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This is the Diva Las Vegas 2004 announcement mailing list.
This list contains only announcements and high importance items.
See information on discussion list below.
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Replies to this message will be forwarded to: dlv@geekbabe.com
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. . . . .

In this mailing:

Latest happenings
Various Q&A
Big Show Pity Party
Wardrobe planning and dress guidelines
Some hotel notes
Room sharing
Summary schedule of activities
Web sites (updated)
Administrivia
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Only 83 days left, gang!
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Latest happenings:

A lot of activity lately. Registrations continue to come in, and our
mailing list is over 450, hitting an all-time high.

For those following the schedule, many changes have occured recently.

See the revised schedule below. Please note that everything is still
tentative and activities will certainly appear, disappear, and change
timeslots between now and DLV.
. . . . .

Registration for newcomers who are members of this list is open:

http://www.geekbabe.com/dlv/regnew.html

Registration for returnees is, of course, still open:

http://www.geekbabe.com/dlv/regret.html

Please let us know if there are any problems with registration.
. . . . .

Latest headcount: 58 validated registrations plus 11 SO's for a total
validated headcount of 69 as of this time. One validation outstanding.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Various Q&A:

A few questions have come in regarding Big Sisters and room sharing.

If you are new and in need of a Big Sister, or if you're returning and
would like to volunteer to be one of our Big Sisters, please visit:

http://www.geekbabe.com/dlv/bigsis.html

Since this is the start of the registration period, there may be a delay
before actual Big/Little sister matches will be done.

If you are interested in sharing a room, see the notice below.

>Where is this "Welcome get-together", registration, annual mixer, and
>dance night held?

We'll be sending out the location information to those who have
validated registrations. This will include maps and excruciatingly
detailed driving directions. Our activities occur all over town, with
few of them occurring in the major hotels.

The Welcome Get-together and Annual Mixer are held in clubs that our
people have grown to like over the years. Dance Night is still tentative
as of this time (>>HINT<<).

We don't have a formal registration process at DLV. (We use the term
"registration" for what you do to register for DLV on line.) Our check-in
is quick and informal and is done at most of the major evening activities.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Big Show Pity Party:

Each general mailing between now and DLV will feature one of our
activities in detail. This week we feature Thursday evening's Big Show
Pity Party.

The name "Pity Party" comes from the original idea of providing an
activity to take pity upon those who could not go to the big show, but
the whole concept has expanded to something that is no longer just a
second-choice option.

Mindy will be host(ess)ing this party at her private residence. Please
join us in thanking Mindy (in unison now, "Thanks, Mindy") for the time
and effort and the use of her house.

Drinks and snacks will be served, and Mindy has arranged for a
bartender for the evening.

Highlight of this activity will be a 30-60 minute drag show on a lighted
stage under the palm trees in Mindy's back yard. The star of this show
will be ... YOU!

As Mindy writes:

+lets hear from anybody who would like to perform at the party.
+depending on interest each person could do from one to 3 numbers.

+anybody willing would be welcome (from the seasoned drag queen to the
+gee i always wanted to do that) the stage will be small so duets would
+be possible but anything more would be likely to end with a splash
+*LOL*

+performers would need to provide thier music on cd and let me know in
+advance the number or numbers they would like to preform so we dont
+have any duplication.

If anybody would like to consider performing, just reply to this mailing
and Mindy will get in touch with you.

Dress: "Vegas Cocktail Party" dress suggested. Flashy, not trashy.

As Mindy states ...

+dress for the party will be casual dressy to cocktail dressy. please,
+because some of the younger members of my household and maybe a
+neighbor or two will be in attendance no fetish or trash wear.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Wardrobe planning and dress guidelines:

It looks like quite a few people are already planning what they will be
wearing to the various DLV activities. One even remarked that she's
making a spreadsheet of activities and outfits. :)

Next week we will have some more detailed dress notes, with some
pointers to photos of past DLV's, showing some good examples of dress,
and outfits that are appropriate for various activities.

A few people have written in asking for advance copies of what will be
our activity-by-activity dress suggestions. In the past this was sent
out with the large final mailing.

This document is in progress at this time, more like just being edited
from last year's. :)

I've put the working draft on line with one caveat. As of this time it's
in progress, incomplete, and possibly inaccurate with regard to the
schedule of activities.

Anybody who holds a validated registration who wants the URL for this,
please write in. Just reply to this mailing and say so, or write:
dlv@geekbabe.com
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Some hotel notes:

A few items on hotels, in particular those that we're suggesting to
our people for DLV 2004.

First, we have another suggested hotel, the Clarion Suites Emerald
Springs. This is the hotel that one of our volunteers had intended to
nominate when she accidentally nominated another property. See item
below on this hotel.

Rates for the Clarion Suites Emerald Springs during the DLV period begin
70-ish for AAA/CAA members and 80-ish for civilians.
. . . . .

