Green Bay Mini Con
Green Bay, WI
February 24-26, 2006
(Page Updated 02/26/06)We're All out of Love, We're so Lost without You
What an exceptionally fun weekend! We hope that you had a great time.
For 48 short hours, Green Bay was the hottest spot on the earth. Thank you! --Mopie and Weetabix
Got a Green Bay Travel Entry? Post it here!
Will there be a message board for questions that aren't covered here?
Yup, bring all of your general questions, comments or squee here:
The Registered Attendees So Far
Lisa-Marie
Deb Siobhan
Paula and Allie
Biensoul and Christopher
Bozoette Mary
Mare-Ingenii
MikeIAm
Cruel-Irony
Trance Jen
Science Girl and Mr. Science
Girl
Mopie
Ian
Weetabix and Esteban
KarenD and Mr. Karen
Allison
Fredlet
Rachel
Betty and Ed Big Head
The Jason
Amalia
Chauffi
Lissa
Hausfrau
Scotty Boom Boom
Sarah
And of course, there's another
Nibelung Ring.
The Hotel
Most of the activities will be centered around the host hotel St. Brendan's Inn. However, all of their rooms have been reserved for that weekend.
However! This does not mean that you are out of luck for the weekend. There is a Quality Inn right across the street. We don't have a group rate with them, but as of 1/27 the rates listed on the Quality Inn website are slightly less than the St. Brendan's group rate. The phone number there is 920-437-8771. We're suggesting this hotel because of the proximity to St. Brendan's, but if you would rather stay elsewhere, we're happy to offer suggestions. Touch base in e-mail or on the comments section.
Looking to shack up with someone for the weekend or have other questions? Go here:Getting Here
Green Bay's airport is serviced by American, Delta, Midwest Express, Northwest, and United. The airport is tiny and usually very easy to fly into and out of. The airport code is GRB.
If you've scored your flight itinerary, chances are very good that you'll be sharing a flight with another attendee. Send Weetabix your itinerary and she can let you know if you can start the partying early in O'Hare, Detroit, Cincinnati or wherever, or if someone will be around to split a cab to the hotel with you.
Don't forget when planning travel on Friday: the bus for the sleigh ride loads at 4:45 pm Friday night. Flights coming into GB later than 3:00 pm will be cutting it really close, between getting luggage (notoriously slow at Austin Straubel), the twenty minute drive downtown and checking into the hotel.
Looking for a ride or an airport buddy? Check in here:
Registration
A $45 donation is requested per person to cover transportation via coach bus to and from the sleigh ride, the cost of the sleigh ride itself, dinner (brats and booyah feast) and beverages, beer, soda and an open bar on Friday night, as well as incidentals like program printing and maps and whatnot. Any left over cash will be used to buy group drinks on Saturday night at the Bad Bar.
Money is payable via PayPal or by check (send Weet an e-mail for details). Deadline for full sleigh ride registration has passed but there are a few spots still available on the bus, so if you still want to come on the sleigh ride, contact Weetabix.
Of course, sometimes even the best laid plans go awry, so if it turns out that something is going to prevent you from coming after you register, let us know ASAP so we can give you a refund. We can refund anything that hasn't already been spent on ordering the bus/sleighs and buying food (As of 2/10, the bus has been reserved and paid, as of 2/18, the food, beverages and incidentals have been purchased). Obviously, we hope this won't be an issue and that everyone will get to have fun in the snow with us at the end of February!
Schedule
Friday, Feb 24, 2006
10:00 am - 4:30 pm Check in at the Waterford Room in St. Brendan's Inn
5:00 pm - 9:00 pm Sleigh ride, dinner, frivolity
We will take a coach bus or limo through the Wisconsin countryside to a local family-run farm. We'll jump onto a hay-filled sleigh and be pulled across fields into the snowy woods by two Percheron draft horses for roughly a seventy-five minute ride, with several rest stops (to allow for impromptu snowball fights or, you know, marriage proposals) and then we will be swifted back to a rustic warming house stocked with steaming pots of brats simmering in a beer broth, booyah (a local version of chicken soup), pineapple fluff, and an open bar.
10:00 pm - 1 am Karaoke at local pub
Once again, we will warn the pub that they are about to be invaded by the best karaoke singers on the planet. Or, if not the best, at least the most entertaining and boobalicious.
Saturday, Feb 25, 2006
You're on your own during the day. We're happy to coordinate adventures within small groups, and chauffeur when possible. Touch base with fellow attendees in the comments section. Possible small group outings:
Lambeau Field and Packer Hall of Fame Tour
Oneida Bingo and Casino (Texas Hold 'Em anyone?)
Visit a local spa
Cross-Country Skiing
Feed the ducks and deer at the Wildlife Sanctuary
Shopping (Man Mall, Broadway district, Bay Park Square Mall, the cheapest prices on vintage clothes that you'll ever find)
Lunch at High Maintenance Hamburgers (Want to go? Sign up in this comment section!)
6:00 pm
If you're interested, a group of us will be having dinner at Titletown Brewery, which is very near the Bad Bar. Please RSVP for this in the Titletown comment thread here. We're definitely going to have a private room, as well as the best root beer in the entire world.
8:00 pm - Onward
Bad Bar!
Hot Nancy and Hot Jason have written the dates on their schedule and will try to be there, either in an official or nonofficial capacity, and will be telling Dave as well. Eric has also told the new owners about our group, but he says that he doesn't think they really understood what he was trying to say, because they promised to comp our Boone's Farm.
Sunday, Feb 26, 2006
10:00 am - Onward
Sad faces! Bye Bye!
By the way, if you plan to stay over until Monday morning, Weetabix and Mopie will plan something fun for Sunday evening.
The Weather
We know that this probably isn't a shock, but it's cold in Green Bay in February. It might be warm (mid-40's) but I would count on cold (teens to the twenties) with wind chills in the single digits or lower. That having been said, it's not as bad as you might think, because most of the time, we'll be indoors and during the sleigh ride, you're in the woods protected from the weather, and everyone's all snuggled in together. As long as you dress appropriately, you will be fine. Plan for layers of clothes and a decent winter jacket. Scarves and gloves or mittens aren't just fashion accessories here, so bring them. You don't have to go out and buy special boots or socks for the sleigh ride if you don't already have them, but pick a sturdy pair of shoes with good tread that can get wet, and double up with two pairs of thick socks. You can also feel free to bring a blanket to nestle under in the sleigh ride. Other than that, use common sense and feel free to ask questions in the comments section. Update: SNOW!!! WE HAVE SNOW!!!!
