Greetings from Tucson
Last Saturday, May 2, a small but determined group of Baja Arizona Kossacks traveled to Garfield Park in historic Bisbee, AZ for the 5th Annual Baja Arizona Kossacks Picnic. This diary is a recap of that event. Click through if you're interested.
⇓ more below ⇓
The Photo
There we are, all 7 of us. Clockwise from left, ItsaMathJoke, artisan, Mrs.Z, your humble narrator, Bisbonian (seated), rasbobbo, Itzadryheat
Issues
First among these is, of course, turnout. I thought a picnic in Bisbee was a splendid idea when it was first proposed at the Central Committee meeting. I saw a chance to renew my acquaintance with that gem of a town and I thought it would attract members from Cochise County. After an initial flurry of interest, RSVPs stopped coming in and, in the event, we had fewer people at the 5th Annual than we had at the 1st. I don't know why. It's a long drive from Tucson, but a pleasant one. It could have to do with fewer people reading the site in a non-election year or, God forbid, disappointment among those who had attended previous BAK meet-ups. I don't know what to do about it but keep plugging away; better luck next time.
Food is something else we probably could have planned better. We all took home leftovers. In fact, we could have fed a dozen more people with what we brought. Many of us brought paper plates and plastic utensils. We had way more than we needed. Maybe we should organize that better for the 6th Annual. Being a confirmed carnivore, I will always want to bring grilled meat of some sort. Itzadryheat usually brings a salad. We should maybe get together more on the menu and delegate one person for plates and stuff. We've got a year to think about it.
Some had a little trouble finding the venue. To these I say, hey, getting lost in Bisbee is part of the experience. I've been there a bunch of times and I still get lost. We drove out to Warren Sunday and I got lost twice, once each way. Maybe next time we'll think to have one of those cell-phone thingies with us, just in case.
Final Thoughts
Just speaking just for myself, I had a great time. I have never not had a good time in Bisbee. Yes, the turnout was a little disappointing, but it was good to see my friends again and the weather was perfect. Since we stayed over I had the chance to do a little Bisbee clubbing and I want to thank artisan for making that possible. Sincere thanks also to Bisbonian for the advance work. Our next opportunity for a Meet-Up will be in July at Netroots Nation and I believe there will be an announcement for that in the daily Connect! Unite! Act! diary.
Thanks again,
To all who showed up and yeah, lets' do it again.