Suggestions for AGI '09

[Greymatter Glass]

So let's operate on the assumption Tom and Elaine will have us back next year... what could be new, changed, better, etc?

Tom says almost everything they've brought together has been the result of input from us, so lets get on the same page and brain storm for a full year!


First, let's acknowledge a few of the improvements from last year:

Water Tap and Ice Box. A+ idea. It was great to see so many less water bottles around. The water was great. I think more people stayed well hydrated as a result. The ice was a double bonus for those of us who brought coolers. I hope that was worth the expense.

Sink and counter in the outdoor kitchen / garbage collection: Great move for sanitation (or the illusion of it, anyways). The ability to use water to clean up spills I think contributed strongly to the decrease of flies. same with the trash service.

New building: Great job! It was great to see the soft glass and boro workers in the same building working together. The building also stayed much cooler than the other buildings, and it seems the low benches went over well with the shorter statures folks. Bears out door station was a great hang out / secondary demo space.


Now for some suggestions. Some of these are minor, all are immaterial to the success of the event.

Kilns: I'd suggest a posted kiln schedules for each day. Clearly mark all kilns with an ID of some sort and the type of glass they're being used for. It would be nice for each room to also have a designated "pickup" area for work that is removed from the kilns. A small shelf near each kiln would suffice. Don't use the top of the kiln, as the swinging counter-wights are notorious for knocking things over.

Cooking fire areas: With the new building in place, and the Mickelsen Bar and Grill in place the positions for the cooking fire pits for the corn soup and tube sausage are pretty well settled. It would be nice to see some small block fire pits for these meals. A rectangular pit with built in rollers for 2-3 tubes would rock!

Portajohns: The straw and lack of rain this year was a huge positive factor in shitter row, but I still vote for the larger johns with "flush" toilets like the ones last year. Also, I think it might be good to have a couple designated womens port-a-johns without the urinals as that was a complaint I heard from a few people.

More lights outside. Especially upstairs on the patio. After the wasps went to bed it was actually really nice up there. It would have been great to be able to hold the poker game outside, but the lack of lighting was a factor there.

Bulletin / notice / message board. Preferably outside on the Lewis Wilson building. A big one, at least 4x8'. Might require a small awning. Since you have essentially no cell signal at Wonka land, and many of us voluntarily forgo our phone even if they did work, it would be nice to have a central message board with pens and slips of paper, a cork board, white board etc. I tried to get a few people together a couple times and it was very hard to assemble people for anything not on the official program.

Internet: If there's DSL or cable internet available to your place, but you just don't have it then you can usually negotiate a "special event" contract to hook it up for the week. otherwise a DirectPC or similar satellite based link would be nice for those who are hard core Internet junkies and need to get our fix, if we need to check emails, and for KT to process his cards on-site.

Wasps: Either give them badges and make them work, or kick them out.

Food and Drink: Interested to hear how it worked out this year. I'm not sure I got my $100 worth, but not saying I didn't either. Just curious if it worked as planned. I think we could have done better on some of the lunches and snacks, but dinners were pretty much spot on every night. I'd consider something like a meal plan / tickets, or bringing enough food for the week and giving it all to Kevin to use. Also, aside from beer and water, it would have been nice to see a few other options - sodas, ice tea, juices, flavor for the water, etc.



Ok that's all I got for now.

-Doug

[Mr. Whale dick]

a bigger kiln in the main demo hall...

i was really missing that big lgw...


not to say that all the new kilns didn't kick ass...but 1 big one for us gangsters would have been sweet


and deff all the new shit killed

[jane clifton]

I think that everything was wonderful!!! I tried to describe what it was like to my family and the closest thing I could come up with was a bluegrass festival but with intense art during the day. It seemed to work for them. At any rate, I would offer a few suggestions:
As far as the shitters go, bigger would be better, but a fan in them would have been wonderful!!! Boy they were hot during the day and dark at night!!!
I think the food was great but it would of been nice to have a designated time that we were going to eat so that maybe it wouldn't be during a demo.

I would love to come back next year and would like to go ahead and mark it on my calendar. Any idea when it will be?

Thank you again, not only to Tom and Elaine but to all of you!!!!1

Jane

so how do I get an AGI badge?