A few questions and comments about hotels ...

A couple people have written in asking where most of the DLV people will
be staying. Looking at the registrations that have come in so far, it
appears that our largest contingents will (again) be at the Sahara and
at the San Remo, although I'm sure we'll have people at all of those
listed here.

A question about the Tropicana. We're not recommending the Tropicana
this year, even though we did last year. Primary reason is that the
owners have announced a major makeover of the property, and at the time
we voted on these suggested hotels, they were not accepting reservations
past April of 2004.

One question about pools. I know in the past that the pool at the Sahara
has been open during the DLV period and it looks very nice, with cabanas
around it and such, but feedback from those who tried it said that it
was VERY COLD that early in the season! I don't know about pools at the
other properties. Pools usually open around the beginning of May.

Another question about which hotel would be most "tolerant." That's hard
to answer. All of our suggested hotels were nominated by our people who
have stayed there and had a good experience. You will find that your
money will be green in any of them, and history has shown that if you
dress and act as a lady or gentleman (or both, at times) you will be
treated as such.

One question/comment about the Riviera. It's not on our suggested list
mainly because it was not nominated as a suggested hotel this year. It's
older but nice. I've stayed there several times on business and
pleasure, and I stayed there for DLV 1997. It's generally regarded
as being quite GLBT-friendly.
. . . . .

Here's a summary of the hotels we're suggesting for DLV 2004:

Diva Las Vegas, unlike many t-community events, is not centered around
one particular hotel. We use hotels only for such things as sleeping,
changing, etc., and we don't have any large functions or activities in
hotel ballrooms or banquet rooms.

Everybody attending DLV is free to stay wherever they like.

We do, however, suggest hotels where our people have reported good
service while attending DLV's in the past.

Our Org group is suggesting the following hotels, listed in alphabetical
order, for our DLV 2004 people:

Bellagio
Clarion Suites
Imperial Palace
Sahara
San Remo
Stratosphere

These suggested hotels are just that, suggestions. There are no
negotiated rates or rooms reserved specifically for DLV. (In Las Vegas,
the "special group rates" offered to groups of our size can easily be
beaten by anybody with a telephone or web browser and 5 minutes to
spare.)

These suggestions are made for those who want to know where our people
have stayed and reported good service, and where to stay if they want
to be near other DLV people.

Additional notes and ratings on some of these hotels (and others) appear
on the Big List at http://www.geekbabe.com/dlv/vendors/

A few notes on each hotel, including each hotel's official web site and
(when available) a link to the CheapoVegas review of that hotel ...
. . . . .

Bellagio:

The Bellagio is an upscale casino-hotel dead center on the Las Vegas
Strip. It's very nice and very expensive. This is by far the most
expensive of our suggestions, and is suggested for those who want a
more luxurious option for DLV accommodations.

http://www.bellagiolasvegas.com/
http://www.cheapovegas.com/vegas_casino_full.php?hotel_id=1005
. . . . .

Clarion Suites, Emerald Springs:

This is primarily for those who want a non-casino hotel. CSES is located
on Flamingo Road between Las Vegas Boulevard (Strip) and Paradise Road,
within walking distance (well, kinda) to many of the area's popular
casinos and other attractions.

If you think you may be a bit shy about walking through a casino or a
large hotel lobby, this one may be an option for you.

http://www.choicehotels.com/

CheapoVegas does not review non-casino hotels, but a reasonably accurate
description of the property appears at the above link.
. . . . .

Imperial Palace:

Imperial Palace is a large midscale casino-hotel in the Center Strip
area. Big advantage to the IP is location-location-location. The IP has
been used by DLV people each year since 1997 with absolutely no reported
incidents.

http://www.imperialpalace.com/
http://www.cheapovegas.com/vegas_casino_full.php?hotel_id=1030
. . . . .

Sahara:

The Sahara is one of the classic legacy Las Vegas casino-hotels which
has been home-away-from-home to DLV people continuously since 1999. Very
good rates are often available at the Sahara, if booked well in advance.

http://www.saharavegas.com/
http://www.cheapovegas.com/vegas_casino_full.php?hotel_id=1043
. . . . .

San Remo:

The San Remo (nee Treasury) is a smaller casino-hotel just off the Strip
near the MGM and Tropicana hotels. It was a favorite of the DLV 2003
crowd. San Remo hosts the ever-popular Showgirls Of Magic.

http://www.sanremolasvegas.com/
http://www.cheapovegas.com/vegas_casino_full.php?hotel_id=1045
. . . . .

Stratosphere:

The Stratosphere is a large midscale hotel which anchors the very north
end of the Las Vegas Strip. This is the first year the Strat appears on
our suggested list, but some of our people have played and stayed there
ever since 1999.

http://www.stratospherehotel.com/
http://www.cheapovegas.com/vegas_casino_full.php?hotel_id=1047
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Room sharing:

DLV, just like any other event where people pay for hotel rooms, can
be more affordable if rooms are shared.

