Notice regarding DLV 2009 dates -- please read carefully ...

[External Poster]

This posting is from: Diva Las Vegas
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The proposed dates for Diva Las Vegas 2009, as voted by the ORG
group are:

Monday, May 11 thru Saturday, May 16, 2009.

These dates are tentative. PLEASE DO NOT MAKE ANY NONREFUNDABLE
TRAVEL OR LODGING ARRANGEMENTS UNTIL THESE DATES ARE FINAL.

A one-month Call For Comments period is now open, and will
expire August 31, 2008.

The date selection process this year was not easy. It took three
rounds of votes to obtain a majority of the volunteers.

It is very obvious that there is no ideal timeframe in the
spring of 2009. What you see as being proposed is really a
"least of all evils" compromise.

If no significant objections to this timeframe are received
by September 1, these dates will become final with no further
action.

The floor is open for comments on the proposed dates on the
DLV Discussion Forum at the url:

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

A few notes here on the proposed dates.

This is not a done deal yet. These dates are subject to review
by all (including YOU) for the next month.

They will be reconsidered if enough significant objections are
raised.

However, all possible 6-day spans between mid-March and late
May were examined and considered. All of them except a handful
were dismissed as being totally impractical.

Our big problem this year is that Passover, Palm Sunday, and
Easter come late in the season and Memorial Day comes early.
With all of these come countless personal and family
commitments and resulting conflicts.

We are enjoined by standing rules from scheduling anything on
Mothers Day or the Friday or Saturday before, leaving a three
day black-out period from May 8 thru May 10.

The week of the NAB convention, which historically has meant
crowds, long lines, and astronomical room rates, remained under
consideration as a "second choice" up until the last round of
votes.

Three of our senior volunteers, two of whom are the the ones
who have been active in organizing the larger recurring
functions, have various conflicts as well. Several candidate
timeframes were voted down due to these conflicts and the
resulting difficulty we would have in replacing their efforts.

The one "evil" of this particular May 11-16 timeframe is that
DLV will begin the day after Mothers Day. This may preclude
the "early start" for some who like to come early to get a
head start.

The alternatives to this day-after-Mothers-Day start are very
high room rates, doing without one or more of our more active
volunteers, or conflicting with the family-commitment days of
Easter, Palm Sunday, and Memorial Day.

The floor is now open for comments.

If there are concerns or objections, they need to be made
DURING THIS MONTH-LONG CALL FOR COMMENTS PERIOD, not
after it has expired, as was the case with a lot of roaring
and screaming prior to DLV 2004.

You can comment (in public) on the DLV Discussion Forum, which is
on the web at:

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

Alternatively you may e-mail dlv@geekbabe.com with your comments
or simply reply to this mailing. All comments, unless otherwise
noted, will be posted on the DLV Discussion Forum.

You may comment in private by simply replying to this mailing and
stating that your comments are not to be made public.

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(This posting was entered by Diva Las Vegas, an external user of MyDLV.)

[External Poster]

This posting is from: Robin Hayes
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Hi all. I'm not sure how much overlap in attendance there might be, but
these dates are during the Esprit conference (http://www.espritconf.com)
in Washington state. Esprit in '09 will be from 5/10-5/17 (being a more
traditional convention, they have to do contracts with the hotel and so
on).

Just FYI... Though it sounds like there are lots of reasons against
other dates as well.

Regards!

Robin

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[External Poster]

This posting is from: Tina
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Hi All,

Unfortunately, that is the week of finals at UT Austin, so I would not be
able to attend. No big deal, since I haven't attended since 2005 IIRC,
although I did attend for several years prior to that year.

I know from back when I was in the ORG group that it's impossible to find a
date that works for everybody.

P.S. I will be at Pinkfest this October.

Thanks,

Tina

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[External Poster]

This posting is from: annie
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>these dates are during the Esprit conference (http://www.espritconf.com)
>in Washington state. Esprit in '09 will be from 5/10-5/17 (being a more

We've overlapped with Exprit a few times over the years with no
major complaints. We tend to not draw very many people from the
Pacific Northwest, which is where 90% of the Esprit attendees
come from.

Besides, speaking very freely, I think we're the stronger of the
two events, so if there's any siphoning of attendees from one to
the other, it will most likely be in our direction.

As an aside, if the dates you posted are accurate, they start on
Mothers Day, and I'm very surprised they haven't had a hornets
nest of complaints about that!

>Though it sounds like there are lots of reasons against
>other dates as well.