[Aymie]

My first suggestion is for better food for the veggies or don't say there will be three meals a day. While the food was good, I always had to wait for some time after everyone else was served, and it was the same exact two items each day. If the price went up $100, for food I certainly did not get near that value in meals. However, $600 was well worth it for me as far as networking is concerned. I would have liked to have been better informed what vegetarian food would be available and to have known I would need to bring my own stuff to supplement. I had to eat at the Emlenton to fill in the gaps and that place is not lovely and ended up taking a chunk of money I didn't plan on spending. I am certain that I am not the only vegetarian who feels this way. So, all that being said, I know it must be a serious pain to cook two meals, twice a day. Next time Yinzer and I (provided I can make it up next year) are willing to pitch in and help plan and cook veggie food. I think everyone bringing shares of food is a great idea...especially for the vegetarians. I needed some fruit.

[themoch]

i think the food deal is a sticky situation.

i feel like i got my share of it without going overboard, but i can clearly see where the Vegies, or people who weren't informed of meal time, would take a hit.

if it were an option, like lets say you get meal voucher tickets, you'd have to really enforce it. which could be a really big hassle. I have no suggestions as to this. but i do know that other events do the meal ticket. but where this event differs is the constant supply of snaky foods and late night noshing.

tough call, anybody got any ideas?

the bathroom situation would have been nicer with the "flush" ones, but i'm sure they cost more for it. if it's a matter of cost i feel that the ones there were good enough.

[Mr. Wonka]

I don’t know what to say about the food, except you can’t please everyone. We spent around $4,000.00 to provide breakfast, lunch, dinner, and late nite cooking for everybody. Breakfast was ready at 9:00am every day, and I know that it didn’t help the people who slept until noon and beyond.

With all of the demos and things going on throughout the day it was very hard to have 3 sit down meals at specific times when many people were on different schedules. Kevin was always available (and willing) to whip up a meal for 2 or 3 people that missed lunch or dinner, and he also cooked at 2 or 3 in the morning on many occasions.

I really don’t know what to say except that we tried our best and I thought the cooks and helpers did a great job keeping everybody fed.

Next year we will definitely have some extra grills and fire pits to prepare your own food if you happen to be hungry between meals.

Regarding the vegetarians, I think there were only about 5 of you here, but we did try to accommodate you with zucchini, pasta, French fries, veggie sandwiches and burgers, pizza, and chili. I’ll definitely add fruits to the shopping list for next year.

I will also put other beverages on the list as well. I really don’t drink anything other than water or beer, so I didn’t consider that.

Please remember that this is the first year that all meals were included, so in some ways it was a test. Please keep the criticism coming… we need it to make things better.

Tom

[Mr. Wonka]

Okay, I’ve taken time to go over the list that has been put together so far, as well as some notes I took during the show, and here’s what we have at this time:

-Port-o-Johns: I’ll be sure to get the ones with the flushing toilets for next year. As far as lights and fans, that might be a bit beyond my control, as there is no electricity in that area.

-Community message board: It won’t be a problem to put up a 4’ x 8’ dry erase message board for the week.

-Internet: Sorry folks, but high speed connections are not available here yet, but it’s quite possible that by next year it will be. If so, I’ll have to see what it costs and if it will fit into the budget.

-Food: We will be expanding the Mickelsen bar and grill area so the cooking situation will be more efficient for Kevin and Nutty, and we’ll also set up a grill and fire pit for those who want to cook in between meals or before / after hours.

-Wasps: I guarantee that you won’t see one wasp next year… we have a few measures that will be taken, and if there’s anything still living a week or two before the show, we’ll get an exterminator.

-Lighting: There is an outlet on the upper deck, and it shouldn’t be a problem to get a couple of extension cords and some tripod lights up there. I might even have my electrician hard wire some outlets on all 4 corners of the deck if it’s not too expensive.

-Kilns: I will look into some custom stainless steel trays (4” to 5” deep) on top of each kiln with a bed of fiberfrax for unloading purposes. If anything is tall enough that the counterweight will hit it, we’ll have a separate area / shelf for the big pieces.

-Misc.: Windex, more brooms / dust pans, and soap spray bottles (for leak testing) in each building.


Please keep the suggestions coming… I really want to make “Wonka World” the best place on earth for flame workers, and I can’t do it without your input!

Much respect… Tom

[JANKYglass]

as far as vegetarians i think some starch(rice,bread,potatoes,noodles)with the zuchini would of helped ALOT.kev did a good job of making the vegies taste good but a piece of zuchinni and some peppers is not very filling.and although i couldnt eat alot of the foods because of my medical situation i felt everyone went out of there way to accomodate my needs as best as possible and overall was worth it just for the convienance.

my only complaint would be the quality of the bologna,i personaly dont eat low grade meat,especially lunch meat.and when you have to pull the red ring of the bologna well........i'll pass.

overall the meals were great and better than i expected for the first time.just think how good we'll eat in 5 years with a little cc.

