at in Seattle! It is also only a few blocks away from The Mall. The food side of things maybe a little more expensive. However, this should be easily offset by the fact that all the museums mentioned above are FREE!! YAY! This is unlike in Seattle where everyone had to pay to visit the EMP Museum and places like the Live Bug Zoo.

3) You mention that the city has poor areas rife with crime...I would say that is true of a lot of cities! However the Meet Up would be located next to The Mall. Everything is all in one place and easy walking didtance for a large group of people. When I was there just before the meet up I felt perfectly safe, even walking out at night.

You think Washington doesn't have much in the way of natural spaces around it. I must admit I thought the same, but I've had a look and you'd be surprised! There are the Shenandoah and Sky Meadows Park which are within an hours reach of Washington. Even the Zoo is only a 15 minute metro ride away. Compared to Seattle these are on the doorstep as we had to travel for some 3 hours and a ferry ride to get to the Sol Duc Falls campsite.

So, ok, you may not think we need a meet up, but that is from the persepctive of those of us who have been able to meet up twice already, in the same place.

For those who have not been able to have the opportunity to meet up yet, their perspective will be very different. And this is the reason why, having looked at all the places we have, the planning team have proposed the east coast of the US and Washington as the location; to give Avatar Fans from that side of the country their opportunity to meet up. It also makes it easier for European fans to come across the pond and meet up too.

From my own perspective, I just want to meet up with my friends again as I miss not being around you all. I miss seeing you wading through the water and sharing your enthusiasm for the nature about us. I miss trying to learn Na'vi with everyone. I miss seeing the 'blue people' and how they were able to share their 'fandom' with the local population who wanted their photos taken with them. I miss seeing everyone enjoying their time together sharing that common bond that brought us together.

It's a long way for me to come, but I'll do it, even if it ends up being a mini-meet! I really hope we can make this happen and you can make it too, ma Raiden.

Alan

[Ateyo leSyaksyuk]

I was about to suggest Journey to the Eastern Sea, but Fiyerwall beat me to the punch!
ta ATEYO

[Raiden]

Originally Posted by Alan

Kaltxi ma Raiden

Irayo for your comments. I'll have a go at trying to explain what's with the thinking to answer each of the points you raise:

1) You're right the reason for the meet up this year was to pull the clans together and the exhibition at the museum did provide a focal point for that, but it was not just for LN and ToS. It was for all fans from any forum or not. Posts about the event were put on as many forums as we could get them.

Yes, there is just one movie at the moment, but I think for many people it has become more than just about a movie - it's about the community that has developed as a result. For many, that is as good a reason as any to meet up together as well as share our interest in Avatar and what it means to us.

As for Washington, well, as a city, perhaps it doesn't have much to do with Avatar unless you try to ponder links. However, it does have a number of museums that certainly do link with Avatar themes: Museum on the Native American (the Na'vi), Space and Flight Museum (travelling to Pandora and Jake's flying fulfilment), Washington Zoo and Botanical Garden (Pandoran flora and forna), and like you mention, the Natural History Museum (try to find the unobtainium!).

2) Yes a fair proportion of the attendess are young people/students, which is why there were not many people from the East Coast. Why can't it be their turn to meet up? Of course not everyone who attended was a student or young person. I think we did very well covering a wide age range from young to senior and everyone inbetween - all mixing and getting on very well together, which I think was great!

With regard to expense, if it was London where we were doing this I would totally agree, but in our research, we have found a hotel that has actually quoted a cheaper bedroom rate than the one we stayed at in Seattle! It is also only a few blocks away from The Mall. The food side of things maybe a little more expensive. However, this should be easily offset by the fact that all the museums mentioned above are FREE!! YAY! This is unlike in Seattle where everyone had to pay to visit the EMP Museum and places like the Live Bug Zoo.

3) You mention that the city has poor areas rife with crime...I would say that is true of a lot of cities! However the Meet Up would be located next to The Mall. Everything is all in one place and easy walking didtance for a large group of people. When I was there just before the meet up I felt perfectly safe, even walking out at night.

