Where? When? How?
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Timing and Location
June 17-19, 2011, Harvard, Massachusetts
Friendly Crossways Hostel and Retreat Center
Final Registration Deadline: June 10th 2011. There will be No On-Site Registration, so don't miss this deadline!
Attendance Ticket price rose $10 on May 20!
We regret to note that, due to liability issues, we cannot allow anyone under the age of 18 to attend @party 2011.
Register here
Transport
The site is convenient to the intersection of Rte. 2 and I-495 and is about a 45 minute drive west of Boston/Logan, close to the Littleton/495 MBTA Fitchburg line commuter rail stop. The Google directions work; we checked. We're considering the best way to handle shared transport options this year; feel free to give us feedback.
The Site
The hostel is a classic old fashioned New England farmhouse and converted barn, with some double and single rooms (every bed has a homemade patchwork quilt on it!), two bunkhouses and a bunch of other rooms (mostly doubles), a big dining hall, a meeting room on the ground floor, and another in the basement. Pictures of the site can be viewed here.
Amenities include:
- a firepit (@party is paying for the firewood),
- a grill (@party is paying for the propane),
- food storage space,
- the option to sign up for catered meals,
- two lines of power so we can have a dedicated one for the computers,
- free wireless internet access,
- a piano,
- a payphone,
- plenty of free parking,
- a pingpong table,
- a big field alongside for frisbee, soccer and stargazing,
- access to a shared fridge.
Cost and Registration
- All attendees, whether they are staying onsite or staying elsewhere, need to pay the $45 registration fee ($55 after May 20).
- Those who are staying onsite need to pay a SEPARATE $85 room fee (if this were at a hotel, it would be what the hotel were charging you for your room).
- Both fees cover the entire weekend; we have no partial memberships.
- T-shirts cost $20
Subsidized admission may be available for full-time students recieving need-based financial aid and folks living at or below the federal poverty line. We will share our budget with attendees upon request.
Food and stores nearby
We intend to do a grocery run for folks on Saturday morning. Details at the party. Although the site itself is rural, it is convenient to many nearby stores and restaurants, including a useful little place called Electronics Plus, an Aubuchon Hardware, a grocery store, a good seafood place called Scupper Jack's, and an unusually good Bickford's (we investigated, yum). We investigated buying some meals from the hostel, but that was not practical. We will be handling food prep differently this year than last year; details to come. If you want to have food onsite, you should bring it with you, although do not plan to store it in your room, as that encourages rodents to come into the hostel and share it with you. ( : If you have any questions, email us: we'll also make sure everyone is on the same page at the party.
We regret to note that, due to liability issues, we cannot allow anyone under the age of 18 to attend @party 2011.
View Food near Friendly Crossways in a larger map
What to bring, what not to bring
- Stuff that makes sense to bring:
- your computer
- other electronic devices for which you may write compo entries
- soap and other toiletries, medications etc.
- towel
- if you don't want to order in or go out for all your meals,food (to be stored in the hostel kitchen and labeled with your name)
- shower shoes
- clean clothes
- musical instruments
- a little money for breakfast out & a possible DeCordova (art museum) trip
- grillables
- frisbee
- sunscreen
- random adapters and cables
- original compo entry file(s) and backup
- USB key or other sneakernet file transfer device (e.g. blank CDs)
- whatever you may need to make your compo entry/entries work
- telescope/star maps, heh
- Don't bring:
- alcohol or drugs (this is a dry site)
- power strips, unless they're heavy-duty ones that come with a "we insure your stuff" thing (we have electrical covered)
- sleeping bag (gotta use sheets on the beds)
- pillow (hostel provides those)
- cooking utensils or fire-related objects(hostel provides those)
- tent (that's what the hostel is for)
Other activities: Stargazing, DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park Visit
The lawn at the hostel is excellent for stargazing. Perhaps some time gazing up with star maps willpique folks' interest . . . We are also considering doing a group trip to the deCordova Museum and Sculpture Park on Sunday afternoon after we leave the site if there is sufficient interest (you only need about three to four hours to see the whole museum). As certain members of the scene who have seen it ;) can testify, it is cool. One onlooker swore he saw this in an mfx demo. There will be space on the registration form or another feedback method we will create that will allow people to indicate interest in a visit to the deCordova Museum.
Volunteering
We like volunteers. Make us happy.@party is a program of Boston Cyberarts 
.