[Greymatter Glass]

Tom, I noticed the port-a-john at the RV site had an LED lamp in it an a solar panel on top, but I couldn't figure out how to turn it on - perhaps the battery was just dead? If that's an option on them all see if that can happen?

As for the food, I ate well enough and don't have any specific complaints, more to the point i was wondering if it worked out ok for you guys. Still, having an open grill would have been great. I know we could have used Kevins grill, but that's HIS space, and I felt like I was intruding anytime I was behind the counter.

Also, on the subject of missing meals - not Tom or Kevin's problem. We're all adults, we can be responsible for our own shit, so don't sweat that tommy :)

-Doug

[somberbear]

meals were great to me to , i missed a few for various reasons threw the week... but i got munchies etc... im not a huge picky eatter... its a very tough week for every one... but i had a great time i thought it was the best one yet and really have no complaints or sugestions...... it ran smoothly and every thing was in place. the new stuff totaly rocked...

yea the vegitarian meal i heard some call for beans and other protien rich parts you know the filling veggies...

if you went hungry it was definatly your fault....

i have a little list of stuff im adding to for next year... one is a more comfie chair for the demo hall (not to comfy to start a napping demo but comfy enough my butt doesnt fall asleep)

demos kinda go and go and go , some times you just have to chose to miss something if your hungry.... i kinda accept that cause i wouldnt want the demoer to stop for food... i think thats fine....thats how every convention non glass has been as well... the meal cards i think are a little much....

The inet service isnt a big deal for me its the one time of year i can shut all that off and really be with people....

wonka you outdo yourself every year for us..... thanks so much.

hopfuly i wasnt to much of a pain in the ass and allowed back next year...

[HAGSTROM]

Emmlenton cafe......only diner in the lower 48 that serves broccoli on a hot turkey sandwich...probably not intentionally.

[yinzer]

i didnt really think the food situation was bad(as a veggie) i friggin loved the zucchini and i think he did a good job coming up with shit. i am not one of the veggies that always needs protein to be full though. i didnt skip meals there because of what was provided, but more because i have issues with eating in the heat. i will, however, volunteer to help the few vegetarians out if wanted.

[Aymie]

Carbs and protein were certainly what was missing. A big pot of beans would be cheap and good. I came off a bit more harsh than I intended. I certainly don't want Tom or Kevin to think I was unhappy with the job they did. I can't imagine feeding all those people. Any time I come back, I'm more than happy to help out with veggie food and bring shares of stuff like fruit and beans and so on. I'm also happy to pay my $600 and handle all my own food. I never got to go to AGI for anything less. And I had no idea there was breakfast every day! I don't know how I didn't know, but I heard stories of breakfast one morning and thought it was a one time deal. I never heard another word about breakfast other than Don cooking for campers.

[JANKYglass]

i asked my buddy mike for any feedback cuz he's not on the forum and he said overall it was way more than he expected and his only complaint was the bologna.he said"i get better lunchmeat on welfare".

he doesnt talk much but when he does he's funny.

[NOFO]

I thought the food deal was fine. I missed a few meals but thats because of sleeping late, hey you snooze you loose .

I would love to see a bell / horn or something to signal the start of demo's. When I was at AGI it was like time stopped and you were livin on Wonka time, lol. I lost track, did not call wife for two day's at one point ( yes this email being sent from dog house ) ..... True missing the start of demos was 100% my fault , times were posted everywhere, but a bell would help remind folks of when demo is starting,,,, there is so much learning & networking going on, it's just a brain overload and for a week I lost track of time completely

[ben walsh]

tom... wonka world IS the best place in the world for flameworkers. i wish you could do it a little more offten like twice a year. peace, ben

[Mr. Wonka]

tom... wonka world IS the best place in the world for flameworkers. i wish you could do it a little more offten like twice a year. peace, ben

Thanks Ben, I appreciate it. I wish I got to hear you play some guitar... maybe next year : )

Tom

[steven p selchow]

Put in a waterpark, year around resort type. I'll come and stay for 6 months.

[UmaJulz]

Hmmm, I had a great time and pretty much ate whatever I wanted. I didn't think of the additional $100 as being solely for food- I included the ice and running cold water in with that, along with the new building! I don't think Tom had raised the price in quite some, had he?

Porta Johns... well the RV camp had a nice one. I don't mind the urinal ones, but why oh why do they need wafers in them? for targets? They just kind of add to the ick of the room.

