Why Do You Attend? ~ or ~ Why Do You Not Attend?

While attending the Cachin' and Scrapin' Event sponsored by one of our own in Southern Maine this past weekend - the Question posted on the Tread Title was asked.

We wondered why no more that a few - both from in-state and out of state attended?:confused: Was it the location? Was it the timing? Was it when this was posted folks were already booked? Was it the event itself and what it had to offer?

So I propose the following questions:

1. What makes you consider attending an event? The date, the theme, those who post they are going, the location? Whatever the reason - please share it!

2. If you decide to NOT come to an event - why?:confused: Again, sort of the same questions - the date, the theme, those who post they are going, the location ~ but I will add ~ the expense, the equipment needed to fully participate or please describe anything else.

3. If the date of an event is a problem - what would you propose as ideal dates or frequency of events.

4. If time is important - what is your imput to that. Perhaps you would share that there are Geocaching weekends (including events) and family weekends.

5. Location - site - type - I won't go on and on here - just post the whys, whens, wheres, and timing of what you would like for events.

6. How do you feel about short Meet N Greet Events? Do you like these better than all day, half day or longer events? Mid-week better? Coffee-break style?

There are loads of folks who read these forums and none have ever come to an event - why?:confused: What can those who sponsor events do to better plan them, execute them and post them? Without your input - we all put in a lot of effort for a few to attend.

Please use this tread to share with us ~ your ideal Maine event!:) Timing of when it is held, time of day, length of event, activities offered, and anything else that can help event sponsors better plan a great time for those who Geocache in Maine.

Thanks in advance to all who are willing to share their ideas and input. It think it will help a lot of us for future planning.:)

Hiram can add here (but most likely he'll see words and stuff and won't bother:p), but this past weekend we had a family camping trip planned, plus we reserved camp sites before the event was posted (at a different campground). The biggest reason we don't come to all events is that we have some other engagement going on.

We haven't attended mega events because of cost.:( We had a vacation in Colorado (though we did cache there:D) and we're still contemplating going to Ohio (sorry to blow your cover Hiram:rolleyes:) to see family we haven't seen in over 2 years.:eek:

Maybe it's not the true or right thought, but: events, mega and non, happen every month/year, but time with family is more rare for us.:cool:

We like good food, so that is always a draw:D. Mostly we like seeing friends and meeting people with similar interests, so we've made it a point to attend annual events:cool:. We don't own watercraft yet, so an event requiring such requires that friends drag us along and shove a watercraft into our hands so-to-speak:rolleyes:. We have a lot of options for our weekends, so we end up doing other things that take less time/energy than borrowing watercraft for an event:o. But these types of events may be in our future.:cool:

Finally, we go for quality not quantity (ok maybe Hiram's a little about the numbers:p) but we really enjoy good conversations and laughter:D; we really don't enjoy chaotic crowds:mad:. We had a great time at the Slipping into Summer event:D, even though it was a lot lower in attendence than years past. We're more likely to call up a few geocachers and make a day of adventure than work out an event:o, but Hiram does help the ORCAs put on the annual Tread Lightly event!:D

With the scrapping event, it was timing for us. We had to make a trip to NH, and thought we might make it on the way down or the way back. But we left on Friday and had to stay there until Monday morning, so it just didn't work. We didn't even look for an actual cache the entire trip either.

Personally We like all events but are less enthused with those of short duration. What's the fun of meeting for an event if it's only an hour? Might as well just meet up at a restaurant and have dinner without it being an official event. We like to have time to share stories and ideas.

Another thing that I think brings the people count down is the frequency of events. People are more inclined to skip one if they went to one last week or think they can go to the one next week. The first few events we had in this state brought a good sized number of cachers to them considering how few there were. Now the number of cachers has quintupled, but the numbers attending an individual event have dropped by half or more.

We enjoy events, we really like to meet everyone and put faces to the names we see in the logs.
This has been a very busy summer for us and we have had little time to cache and have gone to events when we could.

We were disappointed to have to miss the Slipping into Summer event this year that was the first event we ever attended and look forward to it. Unfortunately for us it came on the weekend of our oldest sons birthday and although we tried we couldn't fit everything into the day.

