What FF activities work best? (and more!!!)

What activities do you like best? Which ones flopped? Locations --what worked, what didn't? Do you game? Costume? What makes a successful FF, and has helped bring your FF from obscurity to prominence?

Share what has worked for you, or share your failures --there are FF's starting all the time, and this is the place to help them out and l from your experience, and also for them to ask questions as they get started.

Let's hear from you!!!

Well, trips to public places like beaches and parks always go well. Usually, when we do something in a private house, not many people go.

When we do stuff we usually bring lightsabers along (I love the way people look at us all funny!)

The problem we have is that we usually plan too late and then the lag between the announcement and the actual activity is too short so many people have plans already. . .

The lesson here, PLAN EARLY PEOPLE!!!!


To check out our activities, go to the PRJO Recent Activities thread, I'll post pics from all our activities there as they happen. . .

And I want to know what you other FFs out there are doing as well!!!! (We need to steal ideas! LOL)

We've had pretty good luck w/ both kinds of activities. As a matter of fact, I had 21 people crammed into my 2 bd apartment watching SW parodies, making costumes and eating spaghetti.

I will say, that the best turn-outs come when there isn't a monetary committment. Try to plan things where it takes little or no money for everyone to participate.

Movie outings work well (especially w/ this Sci-Fi summer we're having).

We also have more than one "meeting" in a month. The gaming people get together almost once a week to play cards and once a month to RPG. The collecting group meets sporadically, to view others collections/finds and for group shopping trips. The female members of our group have started getting together w/o the males as well. And our Costuming and Props group were together a lot before the premiere, and whenever they work on special projects. Of course, now we have a Saber combat group too, that is working to set up monthly get togethers.

Our general meeting is set to a specific weekend every month. We decide the month before which day and then work out a location/activity for that month. Because of the number of minors we have, we alternate between public & private locations, so as to include everyone when possible. We also try to move the locations around, since our members come from all over the state.

Good locations for initial meetings:
-Free places to hang out (comic shops, churches, libraries, etc...)
-Cheap places to hang out (Starbucks, Denny's, Buffet Restaurants)
-Public buildings, parks, malls
-Arcades or Dave & Busters (if you have them)
-Movie Theaters
-Charity events



Bad locations for first meetings:
-Places that cost more than $10 per person (beyond buffet places)
-People's homes --(bad to meet strangers in private dwellings)
-Bars, or places that are either >18 or >21 years old to get in.



Please feel free to add other locations, or bits of advice.

Unless your group is very concentrated or you have an uber-convenient place to meet, most cities tend to rotate their meeting place so that no one person has to drive the furthest all the time. In Chicago, we try to rotate events between the far south burbs, downtown and the north/northwest burbs.

Well, we have the huge problem that we are not just a city, but a whole country. Its hard to get organized when you have a whole country to cover.

Any ideas?

Well, it's impossible to keep everyone happy or accommodate everyone. However, here are a few things that may help (and have worked to some extend in my experience)

-Encourage members that are far away to car pool.

- Set meeting and event dates as early as possible so that people making arrangements have time.

-If members consistently cannot attend events but want to help out, offer them opportunities to help the group by doing web or phone based tasks (calling for prices for things, being the official ambassador to other sites, etc).

-Plan multiple events in one day, so that people making the trip get the most benefit. Last January we had a three part event: lunch meeting, arcade & movie. There was lunch meeting to discuss upcoming events, etc. The meeting was held at or near Game Works (an arcade similar to Dave & Busters), and those that could or wanted hung our afterwards for several hours of arcade fun. The group then moved to a nearby theater for a late afternoon viewing of FOTR (which was just out at the time). (I think that some people even back to GameWorks after the movie, or went out to dinner). There were three separate meeting times so people could meet up as their schedule allowed.

However, Chicago-land is not a country (despite Mayor Daley's attempts to act like a king ), so I can't guarantee that it would work in your situation.


~H~

CH:

Although I have not been in your situation, I can certainly feel for you. That is an interesting situation.

DJ has some fantastic advice above --thanks for posting it!

One thing you may want to look at is breaking your group down into local "cells", or smaller groups around that are part of the larger whole. We've considered going to an "East-Side", "West-Side" format here in Phoenix, just because it can take almost 2 hours to get from one side of the city to the other.

Right now, we're trying to find a central location that works, but it's taking time. We've got great east-side locations, but nothing on the west side so far.

Beyond that, I'd say the best thing is planning. And making the events big/fun enough to make them worth travelling to.

And try to include not-quite-so-supportive spouses (or signifigant others) in the events as well. It helps get out the door if the (non-SW fan) spouse is going with you.

Good luck!!!

*LOL*


That's the thing, unlike US FFs, the rest of us are usually FFs if a whole country. We've had to rotate meetings throught the island or do something really good so that people feel motivate to drive across the island.

I know what "island mentality" is like, having lived on Oahu, Hawaii for 4 years. It takes a lot to get someone from one side of the island to another. Sometimes it practically takes an act of congress.



I can say that costuming and prop-making has helped bring both the Rocky Mountain FF and the Phoenix FF together. We'll meet at someone's house and build lightsabers, or blasters out of hardware store parts. Plus it looks cool when you have the finished products.


You might also want to talk to mac-nut, the Hawaiian CR. She may have somoe pointers that may help. The circumstances may be similar.

Hope that helps.

Actually, this while thread has been a lot of help.


And you can say that again about island mentality. I mean, PR is not that big. . .but people grudge when they have to drive more than half an hour!

I study at San Juan (the capital) but I live in Cabo Rojo (at the Southwestern tip, right across the island) and I drive home every weekend. People look at me as if I was insane!

LOL --CR!!! Oahu was exactly the same way.


Now, if you drive less than 45 minutes to work, you've got a short commute. (In Phoenix)