[dlv] Status of the DLV 2022 timeframe, etc. ...

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In this mailing:

Welcome and apologies
Dates for DLV 2022 - feedback requested
This may be your last DLV mailing
DLV 2021 survey results
Photos of DLV 2021
Stu Rasmussen / Carla Fong
Administrivia
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Welcome and apologies:

First of all, we would like to apologize for the tardiness of this
planned general mailing. As you will see in the item below, we have
run into some complications regarding the selection of the timeframe
for Diva Las Vegas 2022. The item below will explain in depth.

We are also reaching out to all of your for your input and guidance.
. . . . .

Welcome to those who have just joined our mailing list. If you have
any questions or concerns, please let us know. Just reply to this
mailing.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Dates for DLV 2022 - feedback requested:

What appeared to be the favorite week for our annual 2022 event, that
being the week beginning October 30, 2022, which includes Halloween, has
the issue of very high hotel room rates.

This room rate spike is driven by the 2022 SEMA convention, which is
a very large automotive trade and promotional show, and which occurs
during that week.

The high room rates (from approximately 140% to over 200% of the usual
rates for the season) affect not only our preferred hotels, but almost
all hotels, both on-Strip and off-Strip, in the Las Vegas area.
. . . . . . . . . .

We have a number of options, and we would like your feedback to guide us
as to the direction we will go.

The first option, of course, is to schedule during what appeared to be
the favorite week (week beginning October 30, which includes Halloween),
suck it up and pay the much higher room rates, and put up with the
increased crowd level (slower service, longer waits, etc.) and the
company of a crowd which most likely will not be very TG-friendly.
. . . . .

Another option is to schedule during the previous week (the week
beginning October 23), which will allow those for whom Halloween is
a high priority to stay over and celebrate Halloween as an option.
. . . . .

Another option is to "split the difference" and begin our event in the
middle of the week before Halloween (beginning Wednesday, October 26 or
so) and continue through Halloween, which occurs the following Monday.
This option would still have higher room rates for most of the days of
our event, the weekend rates beginning on Friday, and the SEMA rates
beginning on Sunday.
. . . . .

One other option, which is getting some traction among the volunteers,
is to synchronize our event with Las Vegas Pride 2022 festivities.

Unfortunately as of this writing, the official dates for the LV Pride
2022 have yet to be announced. One of our volunteers has reported that
last year's pride occurred on October 8 (parade) and October 9 (main
celebration) so if a similar schedule occurs this year, it will be
toward the beginning of October.
. . . . .

The option of resuming our traditional timeframe in the spring is
desired by some volunteers, but does not appear to be a workable
option for DLV 2022, mainly due to the lingering pandemic.
. . . . .

We would like all of you, both previous attendees and prospective
attendees, to please take a quick survey regarding your desire.

The survey is on line here:

https://divalas.vegas/surveys/2022surv1.html

This survey contains only three quick questions and will take less than
a minute to complete.

If you wish to make more detailed comments, please reply to this
mailing.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

This may be your last DLV mailing:

If you received a notice to reconfirm your Diva Las Vegas mailing list
subscription and have not done so yet, your email address will be
removed from our list this coming week.

Those who have already responded to the reconfirmation notice, either
via the web link or by return email, need to take no further action.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

DLV 2021 survey results:

The results of our DLV 2021 Attendee Survey are now on line.

You may view the results here:

Objective survey portion:
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=4218

Comments portion:
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=4220
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Photos of DLV 2021:

Thanks to all who submitted photos of DLV 2021!

Everyone who attended DLV 2021 should have now received their link to
the photo staging area. Using this area will allow preview of the
photos, and, optionally, to mark any undesired ones for deletion prior
to the roll-out of the DLV 2021 follow-up pages.

DLV 2021 follow-up pages are scheduled to be on line sometime during
February.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Stu Rasmussen / Carla Fong:

Annie writes:

Those of you who attended DLV between the late 1990s and the mid
2000-teens most likely met Stu Rasmussen aka Carla Fong.

(Stu/Carla used both names interchangeably and never went ballistic
upon the use of any pronoun.)

I knew Stu/Carla as a friend, as a fellow hardcore techie, and as a
fellow (former) projectionist.

Stu/Carla and partner Victoria attended DLV off and on over the years,
and were formally introduced to the gang at our DLV 2010 opener.

