mscbryk,

Have you tried adding this domain to your Custom Sender List?  I'm wondering if AOL might be mishandling your notifications.

A is for apples-- the apple wine that made Charity feel warm inside, or the Diner's fresh apple pie.

Adamsgirl, thank you for sharing the news about the Collinsport Players!  Their skits are always a Fest highlight for me.

I hope I am not misunderstanding your post, Midnite and thus respond in an appropriate way -

I think making fun of what fans look like and how they dress is indeed judgmental.  Ignorant may be a better word.

I brought up the middle-aged, moderate income issue for two reasons: (1) it isn't as easy to bunk down on the floor or fit into a bed with four other people as it was when we were in our twenties.  Middle-aged backs don't tend to like hard floors for a night's sleep.  (2)  Middle-aged people with moderate incomes also have children and mortgages.  That means less disposable cash for Mom and Dad.  I don't consider have moderate income and working as many jobs as it takes to make ends meet anything but noble and far too many people have to live that way.

Entertainment, particularly that on the fantasy side, has a great appeal for people who have their nose to the grindstone day in and day out and truly struggle to have any extra money.  It's a wonderful world to escape into it this fantasy we all enjoy here and all the others out there.  Sometimes that is the only thing that keeps someone in an unhappy work situation or life situation sane.

I think you might have misunderstood.  But first, I have to say I was joking about the middle-aged reference... well, a little.    Anyway, I understood the context of your original comment from a few days ago, and it seems we're in agreement that Pierson takes into consideration what fans can afford to pay.  One has only to attend a Fest to notice that there are fans who are quite possibly on disability income.  However, and where I suspect things went awry, is that there are also attendees that splurge during these events, and many fans also fall somewhere in the middle, yet when a focus is put on one end of the spectrum, even with the best of intentions, feelings can get ruffled.  My discomfort was in seeing posters begin to defend, vehemently in at least one case, their own financial situation and that of their peers.  I realize you were not asking them to when you introduced the subject of fans who cannot afford their own room-- it was their choice to respond-- but my belief is that no one has to justify their decision to share vacation expenses.  Or for that matter, to explain the importance of Fests in their lives.  Ever.

Without question, Nancy was instrumental in bringing JF to the 2007 event.  She's also generously sharing her thoughts on certain on-topic issues and has chosen to respond to comments, but in doing so, her position on these issues becomes open to debate-- same as for any other poster-- and I'm sure Nancy never had the idea that her accomplishments make her opinions immune to challenge from others. The bottom line is that debate is encouraged on this discussion forum, and I seriously doubt that any of us would bother to discuss these issues at great length if we didn't care so much.

Cynicism and attempts by posters to stifle discussion, however, are NOT welcome.  If the debate in this topic is too upsetting for any visitors, perhaps it's best to skip it.

The Fest price has been $30/weekend for as long as I have been attending (1990) and sometimes has been a 2-for-1 deal.  Raising the rate in the time since 1990 by only a few dollars even would seem reasonable.  I know a lot of people don't have a very big income (and I'm one of them), but I don't think charging just a few dollars more for admission would make that big of a difference.

But isn't raising the full admission charge by a few dollars exactly what has happened?  But with a twist...

According to ShadowGram Update #153 (here's a link)--

--last year's Fri-Sat-Sun rate was $25 ($15 for Friday, Saturday or Sunday only).  This year's 2-day rate is $30 ($15 for Friday only; $20 for Saturday only).  That's a $5 increase in the "weekend rate" since last year, but if you break it down in terms of what you're actually getting for your money, fans who paid for 3 days in 2006 and plan to fork out $30 for this summer's 2-day event ($8.33 per day vs. $15 per day) are being charged 45% more, though if you count Friday as a half day, $25 for 2.5 days vs. $30 for 1.5 days (which breaks down to $10/day vs. $20/day) is a 50% increase.

Switching reels, and speaking for the moment as a fan and not a moderator, the discussion of how middle-aged fans (we won't even get into my sudden realization that the term refers to my own age group  ) may or may not make ends meet in order to attend reminds me of a discussion elsewhere from years ago that poked fun at how some DS fans dress (and beyond that) for these events-- it smacks of judgment and, in other words, makes me very uncomfortable.  I've said my share of negative things about the Fest organizer, and I can't know what's in his heart, but that he embraces the economic and social diversity of DS fans when making Festival plans, I think, speaks well for him.

How many shows do they still have conventions or events for that are 40+ years old???

Oh my goodness, loads of them.  Seriously.

'Barney's Got Back"

So twisted.  I love it!