OK, here it is - your one-stop shopping for info on the Official 2012 DotNet SPAC Meet-up.

Come one come all, because this is guaranteed to be the Meatiest Meet-Up yet!

Time/Date:
Saturday July 7, 2012
Early afternoon til showtime.
People will be arriving to set up as early as noon or 1:00. Come on over early. Make a day of it.

Location
Saratoga Spa State Park, The Ferndell Pavilion
Use the maps below to figure it out:
Official Map of Park
Google Map of Park and surrounding area
Highlighted Park Map to show location and best entrance

The Pavilion is reserved under the name Mockingbird. There is a parking lot right there, but there is a park access fee of $8 per car. The best entrance is the south entrance off Rt. 9, as shown on the highlighted map. Parking is good through the show, and there is a back entrance to the venue that is a short walk from the Ferndell Pavilion. If you get there early-ish (maybe by 4:00 or so?) it should be very easy to cruise right in. And if you park in the main lots off of Rt 50, it is a relatively easy walk through the park network of trails.

The actual pavilion has an official capacity of 75, and there is plenty of additional open space around it. The parking is right next to the pavilion area, so there is no need to lug stuff a long distance if you park in the dedicated lot. There are bathrooms, water, and electricity at the pavilion. It probably would not hurt to bring a camp chair if you’re going to be there for a while.

The park has a strict Pack In/Pack Out policy. Please plan accordingly to account for your own trash/empties/etc. We’ll recruit some volunteers to do a final policing of the area, but please help us keep it green and clean!

Food and Beverage
A pot luck is being put together - info Here.

We're expecting a bunch of Rochester's finest meatsticks and tube steaks courtesy of @Phlat_Brim_Kid, some tasty Carolina style BBQ from @Denton757 (who is a professional at such things) and a variety of other delectable treats. If you can bring something to share, by all means do so, but don't feel obligated. If you want to bring something but aren't sure what, check the sign-up list in the thread linked above, or contact @katmama directly for suggestions. If you want to eat but don't want to feel like a freeloader, ask around and I'm sure you'll find someone who brought a bunch of food that you can kick a couple bucks to.

Feel free to bring your own food too. There will be several grills available for use.

Bring plenty of beverages to stay hydrated!

The State Park has a strict “no alcohol” policy. ‘nuf said.

Fun and Games and Music and Art
Hey, its an all day picnic! Bring your guitar or bass or fiddle or banjo or drums or cowbell or bagpipes or kazoo or any other instrument that I did not mention! There is electricity too so maybe bring a powerstrip and extension cord for your keytar or theremin!

Bring a volleyball or football or frisbee or horseshoes. Hell - bring a hackeysack, lets see how many ACLs us oldsters can blow out in one circle. It will be a new move – chest stall-to-jester-to-meniscus pop-to-reconstructive surgery! Wheee! I’ve got a horseshoe set actually, maybe there are pits there. Oh!!! And did I forget to mention, forget to mention LAWN DARTS!!!??? Good place to get some stabbing done…

@Conphucius has set up a dotnet raffle and is generously donating a prize out of his own personal stash with all proceeds to benefit the Mockingbird Foundation! Details in THIS THREAD. 5 bones gets you a chance to win YOUR CHOICE out of a bunch of great official posters or the JUNTA VINYL!!! Wins all the way around there, make sure to enter!

PhanArt Pete will also be present and have a variety of posters and other merchandise for sale, also for the benefit of the Mockingbird Foundation. So make sure to check that out!

We’ll have commemorative laminates also. Make sure to pick one up and write your username on it! We are asking for a suggested donation of 1 (one) American Dollar for these to help cover the production costs.

And on the topic of $$$, there will also be a collection jar/jug/vessel of some sort so that we can make a donation to the MBF on behalf of the SPAC meet-up. Please consider setting aside $5, $10, $20, or whatever you can afford to throw in the jug and help support the Foundation, music education for kids, and the phish.net community that is bringing all this together!

Do's and Dont's (We’ll keep this part simple)
Do Go a Camera!
Don't Be That Fruit!

Homepage News Item
Original Thread

Those white rochester dogs??? or are those the ones from cuse?

Dog wars in Centralian NY

Beautiful post btw JD

@Sprachtor said:

Those white rochester dogs??? or are those the ones from cuse?

Dog wars in Centralian NY

Beautiful post btw JD

Thanks mang! See you there?
These are the dogs in question...

@johnnyd - thanks!!! You saved me at least approximately 1,450 "clicks" over the course of the next 5 days.