This last weekend I had plans to go on a geocaching hike and again just couldn't do both..

We have never gone to an event where we didn't have a good time. we believe that you get out what you put in and although sometimes the boys get tired and have had enough (ok me to) they alway talk about the events and things that are special memories to them.

There have been a lot of events this summer and more to come. We have missed one we wanted to go to due to our car breaking down another because of work and just the busyness of our lives.

We were very fortunate to go to Quebec to the Mega event and had a great time. That was the furthest we have traveled to go to an event and we got to meet some folks that we had spoken to through emails. others who we had traded coins with it was a good time but no more fun than we had at the Pirate event, the Snow shoe event, the WWWWW event or the coffee break events, to name but a few.

In the end we would love to go to every event but sometimes you get to do what you want and other times you have to do what you have to do.

Thanks to everyone who has had an event short of long , we like them all.

Location is big for us. On a careful budget we haven't even been geocaching much with gas prices this summer. If we are going to an event, we do tend to prefer events that are more than just a coffee break but if the event is very long, its hit or miss on who you will see. The social part is a good reason to go.
This past weekend was our Anniversary and we ended up repainting the livingroom and putting down pergo. That was timing because it was a gift and the first time in 14yrs that we painted. Unfortunately someting is always going on and plans constatnly change with kids and a rotating shift at work. If it was up to me and cost wasn't an issue, I would go to almost all the events.

Family concerns for Shotgun and me. We can't go far for more then an hour or two. Meet-and-Greets are all we have attended. We have planned on the Eustis event for quite a while now and we have someone to take care of the family problems that week-end. If not for that problem we would be at many more events.

1. What makes you consider attending an event? - - - Distance is somewhat of a part of my consideration, but more importantly the calendar. Weekends are a bit difficult for me, Sundays especially.

2. If you decide to NOT come to an event - why? - - - Again, it is mostly related to the calendar. I missed two events the last two weekends and that was due to previous commitments that while caching related, were very important to me and so the decision was not a difficult one to make.

3. If the date of an event is a problem - what would you propose as ideal dates or frequency of events. - - - The calendar is always a big problem, but a few observations. Summer Time events are difficult at best. Many have made plans well in advance and when an event is published choices are made. We only have about two months of Summer here (July and August) so the weekends especially fill up quickly with outings, family etc. Also anything close to a holiday weekend seems to be difficult as well. I have no suggestions on best dates, but School Vacations are usually a no no as well.

4. If time is important - what is your imput to that. Perhaps you would share that there are Geocaching weekends (including events) and family weekends. - - - I think it would be difficult at best to try and designate weekends as such for the Geocaching Masses. Too many different things come to play here.

5. Location - site - type - I won't go on and on here - just post the whys, whens, wheres, and timing of what you would like for events. - - - I like a bit of organization at events. It seems that without organization of some sort folks get there and then just hang for a little bit and then go. Also you do see folks that just show up, check in and then move on. I don't have any suggestions other than being organized and letting folks know in advance what they might expect when they arrive. I think this is important especially for new folks.

6. How do you feel about short Meet N Greet Events? Do you like these better than all day, half day or longer events? Mid-week better? Coffee-break style? - - - I like all of the meet and greets, coffee get togethers, etc. They are different and while held usually during the week they attract some very large numbers of people especially when moved around different areas of the state. The format is usually quite loose, but that is what is expected I guess.

I do think that a little better job could be done promoting the events. The listings are usually OK, but there are often gaps between what is written and what happens. Not that this is a problem, but more detail I think would be better.

The event this weekend past was I guess kind of a "specialized" event. Caching yes, but the scrap booking thing was just something that would not hold my interest. Visiting with folks is always fun though and if I was not committed elsewhere I would have been there.

I think there is also some perceived difficulty as it relates to new folks breaking into the group. I think we all think we are open and go the extra mile to welcome new folks but sometimes that is not what new folks feel. I remember how it felt the first few times I attended events after moving back here to Maine. It was not always a warm and fuzzy welcoming feeling. It was kind of like being the odd man out sort of thing. You were there and not knowing anyone was a bit awkward. A lot has changed since then, but I can still see how new folks might be a bit apprehensive attending. I do not have any substantial suggestions to address this one, but I think it is something to think a bit about. - - - One thing that might be considered is to have a greeter of sorts to kind of look out for new folk and when they are found make sure they are welcomed and introduced to folk either formally or informally.

