2016 Scritch and Bitch

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#47

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Note

I do want to emphasize that this thread is not where anything is going to be decided. What everyone participating in this thread can do to help CFT grow and improve is to focus on providing their own viewpoints regarding what did and did not work well, as well as share any ideas for improvements.

Posts that solely are about agreeing or disagreeing with any particular point/viewpoint are not useful toward that end. (Do feel free to give a like to any posts that you want to express appreciation for, however! That can be out of agreement, or just to acknowledge that a point was well written/communicated.)

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#48

I feel like that there could be a huge benefit to having dedicated medical and “ranger” staff so that if something bad does happen people know exactly who to go see.

Having reg up by the gate would probably be good too, considering we had some problem with locals coming in, if they had to register to even get inside it’d cut back on that.

Loved the atmosphere and the kitchen and showers and although red camp’s music didn’t bother me that much the weird morning noise track was kind of dumb.

So like, having dedicated staff areas that aren’t just someone’s camp would be cool as there were times I didn’t feel like I could find anyone. There’s a lot of shit like this that although it wasn’t a problem this year could result in Big Ones further down the line

#49

One small tiny thing on the music I wanted to speak up about is about the portable speakers. If someone is already playing music in a certain camp/area, please do not drown out their music with your own. If someone ask if they can play their own music next, then thats a-ok, but if you come over & purposefully crank up your volume so loud until I cannot even hear my own speaker right next to me anymore, I find it to be kinda rude. I love the wide range of music played around camp, but I think everyone should have a chance to play & enjoy their own.

#50

Hello, a Maly here. What a fun first Campfire Tails! I hope everyone enjoyed Dragon Heights/the yurt/the movie screen/their soap this year, next year we’ll have even more fun in store.

Things I loved:

Central kitchen/mess area: Loved having a space that worked so well as a place to go socialize, eat, hang out, and avoid the sun for a while. And what an amazing, hard working kitchen staff! You guys, gals, and nonbinary pals all rock!

Water bottles: loved that they had such a good clip for carabiners. Loved the big coolers in the kitchen full of various colors of hydrating fluids.

Colored light jars in different camp zones: SO CUTE, so helpful at night for navigation! If only you could have them be solar so staff didn’t have to go disconnect the batteries every day (seriously brilliant rigging inside tho). Would like to see more lighting around camp at night in general. Since next year is the wasteland, I’ve already started thinking about fun lanterns and stuff.

Staff accessibility: seriously the most standout thing about the whole event. CFT staff is really accessible and approachable, and I get an honest sense of transparency. It’s obvious you’re all doing this because you love the event, not to fulfil some need for ego. It’s refreshing, and it’s super legit.

Things I would like to see changed next year:

Showers: when people pulled hot water from the heater to fill the dish bins, they didn’t know or mention that it pulled /all/ the water from the showers. As a result, 2 out of 3 of my showers involved me standing confused, wet, and cranky while various campers shouted at each other, trying to figure out the situation. Next year I would like to see a sign informing hot water users of the sittauon, maybe some kind of bell or something to tell people in the showers what’s happening.

Announcements/PA: I felt like there could have been a more coherent announcement system for meals or events. We couldn’t hear the food triangle out in red camp with people’s music going (not a dig against red camp music), and we didn’t know Battle of the Brightest was a thing until we saw people wearing glow sticks wander out our way.

Registration: echoing @Raemuz and asking that reg be moved up to the gate. We didn’t see any of the strangers that others had wander in, but that kinda freaks me out to know our stuff was exposed to people from off site.

Noise: We slept out in Blue camp and still could clearly hear music from Red pretty early in the morning. The hours of cricket chirping on repeat being played at the van full of speakers on Monday morning were absolutely maddening while we were breaking down the yurt. Also, I realize Foxglove set up late on Thursday, but maybe next time we can place theme camps ahead of time so we don’t end up with the dance floor pointed at the bulk of green camp. That poor California group right next to it.

Next year I would really like to see better noise enforcement in general. And if they want to enforce it the way other camps do it they should set audio levels that people should conform to so they arent just telling folks “you’re too loud!” isnt as effective as “you’re currently outputting 85db of noise. Starting at 2am you need to be below 70db from 20 feet away.” (Or whatever the level should be)
For our part, the movies will be set up with the speakers pointed towards the audience rather than at camp like this year. We’ll also be monitoring our own noise output through the night and adjusting as needed.

Echoing @kilo about portable speakers. There were some sound machines wandering around camp that absolutely drowned out anything they came near, including whatever ambient music other camps had going. Please be considerate about noise, the yurt got pretty loud a few times and it wasn’t ever our music doing it.

Theme camp placement: I know I mentioned this above, but I would like to see theme camps placed long before we get out to camp, so all the campers know where the big stuff is going before they set up for the weekend. And I would love to see more theme camps in general! (tiki camp! Coffee truck again! More theme camps!).

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#51

Hello, I had a great time at my first Campfire Tails! I want to thank everyone for putting on the event. It was amazing to be surrounded by so many like-minded individuals, I really felt connected and at home. The event had so many wonderful elements, like the colored lanterns, cool camps and displays, and vegan/vegetarian options at every meal(!).

Having read through the whole thread, I see that there has been some controversy over the sound and music. I was really impressed by the quality of the music and sound system (Knox and Foxglove rocked!), and I wasn’t bothered by the noise either despite being in red camp. However, I’m pretty used to loud festivals and I can see how it could have bothered some attendees. I can also see how the genres might not have been everyone’s cup of tea. Maybe angling the speakers away from the other camps and putting a barrier (like a couple of larger cars) between them could help.

The only other suggestion I have is that giving newcomers a quick rundown could be really helpful. I wasn’t sure of where some things were or how to jump in at first. However, as Kuwa mentioned before, I’m sure I won’t experience any issues with this next year ^^

#52

I had a great CFT this year
My only complaint this year was the lack of planning and happenings. I understand that the happenings were meant to be more free-form however there really wasn’t any effective communication system to support this. The two solutions I see for this problem is to either get an effective PA system that reaches all camps to announce events or to simply get a conbook schedule at the expense of the free form style.

Oh also a lot of events were planned on top of each other which really splits attendance

#53

Man, I’mna make so many friends with an industrial ear plug dispenser next year. :smiley:

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#54

I was just thinking of offering a deafening service. two loud clicks and it’s silence bliss for you!

#55

I have some ideas for a radio-driven PA system that I’m working with CFT staff on figuring out how to implement.

#56

I have a PA project in the works too! I’ll work out details with you privately.

#57

I think the music needs to be louder and we need to get rid of the hot showers because those are for dang weiners

#58
#59