So one of the weather apps I was looking at (maybe weather bug?) had the little icon for Saturday with the sun and a cactus. Obviously indicating hot and sunny with a 100% chance of Mike killin' it.

@DrPeterVenkman said:

Hopefully we don't get another SPAC 09 dumped on us.

/macho grande'd

It's really tough to keep Js dry in that kind of rain.

@DrPeterVenkman said:

http://i.imgur.com/tFn6L.gif I suggest you all brush up on this spunky little dance number, because along with the forearm bash, this is the formal greeting.

All about the Forearm revolution! not sure about the dance?
:closes blinds:
::practices::

i really wish that pookie and i could go to this. frowny faces abound.

@johnnyd said:

Boo. Are you guys hanging tight at the farmhouse?

We're just going to N1 and then headed out early-ish in the morning on Saturday to go visit his mom.

Is there a "solid" number on people? Got "needs" handled?

@careful_w_that_axe_Miller said:

Is there a "solid" number on people? Got "needs" handled?

No - Not asking for RSVPs. I'd guess over 100 floating through at least. But who knows?
Yes I am pretty sure - I'll let @katmama answere.

But yeah, we've got a spot and a time. That's really all we "need." The rest is gravy.

mmm....gravy....

Anyone want to volunteer to coordinate and take a group photo? Like someone with a good camera and knowledge of photography that extends beyond point-and-shoot?

The ones I took at NYE did not come out well at all...

Laminates to be procured on site at the pavilion in the park, right?

See you all on Saturday!

Craft beer.. Who is is into it? See my thread, discuss..
http://forum.phish.net/thread.php?thread=1341638177

You still there?

It was a pleasure seeing some of you guys again, and meeting so many of you.

Enjoy tomorrow night and safe travels.

I had a great time meeting those of you that were still there when I finally showed up! Hopefully I get to meet more of you next time around.

huge thanks to all the .net picnic people! we had enough food for another hundred peeps. mrsedsullivan your bacon and brocoli salad was my favorite dish there. recipe por favor?

jack and i stayed to make sure the place was spiffed up real nice. we tried to find the bringers of paper plates but could not locate any. hence we are now the happy campers who will never ever ever never have to buy paper plates again ever. sad that phlatt_brim_kid got hijacked by life 'n stuff on his travel to the gathering. phlat kid you out there? you ok? hello? anyone hear from him? bueller?

> ^-^<
(.. ..)~~

Hey all. I just wanted to say that I dropped the ball big time on making it to the meetup. Saturday was a bit hectic with meeting up with different groups of friends that were only coming up for the 1 day/night.

It sounds like it was a great occasion. Too bad for me. I really do hope to finally meetup with you folks sometime down the line.

looks/sounds like everyone had a great time. So pissed that I missed it. Didn't hit the lot till 5:30ish. Had a beer with the folks I was with and had to hit Shakedown for some treats. By the time all that was said and done it was time to head into the venue. Did meet @_________________________ for a quick Ticket pick up. It's always good to meet .netters! Hope everyones travels went well.

We had a great time. Thanks to everyone that made it and brought something to share. The broccoli and bacon salad was effing delicious as was the curry (?) spirals salad... mmm.

Glad you enjoyed the cupcakes @katmama. I don't know how my wife makes that tie dye effect without turning the cake gray, but she's damned good.

@CinnamonGirl how'd you do selling the shirts? Thanks for bringing them - I got a few "where'd you get that?" comments on Sunday so nice work!

I didn't catch your .net username, but to that magnificent, bearded guy (was that you @CookDog ?) that brought all those New Glarus brews and the Abita strawberry, thank you from the bottom of my liver. I kept trying to remember to toss you a Saranac Blueberry Blonde... can't remember if I did or didn't.

@johnnyd thanks for grilling up all those sausages, brother. Those kept me fat(ter) and happy!

That pavilion is where we always chill out to pre-game for every show we go to. If any of you find yourselves at SPAC and at the park for any reason for any future shows, stop by the Ferndell pavilion in the afternoon - I'll probably be there. At the very least, PM me here and we'll connect.

Hope everyone had a happy and safe rest of the weekend and trip home. Glad I finally submitted something to the forum!

@enderwizard - Thanks for your encouragement and for buying one! Everyone seemed to like them, and I'm glad! I'm happy overall and I love seeing people wearing them... but yes, I still have a bunch to sell, haha. O.o

johnnyd- please post that photo of the 3 pete arbuckle award winners. that was a wonderful way to start the festivities!!