Food. Yes, more fruit would be great, and I did notice that you were picking up oranges and grapefruits as the week went on. Nice bonus.

Vegetarian cooking for large groups can be daunting, but I certainly can help out with that. I used to cook for a veggie diner/bakery and have mammoth proportion recipes for complete protein meals, that weren't burger-ish. As it was mentioned above, a big pot of beans, some rice, chips and cheese can go a long way to feed a crowd regardless of whether they are meat eaters too. Like maybe a burrito bar.

The only thing that it would be nice to improve on, though I understand costs are tricky, is the styrofoam stuff. I can recycle it, but it really should be rinsed a bit before bagging, or they'd get nasty over the week.

Another option could be paper plates on the wicker or paper plate carriers from the 70s- anyone remember them? You snap a plate down on it, and it is rigid enough for just about any food. Then the paper products could be burned, and we'd cut down a lot on the volume of trash that we generate.

I also noticed that there was much less glass being left behind as scrap this year. It hurts to see perfectly usable glass wasted.

Love all you and Elaine and Kevin do for us Tom- next year could be exactly the same (except for the hip and the toe parts) and I would be perfectly satisfied.

[gypsea]

tom... wonka world IS the best place in the world for flameworkers. i wish you could do it a little more offten like twice a year. peace, ben

yea, i wish it was there all the time with all the people, & we could just show up whenever for a dose of wonkaland!

[UmaJulz]

Yeah, like, "just passing through, but where is everybody?" :D

[Joe Blow]

Wow- AGI, even better..........

Hmmmmmmm......... put in a home brew system and some of us will come up early and fill it up:) Mmmmm, beer.

And maybe more power outlets in the Michigan bldg. ( Thanks Michigan Crew for lettin us Texans impose a little. Had a great time with yall.)

And the Vegitarian thing could be thought out a little better. But the food was super tasty.

Maybe some lockers some sort of bag area

[Greymatter Glass]

good call on cubbies... if there's room. maybe upstairs between the lounge and the store?

Also, how about an on site butcher / mechanic? I think you'd probably need a new building for it.

[HAGSTROM]

Speaking of glass waste Julz...did you happen to twist up any boro yet?

[yinzer]

a butcher and mechanic in one?? now
thats multi-tasking.

[krisdaka]

Tom, I noticed the port-a-john at the RV site had an LED lamp in it an a solar panel on top, but I couldn't figure out how to turn it on - perhaps the battery was just dead? If that's an option on them all see if that can happen?
-Doug

Bring a small flashlight that you can keep in your pocket and turn it on, shine it upwards in the johns, and you can see.

[cheng076]

18 plus meals, cold water on demand, ice for your insulated cups and coolers, coffee on all day, many late night meals, beer, munchies all day, deserts, and dishes/utensils...... seems a damn good deal to me for $100.00
Know nothing about being a vegetarian so can't comment. But I don't really think anyone went hungry unless they slept in and missed a meal. I know Knutty had some great beakfasts and cooked 'till 10 or 11 or so.
Almost everyone has an LED headlamp - great for the portapotty. Only think bothered me in the johns was the feedback in my hearing ades..... howled like a banchee! Really anoying;-))
Spectacular event.
PJH

[Greymatter Glass]

beer isn't included in the $100. I hope the beer fund wasn't a problem this year, I have no complaints tho.

None of the food either. I maybe missed one breakfast and a snack, and I managed to get in all the demos I wanted to and spend plenty of time in the beer garden.....

I was just wondering if the $100 was enough to cover it all, or would it help if next year we all bring some extra food as well if possible (who who are driving).

I'm torn, on one hand I feel like between the food AND the service I got way more than $100 worth, but then sometimes ya know, bologna sandwiches and corn turkey soup were boring after the second day, and I know I could have brought a lot of stuff with me to spice things up.

The offer is out there Tommy!

-Doug

[harpentuan]

and you can see.

What? Jesus? A clock?

[UmaJulz]

Speaking of glass waste Julz...did you happen to twist up any boro yet?

*zing!*

Nah, I've been in the hospital. But my boys did unload my trailer, and my stuff is waiting to get set up. TTYTT, your scrap will be the first stuff I'll play with- all prepped and easy to manipulate. Thanks again for letting me free-cycle recycle scrap glass.


...and you can see.

What? Jesus? A clock?
Bwahahahahaaaaa! Fine art in the portajohns- who could miss it?