Diane (one of our volunteers) will be coordinating the roommate matching
for DLV 2004, and the special address of roommate@geekbabe.com has been
set up for roommate matching.

If you've already booked a room, and would like for somebody else to
stay with you and share the expense, or if you're looking for somebody
who has extra space, please write to roommate@geekbabe.com with the word
"Roommate" somewhere in the subject line. Please include the following
items in your e-mail:

1. Your name.

2. Your e-mail address.

3. What date you will be arriving and what date you will be departing.

4. Do you have a room to share (and if so, what hotel), or do you need
space in one.

5. Any annoying habits or traits you have. (Do you smoke, do you snore,
are you a very early riser, compulsive talker, late-nite MTV addict,
etc.)

6. Any additional notes or comments.

Diane will then contact those seeking roommates as needed and put them
in touch with each other when it looks like there are good matches. She
may or may not list them here in the announcement list depending on the
circumstances.

Please remember, any roommate agreements are strictly private
arrangements between the people involved, and DLV organizers and
volunteers cannot be responsible if things don't work out.

Remember the special address: roommate@geekbabe.com
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Summary schedule of activities:

This schedule is preliminary and is subject to change
without notice.

Sunday, May 2:
10:15am Metro Comm Church service
5:30pm Pre-DLV Happy Hour
6:30pm Pre-DLV dinner
8:00pm Pre-DLV get-together

Monday, May 3:
10:00am Trip to Rhyolite
1:00pm Lunch with or without Ginger
5:00pm Happy Hour
6:00pm Dinner
8:00pm Welcome Celebration

Tuesday, May 4:
10:30am Thrift Shop Tour
10:30am Boat cruise
1:00pm Lunch with or without Ginger
1:30pm Bowling
6:00pm NSD local Happy Hour
6:00pm Night of the Soiled Doves

Wednesday, May 5:
10:30am Star Trek Experience
11:00am Hidden Woman Open House
1:00pm Buffet Lunch
1:00pm Lunch with or without Ginger
2:00pm Shopping expedition
5:00pm Happy Hour
6:00pm Hard Rock Dinner
Ev Secretaries Night
10:00pm Karaoke

Thursday, May 6:
AM-PM Golf
10:00am Art tour
1:00pm Lunch with or without Ginger
1:00pm Glamour Boutique Open House
5:00pm Happy Hour
6:00pm V, The Ultimate Variety Show
8:00pm Big Show Pity Party
8:15pm Limo Tour

Friday, May 7:
2:00am Charles Bar get-together
1:00pm Lunch with or without Ginger
2:00pm Bad Attitude Corset Workshop
2:00pm High Tea
5:00pm Happy Hour
6:00pm Carluccio's Dinner
7:30pm Annual Mixer

Saturday, May 8:
10:00am Claude Hall Gun Show
11:00am SBS Garden Party
5:00pm Happy Hour
7:00pm Michael Cagle Show
12:00m Rocky Horror Picture Show
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Web sites (updated):

Main DLV page: http://www.geekbabe.com/dlv/
DLV People Gallery: http://www.geekbabe.com/dlv/gallery/
DLV 2004 Discussion Forum: http://www.geekbabe.com/dlv/dlv2004/dlvdisc/

Personal web sites:

(in order of submission, newest additions first)

Jamie Renae: http://www.jamierenae.com/
Mindy: http://mindyrussell.com/
Denise (Densie): http://www.admaero.com/densie/
annie: http://www.geekbabe.com/annie/

Want your site to be included? Just send your URL to dlv@geekbabe.com
This is open to all, not just to those who have attended in the past.
Noncommercial sites only. No "adult" sites, please.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Administrivia:

This is the Diva Las Vegas 2004 Announcement mailing list.

This list is limited to announcements and other high-importance items.

Questions/answers and discussion items are redirected to the DLV 2004
Discussion forum, which may be subscribed to separately or viewed on the
web. To subscribe to the DLV 2004 discussion forum, send a brief message
to dlv@geekbabe.com and state that you wish to receive the DLV 2004
discussion forum.

To view the DLV 2004 discussion forum on line, visit the URL:

http://www.geekbabe.com/dlv/dlv2004/dlvdisc/
. . . . .

Diva Las Vegas 2004
May 2 - 8, 2004
Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

One address for all items regarding this list, additions, unsubscribe
requests, changes, submissions, questions, etc.:

dlv@geekbabe.com <--- NOTE: all lower case

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you want to send photos and the like, mail to: annie@annie.net

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http://www.geekbabe.com/annie/dlv04arc/
. . . . .

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To send material to this list: Send submission as regular e-mail to
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. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .