UK Fandom Weekend 2024?

[kat_lair]

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Hello everyone, but especially people in the UK or willing to travel there!

A long, long time ago, I can still remember
How that music fandom weekend used to make me smile...

*clears throat*

Anyway. Once upon a time there was Connotations, a fan con by fans for fans where I met some awesome people and drank questionable amounts of alcohol. Once upon a time I also hosted 'North-West Fen' meetings in Manchester, and then a 'Broadstairs Bacchanalia' fandom weekend in, you guessed it, Broadstairs. Then life, pandemic, etc.

Now... Possibility? Potential? A vaguest of plan... To maybe do something like that again. In person. In... Well, still considering the location (because sadly I no longer live in a house that can host more than max five people for group activities) because a lot depends on the numbers (though Manchester has been floated...). Next summer(ish) seems like a potentially solid time as well.

Anyway, I am posting this first in my journal but will consider setting up a separate community if there is enough interest. So, please can I ask everyone to

1) Share this post. Look, I made a very professional banner and everything. You could like post it and embed a link to this post and that would make my little heart swell with gratitude.



2) Fill this extremely professional poll.

Poll #29528 UK Fandom Weekend 2024

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 30

View Respondents

I'm able to/interested in attend/ing

View Answers

Yes
14 (50.0%)

No
0 (0.0%)

Depends on factors I will elaborate on in the comments
14 (50.0%)

Ideal time for such an event is... (tick all you think would work)

View Answers

March 2024
14 (48.3%)

April 2024
16 (55.2%)

May 2024
17 (58.6%)

June 2024
18 (62.1%)

July 2024
21 (72.4%)

August 2024
17 (58.6%)

September 2024
17 (58.6%)

October 2024
17 (58.6%)

Ideal location for such an event is...

View Answers

I already have ideas for activities which I will share now!

View Answers

Please feel free to elaborate and offer suggestions in the comments!

Thank you!

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Comments

[static_whisper]

I'm unable to travel to attend, but I shared a link to this with some people who are in/closer to the UK.

I noticed the comment above about being willing to take suggestions on Covid-19 precautions, so I hope this doesn't seem too overwhelming or uncalled for:

Try to find a venue with enough space for social distancing in any indoor and outdoor areas. (I don't know enough about upgrades to ventilation that might allow for no social distancing offhand. That will likely be venue specific if you go that route.)

Have attendees take a Covid-19 test before traveling to the venue. (Ideally, have some sort of alternate and/or online plans for still hanging out for anyone who tests positive or shows signs of illness between a negative test and traveling. This can vary on your attendees and the specifics; someone who's really sick with Covid-19 might not want to do anything that weekend, but someone who traveled to the UK and is now sick but capable of joining an online thing from their hotel might appreciate having some sort of alternate plan.)

The exact specifics might depend on the venue, but ideally, every attendee should wear a face covering in communal areas, and if you can find a box of N95 masks, you should have at least one face covering to provide to attendees. (There's nothing wrong with asking attendees to bring their own face coverings, but providing one usually lowers the barrier to compliance if, for example, everyone needs to wear one before going into a small room together.)

Dining options might depend on the venue and the weather, but if eating together is part of the appeal of the event, socially distanced outdoor dining will probably carry a lower risk than indoor dining. (If group meals aren't a planned part of this event, you may want to consider letting people get their own food and eating wherever they feel is best to reduce their risk - outside, in their hotel room, etc.)

Afterwards, have a way to communicate with all attendees if someone starts showing symptoms of illness after they've traveled back home. (It may not be Covid-19, even, but you should still plan on possibly needing to notify everyone.)

[kat_lair]

Hey, thanks very much for sharing the link.

And thank you for all of those suggestions, very useful. A lot depends on the number of people as that will then impact on things like what kind of venue is needed. I really like the idea of an online aspect. There are definitely some things that could be potentially be ran as hybrid or to offer some parallel online hangouts. I shall keep in mind!

The dinner options are again depended on numbers. When I've done this in the past the numbers were small enough that a 'bring something' shared lunch and a larger table at a local restaurant were feasible. Larger the group, more likely it will be a 'sort out your own food' type of solution for practical reasons anyways.

Some really good ideas here. I will put these kinds of things for communal decision when we get some more certainty. Thank you again for taking the time <3

[static_whisper]

No problem.

Yeah, the number of attendees will definitely make certain decisions for you, and some of this will probably be easier to try to google with a number or exact location in mind. (And some venues may have dedicated people who can answer questions or have group booking offerings with Covid-19 precautions included.)

On the online/hybrid front, you can definitely check with everyone while in the planning stage about possibly having both planned activities and casual hangout time in the online space. Some people might need to decompress alone outside of any planned activities, but others might like to have that casual hangout space if everyone's eating separately or something.

I'm glad it's been helpful, and good luck with the rest of your planning.

[kat_lair]

Thanks for all the tips and suggestions again :)

[kat_lair]

Hey, I know you can't attend but dropping the link to the comm anyway if you want to pimp it uk_fandom_weekend :)