14/09/2014
Hello Everyone … so this may be a long one.
As you all know this was our first year in the event center business. While we truly lost our asses – we don’t want to go anywhere! This is truly what we want to do now that we are doing the growing up and settling down thing.
I am truly hoping each and every one of you had the chance to absorb what we are really trying to create here. While we want to bring some awesome music to the masses – we really want to create a community which strives to work together and play as one. It truly is all based around our Community Meal on Saturday!
Let me step back for a minute … I opened Pinegrove up in June 2011. My idea was to host workshop weekends and be a private small group camping place. Well, even when I tried to advertise about this stuff – nothing happened. After my second year, a friend mentioned we should throw a pig roast … “Everyone loves a pig roast” … so we talked to the pig guy and had 5 weeks until the day he had open - so we started planning. As we had friends coming in to help with wood gathering, land maintenance, and even some impromptu suggestions for entertainment - next thing you know we were throwing up a simple stage and having bands too! It was a one day thing and a ton of fun! Then and there Party in the Pines was planned.
We spent the fall and winter working on all kinds of things to make it a new and yet familiar event. We figured some would come for the food, some for the music, and even some for the Chinese Auctions. We wanted to make sure there was some kind of community fire and a way to provide a drum circle environment. Personally when I think of fire circles, I truly enjoy seeing fire spinners when we all start to gather around the fire and settle in to dance and play. We started gathering our friends and even family to help us. We did our first real color type fliers! We asked people who were local or friends and had the music line up come together in such a strange yet beautiful way. And we wanted to also pay it forward and chose the SPCA as a Community fundraiser within our event.
We went through all the hoops properly – the town, the health department, and insurance! We networked and had so many people who seemed interested and sharing the event with friends. We had posters in many places (and learned the hard way about proof reading a couple times!) We even went as far as a radio ad and ticket giveaways. Overall we gave away 30 tickets and only 4 came in. The event was a success overall though the turnout was not enough by a long shot. BUT it was the first real steps to being a real event center and starting costs were in there too.
But before Party in the Pines, we had this dream of grandeur that we would have at least a 1,000 people since we had such a great line up and we’d be on our way to building a new stage by July! We had to already be in the works of the one for September as it takes a whole bunch of hoops to fulfill the permit stuff. So Rage the Stage was supposed to be a play on words raising a new stage farther back in our yard.
After Party in the Pines we were basically on a shoe string budget to do the next one but we also had some new aspects of help we were unaware of the first time around – such as printing! We also had Alan Whitney jump on board and handle the stage which took a whole bunch off of us too (though we had started a wee bit with planning for Liz) and he too had a game plan for the Buffalo area!
Rage the Stage happened and even though there was again a small turn out – overall it was a great event! We found out a lot of our new found friends this year are even interested in helping to make this grow which is a blessing for sure!
So here’s my request folks … since we are in need of some word of mouth and help with marketing, we are asking if each of you might be willing to take the time to send us a video testimonial for us to use for our website and maybe even as part of a Kickstarter or two. We are looking for both how you felt about Pinegrove itself and then also about the event you participated in. If you could aim at getting these to me by the end of September, I’d really like to try to get this all on point by early October on both my website and with fundraising!
And if there is anything – and I mean anything – you want to share about your experience please feel free to write me at [email protected]. I am truly trying to get some things going in order to make sure Pinegrove can survive the growing pains and make 2015 a Great Year!
If you are interested in playing at Party in the Pines 2 on June 12 – 14th or if you might be interested in Pinegrove for something of your own – also send word to the above email or message me on Facebook.
Thanks for believing in me and making my first year a success event-wise! Now just to get the people aware!
Pinegrove Love,
Jill