[Mr. Wonka]

Elaine just spoke to the Port-o-John company, and she reserved 12 units with flushing toilets, sinks, and lights.

I spoke to Kevin and Nutty, and we’ll be upgrading the vegetarian meals to include more of a variety.

BTW… AGI 2009 will take place from Monday, Aug. 17th, through Sat, Aug 22nd… Stay tuned for more information that will be coming soon… we’re already working on it!!!

[jane clifton]

WooHoo...can't wait!!!!
Jane

[gypsea]

Elaine just spoke to the Port-o-John company, and she reserved 12 units with flushing toilets, sinks, and lights.

!!


All Hail Queen Wonka!!!

[themoch]

BTW… AGI 2009 will take place from Monday, Aug. 17th, through Sat, Aug 22nd… Stay tuned for more information that will be coming soon… we’re already working on it!!!

calendars marked and noted...

[newmexicomagma]

it sounds like this year was amazing. wish i could have made it. making sure to make it next year. seems everyone has some good ideas. the only thing i can think is maybe throw in a schedualed hour lunch, and make sure dinner is after the last demo. im sure it is stressful on kevin to make sure people are fed on time. i think it would be a good thing to even try to caravan into town a couple times that week to pick up misc stuff that people want. (of course they would pay for that stuff.) i know if i drive i am going to try and bring enough food for the week. thats where i feel the meal tickets might be a good idea. cant wait to see the new improvements and of course all the torch burned faces.

[Mac Maestro]

AGI 2009 will take place from Monday, Aug. 17th, through Sat, Aug 22nd

Damn. It still conflicts with school starting for the kids. *sigh*

[magualosa]

Hello Tom and Elaine,
hi everybody!
AGI 2008 was a wonderfull event! fire arts! It was amazing and great time for peace, art and fire! I loved all artist arround! I have a good time, learn a lot and enjoy.
The food was good.
I have a few suggestion, please add some fruits and yogurt... and chocolates..hahah!!!
Is good your idea about the flushing toillet, or maybe you could constructing a new building for restrooms! sorprise!!!

I wish to come back next year, do you have idea when it will be?

[Greymatter Glass]

... maybe you could constructing a new building for restrooms! sorprise!!!


There's not enough water form the spring that they use to provide full facilities for 80 people for a week. He's got showers on site, but the toilets are closed.

[UmaJulz]

I will bring the chocolates!!! and yes, fruit, yogurt and Grains- granola-like.

Marie, I hope you can come to AGI again. It would be so much fun!

[AWhiskeyDrunk]

BTW… AGI 2009 will take place from Monday, Aug. 17th, through Sat, Aug 22nd… Stay tuned for more information that will be coming soon… we’re already working on it!!!

(credit card in hand...) fine I'll take one hell put me down for two... twist my arm why dont you...


As for suggestions: I agree with Ben it would rule if it was more than once a year... also if next year you could pack everything up...all that land the new buildings... everything and move it to my house so I dont have to drive... the food water and ice were more than worth the $100 next year I'm gonna bring some food though just to feel like I contributed a bit more... probably mass quantities of homemade jerky...

[rkhpa]

As one of the veggies in attendance this year I was really happy with the food. What I'd normally expect from being in a large non-veggie group with very limited cooking facilities would be something like a handful of chips. Instead there was always something I could eat. Kevin did a great job of always making sure that there was always something the veggies could eat and kept it separate so we could get to it. If you were hungry he got you fixed up.
The man is very intimate with the many ways of the zucchini.

I vote for the bigger portajohns too. They're much easier for those of us with larger rear ends to maneuver in.

Ice, water and trash pickup all get an A.

Message board is a great idea. A "town crier" for meals/demos would be great. The chuck-wagon ringer thing didn't carry into the buildings well.

Can you get another stray dog? Tyrone was the best!

$600 is still way less than $10/hr for the kind of instruction, fellowship, and atmosphere that you'll find no where else except Wonkaland. I can't wait for next year.

[UmaJulz]

So nobody realized that there was a 'town crier'? JC and other staff had radios and went from building to building telling peeps how long before the next demo, who it was, and how long before the next meal.

[Aymie]

JC can't be trusted as a town crier...she thinks it's fun just to get people running...silly B made me leave the beer tent early.

Next year we should get Kevin to season the zucchini with a little Sassy....mmmm.

[Aymie]

I want to see a Micah Evans boro bug demo.

[magualosa]

Julz, Yes!!!
I wish I could go at AGI 2009!
Thank you very much! I love my AGI's friends

[gypsea]

we love you too mary luz!