Well, I have rambled quite enough. Please do not take any of my comments personally. They were not intended as such. Just some thoughts that have been rattling around in my head even before Hollora posted the questions.

Thank you everyone for your posts and "answers". This may help everyone think through posting events if they have questions. Without some candor and honesty in why you did not - or did attend we can not adjust the offering of events.

This post is not a head hunting expedition but rather an exploratory post to see what we could do better or should not do.

Thanks to everyone who has replied so far. Keep those posts coming. And folks with kids - what could we do for you to make events better?

there are just some things i would not post in public

I'm kinda new so I haven't had a chance to attend any events yet. What I would consider attending at this point is a short meet and greet. Like Gob-ler said, I would feel really weird showing up at a longer, all day event not knowing anyone. Could make for a very uncomfortable afternoon.

For me, family things would be great as most of the time my kids come with me when I go geocaching.

Distance does matter as has been previously posted. If there were something right in Boothbay, I would try to make it there for sure. But to drive a long period of time to visit with people I don't know yet, I just wouldn't do right now. I'm sure everyone is wonderful, but it's hard when you just meet people.

I will try to get to an event sometime. Hopefully this fall or winter when things are less busy.

Thanks everyone for your candid responses. :) That is exactly what I wanted. Keep them coming and thanks for being part of this community.

Sometimes we are just to busy.

As I have been working as many as 3 jobs in a day, come the weekend I just want to rest and not do much of anything.

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Originally Posted by ltlindian

I'm kinda new so I haven't had a chance to attend any events yet. What I would consider attending at this point is a short meet and greet. Like Gob-ler said, I would feel really weird showing up at a longer, all day event not knowing anyone. Could make for a very uncomfortable afternoon.

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I would think being uncomfortable at an all day caching event would be rare. In 2003 I attended the second event Maine had, didn't know a single person there, except for conversing with a few of those in the national chat including my future wife. Many of the people there had not met any other cachers before either. Yet we were all greeted by the same friendliness that exists in all the events I have attended regardless of duration.

Lee and I attended an event in NH spur of the moment on our way home last year and was accepted with open arms there as well. We had heard a few of their names, and a few of them had heard ours, but none of us had ever met. We could not stay long and it was raining, but we had a great time just the same.

One thing you have to remember with events is you do not have to attend an all day or weekend event for the entire time, unless there were some requirement saying so on the event description. I have seen people drop by for half an hour just to say hi, share a story or two and say sorry they couldn't stay longer. Don't be afraid to drop into an event after it's scheduled start, either. If you go to an event and feel uncomfortable you can always leave. Don't let that stop you from attending!

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Originally Posted by brdad

One thing you have to remember with events is you do not have to attend an all day or weekend event for the entire time, unless there were some requirement saying so on the event description. I have seen people drop by for half an hour just to say hi, share a story or two and say sorry they couldn't stay longer. Don't be afraid to drop into an event after it's scheduled start, either. If you go to an event and feel uncomfortable you can always leave. Don't let that stop you from attending!

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That is such a valid point Dave. Thank you for adding that. I myself will go to an event and stay for the whole thing. That's just me. If you come and just poke your head in you might just be surprised who you might meet, and end up hanging out for awhile. There is always someone around to answer a question or offer a technique on caching or whatever. Come to one and you'll be amazed at the diversity of people there.

Now for a shameless plug... My after Labor Day event The Last Cache Bashe of Summer 2008 (GC1DK74) by mainiac1957 (1/1) is coming up in 3 weeks. This is my fifth year doing this event and I never get tired of meeting new cachers. Once again you get a twofer weekend since Hollora is having her event later in the day Apres The Last Cache Bashe of Summer Event 2008 (GC1DP5Y) by hollora (1/1.5) This way the gas isn't just for one event. There are tons of new caches in the Bangor area. Many new places to see and explore. If you've not been to a Cache Bashe then it's time you checked it out. I hope to have a good turnout again this year. And now back to your regularly scheduled thread.:rolleyes:

Speaking for myself, someone who usually just lurks and reads posts, the events look a little intimidating. You all seem to have a good rapport on here and know one another and the idea of walking into say the meet and greet that was 2 seconds down the road form me at BK a while back is a little unnerving:o. Also, probably my own fault for not asking, but I have no idea really about what goes on at the events.
As someone else mentioned, time is also an issue, during the school year I work 12 hour days and all other time is deemed precious, the other half of Team U.S.Eh? works strange hours, so time we can get together is usually spent chillin or doing things that have to get done. It would be hard to commit a whole or half day to anything!
Doreen

I don't do events. :) ;)

. . . with the exception of the ORCA's Tread Lightly events . . . and that's just because Hiram promises not to make too much fun of me and my Magellan. ;):D

Well, this isn't quite true . . . I did do a two-fer -- Flash Mob and Brad's B-Day Party Wing Ding Doodle Events in Bangor . . . but that was a "gift" for Maniac. :D

We've been to many events in Maine, several in New Hampshire, and mega-events in North Carolina and Quebec. We've never been disappointed. We've always been made welcome and have a great time.

We travel a lot and always do a PQ of upcoming events in the area we're heading to. Event hosts are usually very happy to have visitors 'from away" attend. :D:D

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Originally Posted by Team U.S.Eh?

Speaking for myself, someone who usually just lurks and reads posts, the events look a little intimidating. You all seem to have a good rapport on here and know one another and the idea of walking into say the meet and greet that was 2 seconds down the road form me at BK a while back is a little unnerving:o. Also, probably my own fault for not asking, but I have no idea really about what goes on at the events.
As someone else mentioned, time is also an issue, during the school year I work 12 hour days and all other time is deemed precious, the other half of Team U.S.Eh? works strange hours, so time we can get together is usually spent chillin or doing things that have to get done. It would be hard to commit a whole or half day to anything!
Doreen

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How about we plan a pathtag event...wouldn't that be a blast? I bet you would come if you didn't have something else on the calendar! We could pick a spot in the middle....get together and drool over each others tags! (Speaking of which, I LOVE your tag!) Cachers who don't have tags (yet) can come see what all the fuss is about.

Off topic...he he he...but creatively off topic, so that is okay right?

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Originally Posted by Cache Maine

How about we plan a pathtag event...wouldn't that be a blast? I bet you would come if you didn't have something else on the calendar! We could pick a spot in the middle....get together and drool over each others tags! (Speaking of which, I LOVE your tag!) Cachers who don't have tags (yet) can come see what all the fuss is about.

Off topic...he he he...but creatively off topic, so that is okay right?

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I like that tag too
Now we just have to figure out out a spot in the middle...in the middle of what? This is why we go to events meet people look at coins and tags and eat.

Yes, the Team's pathtag is very cool. And a pathtag event would be fun - I already have an feeling there may be someone interested in doing one in Maine (other than the operatives who have posted here). Maybe they will - maybe they won't but it would be cool for us all to enjoy.

is not really the question for me. I would love to attend all of the Maine events. But it's now Summer and some of us have to plan our time, weeks or months in advance. This year I have been very busy and when I have already made plans it's hard to cancel and make an event. Then there's the " there are waaaaaayy too many events " now going on around New England. I have many friends in Maine, NH and Vermont. And it seems like there is an event every weekend somewhere. I sometimes have to choose between events, depending on where I am going to be.

The annual events are planned but the rest are hit or miss. I have planned to make the Eustis event, due to the place, and time of year. Plus we will be camping and that is an important factor for me when choosing an event to attend. Helium would be another good reason to attend. :rolleyes:

Thanks to all of you who have put on events.

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Originally Posted by Team2hunt

is not really the question for me. I would love to attend all of the Maine events. But it's now Summer and some of us have to plan our time, weeks or months in advance. This year I have been very busy and when I have already made plans it's hard to cancel and make an event. Then there's the " there are waaaaaayy too many events " now going on around New England. I have many friends in Maine, NH and Vermont. And it seems like there is an event every weekend somewhere. I sometimes have to choose between events, depending on where I am going to be.

The annual events are planned but the rest are hit or miss. I have planned to make the Eustis event, due to the place, and time of year. Plus we will be camping and that is an important factor for me when choosing an event to attend. Helium would be another good reason to attend. :rolleyes:

Thanks to all of you who have put on events.

