Check one, check one... Hey everyone. For a while there I wasn't playing mandolin that much, and visiting the forum even less often. But lately for whatever reason my interest has picked back up and I've been around a lot more. One thing that's been on my mind is that it would be fun to meet some other local mandolin players. I don't have any experience with setting up meet-up-type events, so if you have advice to offer about the kinds of places (bars, cafes, etc) to approach or can recommend a particular venue you've used, that'd be great. Ideal would be a place where we could get our instruments out and play a little and compare mandos if folks cared to, even if it wasn't really a picking session. In my case, somewhere in the western half of Guilford county is most convenient, but I'm also interested in hearing about locations in other parts of region if there are suggestions. I couldn't do it all the time but I wouldn't mind an hour's drive for an occasional event. There was a forum topic late last year about a restaurant called "Mandolin" that opened in Raleigh, and someone suggested trying to have a get-together there. But if anything came of that I'm not aware of it.
I'd be interested in a compare mandos sort of meet-up. I can't really add anything in terms of what venue would be good (though when the weather's nice I'd suggest a park), but as someone who doesn't drive I'd be limited to Greensboro unless I could get a ride with someone.
Greensboro's as good a place to start as any I guess, since we're both already there. Earlier today would have been really nice for a park meet-up as it turned out but it's hard to plan for that, this time of year especially. But I've got the next two Saturdays open unless I'm forgetting something. Did you have a park in mind? It might be good to go with one with a friendly coffeeshop or some place like that nearby, in case the weather doesn't work out, but there are plenty to pick from.
I didn't have one in mind, and I can't really help too much with figuring out where one with a friendly coffee shop nearby is, because I never have liked coffee, so I don't frequent coffee shops too often. Center City Park is downtown and so I would guess there would be something nearby, and The Bog Garden/Bicentennial Garden (they're adjacent each other) are right next to Friendly Center; those are my best guesses without actually knowing any specifics of what stores are nearby them. Do you have any ideas for garnering more interest? It'd be nice to get at least five or six people together for this.
I live in Raleigh, and my mandolin skills are barely there at best, but I'd be interested in some sort of meetup in the coming month(s).
Appalachia, I agree that more folks would be more fun. I mentioned it here in hopes of stirring up some interest, but I don't know how many members even visit the social groups anymore. That said, if we say that we're only in if at least X people commit, that might just assure that it won't happen. I have an idea for something to try, but I want to think about it a little while longer before jumping. And I like the idea of Center City Park. It's a good location, and the Cultural Arts Center is right across the street if we needed to bail due to weather. Ark Isle, thanks for joining in the conversation and I hope you find some interested members in your area. And I don't think mandolin skills would be an issue for this. That's why it's a meet-up rather than a picking session. If some playing breaks out that's cool, but getting the chance to meet local people with a similar interest in person was more what I was thinking about.
OK, I thought about it for a little while and I'm going to hold off from trying my idea right now. In real life, I'm working on a project with a carved-in-stone deadline that's about a month away and I need to keep the clutter down until then. But we'll see if anyone else drops in or pipes up in the mean time, and hopefully we'll get a few others interested.
Sounds good.
