Where? When? How?
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Timing and Location
June 18-20, 2010, Harvard, Massachusetts
Friendly Crossways Hostel and Retreat Center
Final Registration Deadline: June 7th 2010
There will be No On-Site Registration, so don't miss this deadline!
REMOTE ENTRIES NOW CLOSED.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. You can book an airport shuttle to come to the site, but if you wish to rideshare (driving or riding) please fill out this form. We may also be doing an airport shuttle run for Friday. The Google directions work; we checked.
The Site
SITE VISIT PHOTOS!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.
Amenities include:
- Our projector: Epson 8100, 1920x1080 max res, 3 lcd, 1800 lumens!
- Dinner sponsored by Singapore-MIT GAMBIT Game Lab Saturday night
- a firepit (@party is paying for the firewood),
- a propane grill (@party is paying for the propane),
- 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,
- full use of the kitchen (clean up after yourself!) including a shared guest fridge.
Cost and Registration
- Registration is now closed. All attendees, whether they are staying onsite or staying elsewhere, need to pay the $45 registration fee.
- 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 will 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 at the end of the event, following Notacon's model.As for the sponsor pack, available to those who wish to make a donation, we're not sure what goodies will go in this yet, but we'll let you know when we do. Also, if you can pay with a debit card instead of a credit card, that will saveus money on processing fees, so we thank you in advance. (Although if the debitcard is non-US, it will cost us more, fyi).
Food and stores nearby
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. As mentioned above, there will be a full kitchen with utensils, plates, a stove, guest fridge, and propane barbeque available onsite and there are restaurants (including pizza) which deliver and are nearby. 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 comeinto 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. As noted elsewhere, the Singapore-MIT GAMBIT game lab is covering dinner for all attendees on Saturday night.
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 & DeCordova 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 onlookerswore he saw this in an mfx demo.