That is very true. There's really no chance of a win-win this
coming year. Somebody is gonna end up getting the short end of
the stick. :(

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(This posting was entered by annie, an external user of MyDLV.)

[External Poster]

This posting is from: annie
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>I know from back when I was in the ORG group that it's impossible
>to find a date that works for everybody.

This is very true, and this year is the worst I've seen in the
entire history of DLV! :(

>P.S. I will be at Pinkfest this October.

I will be there too, and I am very much looking forward to it!

Lemme guess, we'll find you in a certain bar on Roosevelt, right? :)

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[External Poster]

This posting is from: Nicole
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Hi everyone,

I guess I should have voted when I had the chance although in this case,
my vote would not have changed the outcome. The dates set thus far are
the only dates discussed that will totally preclude my attendance. I
have to be at another conference (work, ugh!) that entire week in Utah.

I was hoping to take on an activity this year like maybe dancing at a
Poly Esther's or another place with good old rock and roll but I won't
be able to help or attend if the dates don't change. The earlier weeks
in May or late April would be better for me and I would prefer to stay
with the Monday-Saturday format. But I am for whatever works best for
the majority--I will be there with you in spirit either way. I loved my
first DLV this year.

Hugs,

Nicole

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[External Poster]

This posting is from: Gina
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Sounds good to me.

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(This posting was entered by Gina, an external user of MyDLV.)

[External Poster]

This posting is from: annie
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Before we start throwing out alternative dates, let me provide
a brief summary of every timeframe that was mentioned or
considered and why those were summarily rejected or voted down.

Every possible 6-day span between mid-March and late May were
considered.

>I propose DLV to take place the week of April 20-25
>when it is possibly a little cooler.

Are you aware that these are the dates of the NAB Convention, now
the largest convention in Las Vegas?

Before anybody seriously proposes this set of dates, please go back
and re-read what happened prior to DLV 2006 when we accidentally
scheduled DLV for the week of NAB and the b*tching about it when
people found that hotel rates were astronomical compared to
neighboring weeks.

Please go to the Discussion Forum list archives, sorted by date,
go to the very bottom and review the discussion.

http://www.geekbabe.com/dlv/dlv2006/dlvdisc/date.html

The lead-off message in that thread is:

http://www.geekbabe.com/dlv/dlv2006/dlvdisc/0060.html

Which is more important, a few degrees cooler or hotel rates
that most of our gang can afford?

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(This posting was entered by annie, an external user of MyDLV.)

[External Poster]

This posting is from: Lorraine Kimberly Adams
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Being a native of Arizona, temperatures tend to rise past 100 degrees
Fahrenheit in May. I propose DLV to take place the week of April 20-25
when it is possibly a little cooler. It is not fun walking around Las
Vegas with a wig on with hot temperatures. It would be safe to say that
most of us do not have the advantage of using our own hair to dress up
en femme. Meeting in the middle of May only adds to the problem of
wearing a wig in very hot weather. I personally enjoy going out in
public outside of the air-conditioned casinos. Some of us wear body
shapers, another crossdressing essential that traps body heat, making
some non-native people susceptible to possible heat exhaustion. I like
Las Vegas (en femme) when it's cooler. That's just my two-cents. With
the way the economy is going, I probably won't go this year (again). :-)
I must say that when I do attend DLV, it's has to be one of the best
times of my TG life.

Lorraine

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[External Poster]

This posting is from: kumiko yvonne watanabe
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>Being a native of Arizona, temperatures tend to rise past 100 degrees
>Fahrenheit in May.

Lorraine, so how do you and others go out (femme) during the
summer months in Arizona? Could those same techniques be applied
at DLV if it gets that hot? I remember several times during past
DLVs when the day temp went up into the upper 90s then drop to the
70s and 80s, and sometimes to the 60s at night.

>I personally enjoy going out in public outside of the
>air-conditioned casinos

The evenings in LV is cooler than the day. Except for a few major
events like Golf and excursions to places outside and around LV
like Primm, Area 51, boat and air tours, or the factory outlets,
most DLV events tends to be indoors during the day (lunch buffets,
museums, shopping, places having a open house, getting their
nails and toes done), and the majority of events occur during the
late afternoon into the evening (happy hours, dinner, shows,
limo tour, NSD) and again its indoors at restaurants and casinos.
The main time outside would be to and from the car or parking
garage to the casino or restaurant.

Many spend the morning sleeping in late because they get back to
their rooms very late or in the early hours of the morning. I
know some spend the morning getting up to get ready to meet others
for brunch or lunch, others take it easy resting or relaxing after
they get up late and spend the afternoon prepping for the evening.

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