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And thank you T2H for this wise muse...........this is exactly what I wished to extract by my post, to share with all, so we can decide what should be a go vs. a meet and greet (not so formal with not so much stuff or time involved).

Your candor is appreciated! Thanks for sharing!:)

If dogs were allowed at the events we would attend more of them :D We hate to leave Moxie home all day on the weekends and if the events are too far away she would have to be home alone too long, so we usually avoid the far events that don't allow dogs. Outdoor events that allow dogs are our favorites. We missed a lot of events this summer because of our schedules. We were going to pop into the scrappin' event but we had some unexpected house repairs come up that had to get taken care of.
We enjoy the coffee breaks as they usually break up the work week a bit and we can catch up with everyone.

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Originally Posted by Gob-ler

I like a bit of organization at events.

I do think that a little better job could be done promoting the events.

One thing that might be considered is to have a greeter of sorts to kind of look out for new folk and when they are found make sure they are welcomed and introduced to folk either formally or informally.

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Great ideas, Gob-ler! I'm one of those organization freaks, and I really liked how at Karen's Celebrating 2008 event she laid out happenings on an agenda of sorts, that was cool! It helps new-comers see what's coming up and what to stick around for, too.

In promoting events, this comes up in another post too, a way to promote your event before you can publish it, so that those far-in-advance-summer-planners can plan for it, like KayakingLoon did, post a tread here in the forums with you're event title. People can become aware of the date, ask questions about the details, plan out potlucks, prizes, and other fun stuff people can contribute to, to make the event that much better! Use the forums, they're here for you!

I love the idea of a greeter! Even a rotation of a few different people throughout the event to be greeters; and answer that so-often-first-question: what's a travel bug? Greeters are great, because they open the person up and the greeter can figure out what the person's interest is and then introduce them to someone with a similar interest! Despite not having a greeter so-to-speak at the Pirate event, I think folks were able to mesh into the crowd easily because of the scavenger hunt that was going on; with cachers moving around, it's not perceived as though there are already formed cliques.

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Originally Posted by ltlindian

I'm sure everyone is wonderful, but it's hard when you just meet people.

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Sure it is ltlindian. Thanks for speaking up, that took courage, and I'm sure there are other newbies who feel similar! Like others have said here, don't feel compelled to stick around if you are uncomfortable, or look at the event like you're meeting one person, even the host maybe, and then you'll find yourself easily meeting everyone! That's less overwhelming I think...:cool:

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Originally Posted by Team U.S.Eh?

Speaking for myself, someone who usually just lurks and reads posts, the events look a little intimidating. You all seem to have a good rapport on here and know one another and the idea of walking into say the meet and greet that was 2 seconds down the road form me at BK a while back is a little unnerving:o. Also, probably my own fault for not asking, but I have no idea really about what goes on at the events.

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Wow, another courageous cacher! Welcome, by the way. Meeting new people is always unnerving, but to put your nerves aside a little bit, just to let you and other newbies know, a lot of us may have met one another, but our perceived rapport is really just us being open in the forums. I know Hiram was legendary before we ever even met another cacher, let alone attended an event. So again, don't let the rapport alienate you, because we were once a newbie and we know how that feels ;)

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Originally Posted by firefighterjake

I don't do events. :) ;)

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You keep telling yourself that FFJ...:p

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Originally Posted by Cache Maine

How about we plan a pathtag event...wouldn't that be a blast?

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TOTALLY (even though I don't have a pathtag). It'd be all about meeting new people, so everyone can be a "newbie" tehehe and see who you "cross paths" with!:D

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Originally Posted by team moxiepup

If dogs were allowed at the events we would attend more of them :D

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I know some folks don't put those attribute thingys on their events pages (like dogs welcome)...but always ask the host if they don't say dogs are welcome. Sometimes the host wants to be controlling on which dogs do attend, and I know I would always want Moxie to be there!! :D:cool:

Thanks everyone for your thoughts, I'm sure they'll help folks planning events and attending events in the future! :)

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Originally Posted by team moxiepup

If dogs were allowed at the events we would attend more of them :D We hate to leave Moxie home all day on the weekends and if the events are too far away she would have to be home alone too long, so we usually avoid the far events that don't allow dogs.

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As a "dog" person, I totally understand. Many of the GeoDogs are well behaved and would be welcome but it is sometimes the venue location which makes an event sponsor have to deny dogs:(, such as our Pirate Event.

I noticed last night reading the Folk Festival information that this year - No Dogs or other Pets, except service dogs are allowed at that event either.

FYI, if the dog is a service dog - it can not be denied access - regardless.

Dogs will be allowed at the Apres event :) as they were last year, as long as they are on leash or under your control. We have neighbors with horses so we can't have them wander.

A great idea to post if dogs are welcome on not. Using the little icon attributes is a good way to do this.

I have not been able to attend any events yet, although I am certainly looking forward to attending some.

For me it mostly comes down to time and location. I work every other weekend so 50% of dates are automaticly out. Having only every other weekend off I usally plan family stuff and work around the house for my other weekends. I was looking forward to attending the Slipping into Summer event, but a few weeks prior we added a new foster son to our family and he was still adjusting to us and I did not want to over whelm him with a bunch of people.

Living DownEast is also a problem. So far the closest event to me was a meet and greet in Ellsworth (an hour away). I believe this was on my weekend to work as well.

Events sound like so much fun and I can't wait to hit a few, but for me if will be more than just once in a while.

My decision is usually a decision of money and time. Sometimes I depending on how far the event is and the cost of the event I have to decide if I can afford or what do I have to give up to go. The other major factor for me is allways timing, Everyone's schedule gets so full and most of the time on a week day event I can not plan is I never know what my schedule is going to be untill I walk out the door after work. Some day I will figure out how either to be in 2 or 3 places at a time or a transporter so I can get to places quickly and cheaply :) I wanted to go to the Orca event again this year but could not figure out how to be in maine, montana and maryland all on the same day and partly at the same time... :) My Brothers Wedding in Montana won btw.... Not TAT's wedding b4 I start an ugly rumor....:D

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Originally Posted by robt

I wanted to go to the Orca event again this year but could not figure out how to be in maine, montana and maryland all on the same day and partly at the same time... :) My Brothers Wedding in Montana won btw.... Not TAT's wedding b4 I start an ugly rumor....:D

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Sheesh! You're not going to TAT's wedding??? :eek::eek:

TAT's getting married??? Congratulations!!! :D:D:p

Hey Tom,did you know you were getting married?....:confused:;):D:eek:

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Originally Posted by Haffy

Hey Tom,did you know you were getting married?....:confused:;):D:eek:

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Sheesh! I wonder how much traction this is going to get. Perhaps I'd better not place any new caches for a while - they might not get approved... LOL!

So who is holding this event where Tat is getting married?
Perhaps someone needs to start a thread just for this subject, so this one can stay on track...

About the only thing I use this site for is the forums and the chat. Once in awhile someone mentions an event but I do most things spur of the moment. If a thread on an event updates and mentions it a day or two before the event actually happens, it would be a reminder for me to see if I am available.

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Originally Posted by brdad

So who is holding this event where Tat is getting married?
Perhaps someone needs to start a thread just for this subject, so this one can stay on track...

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Sheesh! I think we should start a thread about BRDAD getting married... :p:p

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Originally Posted by WhereRWe?

Sheesh! I think we should start a thread about BRDAD getting married... :p:p

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Well Dave & Lee.....any comments?:rolleyes::D

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Originally Posted by WhereRWe?

Sheesh! I think we should start a thread about BRDAD getting married... :p:p

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Brdad's getting married???:eek::eek:

Of course I am. It has been mentioned at least once in these forums. If you people would just take time to do a search, you'd find all the info you need. ;)

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Originally Posted by brdad

Of course I am. It has been mentioned at least once in these forums. If you people would just take time to do a search, you'd find all the info you need. ;)

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Wow! Do I get a prize for figuring this out first-again!
Sept 20, 2007 :D:cool:

Yeah I've been trying for a few years now to get them to change it to the 19th ,my birthday, but they won't budge....;):D

Or they could change to the 21st mine ~ but I suspect the year is not 2007.......correct?