We are looking at hosting options in our area in Northern KY, however if Thomas’ location works out, that would be a very central spot and better for the southern contingent. Some drive times to Whitley City:
Springville AL: 5 hrs, 305 miles
Wedowee AL: 5 hrs 42 min, 342 miles
Bourbon IN: 6 hrs 29 min, 411 miles
Monterey KY: 2 hrs 40 min, 151 miles
Zeeland MI: 8 hr 12 min, 523 miles
Just got back from the meeting with the judge executive. He pushed the meeting out a little bit so that he could get our economic development director in on the meeting. Pitched the idea to both of them, and they were very excited about the concept.
Absolutely no question that they would be accepting of the wood gas community even with all of our " messes". Smoke, flare, noises and drainage in no way should be an issue and they are willing to be very accommodating.
I’m getting ready to call the fairgrounds manager in just a couple of minutes. There are two fairgrounds locations nearby, and I’m going to confirm which one would be the better option with the accommodations.
I know for a fact that both locations have ample room for parking and should certainly have no problem with campers or tents.
There is a hotel just a little over a mile down the road, so access to that is very close by.
I’m going to call the fair director and the head of the tourism board to make sure that there is wi-fi, RV hookups, and access to bathrooms and showers
Check on pricing as well, I forgot to mention that in my post above. We’ve historically been around $500-1000 for the weekend (Thurs-Sun). More than that is doable but will take some effort on the fundraising.
Just got done with a meeting with the fairgrounds manager. she thinks the 4-h camp location would be perfect. ill goin g to post some pics first then do a breakdown the the accommodations and pricing. she seems exited with idea as well.
So of course to start out with, they have no problem with the wood gas noises smells condensation etc. They almost seem to laugh at me that I would be worried about that because it would be no problem.
There are 80 or more campsites, each one with water and electricity. I posted a picture of one of the campsites above. The campsites surround the main event area in a sort of semicircle, so they are pretty close to the main event area and the shower/kitchen area
And of course with that in mind, the community building has bathrooms and showers as well as air conditioning, refrigerator, and kitchen area.
Far more than ample parking space even when not considering the 80 campsite parking spaces, they have a fair sized parking lot surrounding the event areas and community center
It’s only 5 mi from the main highway so it is less than 10 mi away from the hotel, local grocery stores, parts stores, and restaurants. If larger parts stores are required, there is a Lowe’s roughly 25 miles north. However we do have a lumber store and a couple of hardware stores locally that should have most anything you would need
The event area serves very well for a covered dining area and has electric, as well as an newly installed internet router setup to provide internet and service for the entire area
I’m waiting for a call back for the pricing, but it looks like it will fit very comfortably within the budget. I will have a more detailed explanation shortly. I want to make 100% sure of the exact pricing options before just throwing numbers out, but it looks like theyll be able to check all the boxes comfortably
Okay so here’s the rough pricing so far. She says that the two buildings in the picture are $50 a day a piece. Coming out to $100 a day to have the community building and the big event building.
The camping sites were $15 a night if you have tent, or $20 a night if you have an RV / camper. but the fairgrounds manager says there could potentially be a group bundle pricing depending on further details, but this was the basic rates they normally have.
She wanted me to ask if the group had event insurance. That that would be the only concern that they had. I’m making some calls right now to see if I can find some quotes for it, but I didn’t know if the group already had some setup
with the group going home on Sunday, i dont think they are counting that as a full day for pricing purposes. or at least thats the impression that the development director had given when i described how the latest event was scheduled. but it seems like it will come in well under budget, even with insurance included.
Im going to be looking into getting the local businesses involved if i can, as well as having the local schools get into it. i had already planned on making a few displays to take to the local schools to do some education outreach and the fairgrounds manager informed me that its very common for the school to get involved in events like this and have flyers printed out and have the kids take the flyers home with them to give to their parents. the local news also seems to be well on board with advertising and coverage.
there’s more people i need to get into contact with and see if i can get more involvement, but from the people i talked to today it seems to have been VERY well received and everyone seems exited about it.
Wow, talk about fast responses on the next Woodgas meet up next year 2024. Thank you Thomas Foster. When my sweetheart Dana heard where the next event might be she said she has family in Tennessee and that she wants to go and visit them too. If Dana wants to go to Tennessee we can plan it at the time of the woodgas meet up in Kentucky.
2,395 mi from my house. Then go down and visit Dana’s family. We are so close to Wayne and Lisa place we can stop there. Oh and the North’s place is close by too.
It is only 335 miles longer than Argos IN. A 5 day trip driving the motor home the way I drive.
Something to look forward to.
I’m curious about this too. @Ron_L what have we been using at Argos?
I remember for the very first one it was decided to require RSVPs so we could call it a private event, which helped the insurance rates. So Thomas if you’re calling around and they ask you public vs private event, get rates both ways.