You think Washington doesn't have much in the way of natural spaces around it. I must admit I thought the same, but I've had a look and you'd be surprised! There are the Shenandoah and Sky Meadows Park which are within an hours reach of Washington. Even the Zoo is only a 15 minute metro ride away. Compared to Seattle these are on the doorstep as we had to travel for some 3 hours and a ferry ride to get to the Sol Duc Falls campsite.

So, ok, you may not think we need a meet up, but that is from the persepctive of those of us who have been able to meet up twice already, in the same place.

For those who have not been able to have the opportunity to meet up yet, their perspective will be very different. And this is the reason why, having looked at all the places we have, the planning team have proposed the east coast of the US and Washington as the location; to give Avatar Fans from that side of the country their opportunity to meet up. It also makes it easier for European fans to come across the pond and meet up too.

From my own perspective, I just want to meet up with my friends again as I miss not being around you all. I miss seeing you wading through the water and sharing your enthusiasm for the nature about us. I miss trying to learn Na'vi with everyone. I miss seeing the 'blue people' and how they were able to share their 'fandom' with the local population who wanted their photos taken with them. I miss seeing everyone enjoying their time together sharing that common bond that brought us together.

It's a long way for me to come, but I'll do it, even if it ends up being a mini-meet! I really hope we can make this happen and you can make it too, ma Raiden.

Alan

Alright, now that I've had more time to think about this, here is what I have to say, revised from what I said before.

1) Washington DC has very little to do with Avatar, and it would be tougher for west coast people to attend. Also, I personally have very little interest in spending a whole week in DC, mainly because I dislike very large cities, and because sightseeing does not interest me much. I've been to a few national monuments and things, and they were always kind of a letdown. The space needle was all restrictive and fancy, the Statue of Liberty was expensive, kind of dirty, and not that special. Perhaps I am alone there, and the rest of you like sightseeing, but I'd rather do something more exciting or different with you guys.

2) In Seattle, you really don't need to go that far to get to natural areas (Sol Duc was just where we chose to camp; there is a wide expanse of open, natural spaces once you get out of the urban/suburban areas around Seattle, which doesn't take long). DC is, obviously, a much older city, and as such, there isn't much to do within the city aside from museums and sightseeing. Shenandoah is actually extremely attractive to me as a place to hike, because of the reptile and amphibian diversity there, but it's sort of far from DC; approximately 3.5 hours, according to google maps.

3) There are other places in the US that have more to do with Avatar, and are close to both cities and more expansive natural spaces. I'm mainly referring again to what misstammie mentioned about her father's connections with native american tribes, and her suggestions about being able to get us set up there for a while. We could, say, spend time there and then go to Las Vegas or another city for the main meetup, like last time. That way people who might like to go check out a more secluded natural area and the people who are more "city folk" can both get what they want.

So, those three points in mind, I think it would make more sense to do a DC minimeet for east coast folks (Icu and Leonopteryx, amongst others, come to mind as people who would be able to make it to those) and anyone else who wanted to come. I'd be interested, provided Shenandoah was involved somehow, but the airfare price makes it much harder to attend. Unless I somehow landed a decent job before then (which is not impossible), I think the chances of my attendance are unlikely.

After or before (or alongside?) this meetup there could be a meetup in the Southwest US.

I guess another option would be to do a DC meetup this year and then a Southwest US meetup next year (2014), and then perhaps a meetup in London for Avatar II (HNM's idea).

[Niri Te]

Originally Posted by Raiden

Perhaps I am alone there, and the rest of you like sightseeing, but I'd rather do something more exciting or different

WELL RAIDEN. You are in LUCK!!! You say you want something DIFFERENT? How about a plus and minus four "G" "RedBaron"aerobatics ride? ? There are also High Performance glider rides, a ride on a REAL. FLOWN IN COMBAT WW2 B -17. And if you REALLY want a thrill, don't worry, I'll go with you and I have over 300 jumps, we will strap a chute on your back, had have you jump out of a WW2 DC-3.
Just join Ateyo and I we are both pilots, at Oshkosh from July the 28th through August the 4th. You will never look at the sky the same way again.
Niri Te, AKA Barnstormer Brie

[James of terra]

To put straight to the point, ESAT COAST TURN, I traveled down west 2 time, like to stay on east this year, It is just fair, thanks.