Post by bsimon615 on Feb 7, 2019 15:55:50 GMT -6
Hopefully we can have a long and rewarding relationship with the White Horse Retreat Camp for a number of years. As a new venue, one that many regular attendees of the Deep South Star Gaze have yet to see and use for the first time, there are a number of "reservations" about it that many of you may have.
Our past two Deep South events, both in 2018, the 2018 Spring Scrimmage (at the Feliciana Retreat Center) and the 2018 Deep South Star Gaze (at White Horse) were not the best weather wise in the minds of many attendees and potential attendees. Note - we did have a reasonably good night for several hours on Friday and even better skies on Saturday with less wind, at the last DSSG, however the forecast kept many away and surprisingly even when it cleared some who were at White Horse chose not to come outside and take advantage of the improved conditions. Whatever the weather, bad or good, the venue cannot be given credit or blame for that.
At the past DSSG we had a fairly high number of regular attendees that could not attend for one reason or the other - family issues, schedule conflicts, etc., etc. That did hurt attendance and that was disappointing. I am hopeful that this was a fluke and that we will be able to reverse that trend, especially with the DSSG next fall. I am hopeful that as we build a good relationship with the White Horse Retreat Center we will be able to utilize this facility for other star parties beyond our two annual events.
As many in the PAS do know, our utilization of our facility at SPMOS is somewhat tenuous. The owner on a voice message, a little over two years ago, said she was not going to renew our lease. All we had was the voice message so we sent her a registered letter asking for clarification and/or a written demand that we vacate. The letter could not be delivered with two attempts and was eventually returned. We have not heard from the owner again. Legally we are not required to vacate unless we have something in writing, and we do not have that. We continue to use the SPMOS site including bunkhouse and improvements have been made. However our continued use could end at virtually any time, all it will take will be a letter from the owner. This being the case it is important that we maintain a good relationship with the White Horse Retreat Center. White Horse offers us all the amenities of SPMOS with more area to set up equipment and with lower horizons and darker skies. It is an excellent site for the gulf south.
So my recommendation to all is this - please come to the Deep South Spring Scrimmage if you can - dates are Thursday, May 2nd to Sunday, May 5th (and if demand warrants, maybe we can add a day or two), and please attend the Deep South Star Gaze, the 37th Annual. Those dates are Tuesday, October 22nd to Sunday, October 27th. Continued good attendance at both events will help assure that we will have a reasonably close location from which to view the night sky well.
Note - the "non registration fee" registration form for the Spring Scrimmage will not be out until early March.
Barry Simon
Our past two Deep South events, both in 2018, the 2018 Spring Scrimmage (at the Feliciana Retreat Center) and the 2018 Deep South Star Gaze (at White Horse) were not the best weather wise in the minds of many attendees and potential attendees. Note - we did have a reasonably good night for several hours on Friday and even better skies on Saturday with less wind, at the last DSSG, however the forecast kept many away and surprisingly even when it cleared some who were at White Horse chose not to come outside and take advantage of the improved conditions. Whatever the weather, bad or good, the venue cannot be given credit or blame for that.
At the past DSSG we had a fairly high number of regular attendees that could not attend for one reason or the other - family issues, schedule conflicts, etc., etc. That did hurt attendance and that was disappointing. I am hopeful that this was a fluke and that we will be able to reverse that trend, especially with the DSSG next fall. I am hopeful that as we build a good relationship with the White Horse Retreat Center we will be able to utilize this facility for other star parties beyond our two annual events.
As many in the PAS do know, our utilization of our facility at SPMOS is somewhat tenuous. The owner on a voice message, a little over two years ago, said she was not going to renew our lease. All we had was the voice message so we sent her a registered letter asking for clarification and/or a written demand that we vacate. The letter could not be delivered with two attempts and was eventually returned. We have not heard from the owner again. Legally we are not required to vacate unless we have something in writing, and we do not have that. We continue to use the SPMOS site including bunkhouse and improvements have been made. However our continued use could end at virtually any time, all it will take will be a letter from the owner. This being the case it is important that we maintain a good relationship with the White Horse Retreat Center. White Horse offers us all the amenities of SPMOS with more area to set up equipment and with lower horizons and darker skies. It is an excellent site for the gulf south.
So my recommendation to all is this - please come to the Deep South Spring Scrimmage if you can - dates are Thursday, May 2nd to Sunday, May 5th (and if demand warrants, maybe we can add a day or two), and please attend the Deep South Star Gaze, the 37th Annual. Those dates are Tuesday, October 22nd to Sunday, October 27th. Continued good attendance at both events will help assure that we will have a reasonably close location from which to view the night sky well.
Note - the "non registration fee" registration form for the Spring Scrimmage will not be out until early March.
Barry Simon