Tuesday, February 11, 2014

a future without the AAA

I sent a note to the current and a past president about the Annual Algonquin Adventure. I shared my sense of despair and that I feared this regular event was on the verge of collapsing. I had not heard of anyone wanting to step up and take the reins after the Chapman's outstanding commitment.


Recent remarks made me consider the AAA in a different light, a viewpoint I had not thought of. Like Starfest is to the North York Astronomical Association, the Annual Algonquin Adventure is our big out-of-the-city event. Well, it pales to Starfest; but still, it is our "big" star party.

I will be sad if we stop running a RASC Toronto Centre gathering and star party at Mew Lake. But I completely understand if it won't happen. Another activity requiring good volunteer support. And my sense, of late, is that the current volunteers are maxed-out and I don't see a lot of new volunteers coming in. Given that it was a wife and husband team in the past, this suggests the future organisation should be tackled by a duo.

I've heard some say that there's not much involved so what's the big deal. But then they are not stepping forward to actually do anything. And I've repeatedly argued this is likely more complex than it seems. Likely with lots of devil-in-the-details things. Some have said we don't have to do things exactly as we have in the past. True. But if we did want a facsimile of the previous years, I believe it should have a couple of committed people and they will be busy at times through the year.

And I keep saying that we should be consulting the Chapmans. Asking for their input, to-do lists, documentation, notes, etc. Of course they know what's involved and can guide us. But I don't think anyone from the RASC TC council has talked to them.

As a participant, I saw some of what they did. And can surmise at some of the behind-the-scenes tasks.
  • Notice in OH: Late in the calendar year, as the editor(s) begin the assembly of the next Observer's Handbook, the AAA planners have to share the planned date in the next year. That means they have to have stared at a calendar and picked a good weekend, near to the new Moon phase.
  • Notices in RASC TC media: Again, once the date is selected, that needs to be shared with others, notably the web team and the SCOPE newsletter editor(s), so that an entry can be made in the activities calendars. Then, early in the year, as camping season starts up, notices need to be crafted to remind participants to book in advance, through the Ontario Parks registration system. And then, as the event date draws near, reminders need to sent out. These latter notices need to also go to the Yahoo!Group.
  • Booking at park: I believe the Chapmans attended every year. For obvious reasons, they wanted to be there. So that meant, of course, they would book their own stay. Once they had chosen a site, the organisers would share they site number in future communiqués.
  • Coordination with park: I don't actually know to what degree this was done in the past but I thought that, for the first couple of years I attended, the park staff (or perhaps the park Friends association) included notices of our event in their park schedule and calendar.
  • Awards preparation: The Chapmans went the extra mile with an awards program recognising members who frequently attended the AAA. They celebrated members visiting 5 and 10 times. They provided a certificate document, in colour. And they provided a memento, a wood-cut figure. The Moose Award and a Star Award. This obviously entailed some management in the off-season, tracking attendance, and preparation leading up to the event, making the awards and certificates. And, of course, during the weekend, they would make the presentations.
  • Park liaison: Once the organisers were on site, they would receive RASC members. They would greet the first-timers and help them get settled. I would expect they would also be the go-to people, referred by the park staff, for regular park visitors, interested in the star party portion of the event.
  • Star party: Of course, the organisers themselves would participate in the star party activities, on the Friday and Saturday evening, flying their own telescopes. Bob Chapman in particular is an incredible guide, very accommodating, encouraging, fun, and helpful at the telescope.
  • Group photo: The organisers, after advising all visiting members of the date and time of the presentations and photo, would capture imagery of all the participants. Later, they'd make this available to the media people in the centre.
  • Event reporting: The organisers, after the event, would prepare a report, for the web site and newsletter. The Chapmans also maintained a binder, a log book, noting various details of each event, such as the weather conditions, number of members visiting, special guests. They would include the group photo. This binder they would bring to each event for people to review and reminisce.
That's just off the top of my head. I strongly suspect there are other things they needed to do to make the event run smoothly.

Again, I agree that, if we want to keep offering an AAA, we don't need to do the same things the Chapmans did. But, that said, there's not a lot that can be dropped, to make the core event still happen.

And then, there are new things that I think we should do, that many would agree we should do for strategic and branding reasons. For example, there might be a "RASC booth" on the star party nights, for the park visitors to learn more about RASC, pick up a brochure, complete a membership form, receive a free Star Finder planisphere or two, etc. We should flog the organisation. That booth could in fact run all weekend, receiving interested park visitors day or night. But then, it would have to be manned.

We could have a "red light café" with hot beverages on those cold evenings...

We could have seminars or talks. If covered or protected, we could do astronomy presentations regardless of the weather. I don't recall seeing a covered community space at Mew Lake but we could make a space with large or many tarps. General astronomy talks, buying a telescope, intro to astrophotography, etc.

There's a lot of potential!

But, Annual Algonquin Adventure needs a champion.

As I expressed my concerns, I urged the president to keep the Chapmans advised of the state of affairs. Out of courtesy. My heart goes out to them. I think they will be sad to see this fun and interesting event end.

I will miss the moose.

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