Stu/Carla's big claim to fame was being the first openly transgender
mayor of a US City. (Silverton, Oregon)

A quick bio of Stu/Carla, with many traceable references, appears on
line here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stu_Rasmussen

More details appear below.

I was aware that Stu/Carla was suffering from a long illness and was
under hospice care, and was saddened when I received the following item
from Victoria.

If anyone wants to be put in touch with Victoria and family, just reply
to this mailing and we'll do an exchange of email addresses.

This item came in just after our last general mailing was launched.
. . . . . . . . . .

Victoria writes:

Stewart Alan (Stu) Rasmussen died November 17 2021 at the age of 73.
Stu, the indefatigable engineer who became America's first openly
transgender mayor, was born in Silverton, Oregon on September 9, 1948
as an only child to Albert and Nan Rasmussen. Stu, who used both he
and she pronouns, was a self-described nerd from the start and thanks
to a handful of local mentors and adopted parents his love for TV,
radio, and all things electronic flourished.

He attended Silverton schools and Salem Tech (now Chemeketa), and
after graduation went to work for Tektronix in Beaverton, Oregon. Stu
spent eight years at Tektronix in a variety of job responsibilities
including video engineering, video production, and marketing staff
engineer. While employed at Tektronix, he and a partner purchased the
business of the Palace Theatre in Silverton and ran it continuously
for 46 years until 2020. For almost half a century Stu's opening night
costumes were reason enough to be first in line for a ticket.

After eight years at Tektronix Stu saw the opportunity for cable
television service in the Silverton and Mt. Angel area and pursued the
franchises which he received. He then proceeded to defy many odds by
constructing a 35-mile coaxial television plant to provide
entertainment services to thousands in rural Silverton and Mt. Angel.
After a decade of establishing the business and turning it profitable,
Stu sold the business to a larger cable television operator.

From the 1990s until the year of his death, Stu took on an array of
engineering and design functions as contractor for a variety of Oregon
manufacturers including Garmin, Intel, Sonic Blue as well as being an
independent supplier of electronic research and development services
to entrepreneurs. Stu holds one United States patent.

As a serial entrepreneur with a love for life, Stu developed and
manufactured electronic devices including Bogus Trivia, a tavern
trivia game, and the KissMeter, an electronic device which measures
the quality of a couple's relationship by the intensity and duration
of a kiss.

Stu became involved in local politics in 1984 when first elected to
the Silverton city council. He then served as mayor from 1988 to 1992
and on the Silver Falls Library Board from 1996 to 2000. Stu was back
on city council from 2004-2008, and in 2008 became mayor again,
beating a 16-year incumbent. Stu served as mayor until 2014. In total,
Stu served 26 years in public office representing the great town of
Silverton. "Silverton is where my heart is," Stu said, "and I like to
think that I'm in Silverton's heart somewhere."

A self-described gender anarchist, Stu made international news when
Silverton elected him America's first openly transgender mayor in
2008. When the Westboro Baptist Church protested, hundreds gathered in
support of Stu and Silverton, including many religious leaders and the
man who ran against Stu for mayor. Stu's incredible life story has
been featured on the podcast RadioLab, pitched as a reality series,
and turned into a critically acclaimed musical that has been presented
in Seattle, Minneapolis, and developed for Broadway. Stu served as a
guest speaker with Gonzaga University, Reed College, Queens College in
New York and Harvard University, and has been featured in countless
publications including People, Details, The Advocate, Transgender
Tapestry, and many more.

Stu stands on the shoulders of transgender leaders that have come
before and is proud to have played a role in influencing others to
come out and be fully themselves. In the words of Stu: "Be true to
yourself and never let the bastards get you down. Decide what your
destination is and go there, no matter what. It may be gut wrenchingly
hard at times, but you must carry on. Your happiness, your interior
self, matters most. Happiness depends on you being happy in
everything, your gender identity, what you do, the people you're with
and everything. You must maximize your happiness. This life is fast
and short and there's no time to wait. No matter what, make no
apologies for who you are."

Stu is survived by the love of his life, Victoria Sage. When they met
at the Fifth Avenue Cinema in Portland in 1974, Victoria selling
popcorn and Stu there to fix the projectors, there were actual sparks.
They became an instant match made in heaven. A match that only grew
stronger, through thick and thin, over their 47 years together.
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Administrivia:

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. . . . .

Diva Las Vegas 2022
(dates to be announced)
Las Vegas, Nevada, USA