From: blowfish@carina.unm.edu (rON.)
Subject: BOINK! BalloonBoink, Coming soon!
Date: Thu, 03 Sep 92 10:23:47 GMT
Organization: University of New Mexico, Albuquerque
Followup-To: soc.singles
Keywords: boink, balloons, fun


Greetings one and all!

This is an official announcement of the upcoming Net Event, the BalloonBoink!
(A boink, for those unfamiliar with the term, is the net term for a get-
together of net people- ie- an excuse to party :)

It will be in Albuquerque, NM, on October 2-4, right at the start of the
Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta (hence the name :) There will be
all sorts of interesting things to do, including the Balloon Fiesta,
all sorts of food to consume (including the traditional Boink Meal, see
the schedule below), all sorts of Net People/Personalities to meet, greet,
and converse with in 'real-time' :), and some special things, if Larry 
(Larry 'Purple' Hays) and I can get things together in time :)

The Boink will take place over a span of 3 days- from Friday, October 2nd
to Sunday October 4th. The highlight of the weekend being the start of the
Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta- by far the largest Hot Air
Balloon event in the entire world. This year, an estimated 750 balloons are
expected to take to the skies of Albuquerque in massive waves of colors
and patterns. It is figured to be the most photographed event in the world,
so if you come, bring a camera- you'll kick yourself if you don't.

The Albuquerque area offers a lot of other attractions- the Albuquerque Old
Town area (shopping and old stuff), Santa Fe is only an hours drive away,
there is the Sandia Peak Tramway (one of the longest in the world)...in
other words, there is plenty to do in and around the area, in addition to
the Fiesta.

If you are interested in coming, you can get on a mailing list for info-
mail to 'blowfish@carina.unm.edu' (thats me), and read the below info-
it contains a schedule of 'events', and information on rooming and stuff.
Please note that follow-ups to this article are directed to soc.singles,
and varied information can be found there on occassion, or through the
mailing list.

OK- you're still reading. Good! This starts the more detailed information on
what we're going to be doing, where to find a place to stay, etc.

Schedule of events:
Friday- nothing during the day, we figured people will be mostly busy enough
flying/driving into town :) Friday night, we were looking for some light,
relaxed, silly form of entertainment and decided on group bowling. Yep,
bowling. It really is a relaxed sort of thing, and lots of fun when you
get enough people into it yelling 'nice balls' :)

Saturday- the big day of the boink! It will start out early (and I mean
before dawn early)- the group will meet at a designated location and
drive to the Fiesta grounds. Once there (and parked!) we'll have a light
breakfast picnic (something like coffee and croissants), and wander about
the grounds looking at, well, balloons :) The Mass Ascension (where hundreds
upon hundreds of hot air balloons take off in coreographed waves) starts
at 7:30. Since we'll want to be at the site long before this, so we don't
get stuck in traffic, the tenative meeting time on Saturday morning is
somewhere around 5:30. (yes, Virginia, thats 5:30 AM :) Later that morning,
after the Fiesta, (around 10AM or so) will be the Official Net Meal- a
good Southwestern Brunch (that Larry and I are trying to get set up :).
The rest of the day Saturday will be free to visit Albuquerque, the general
area, or go back and take a nap :)

Saturday Night! The Official Boink! 7pm-??? @ Larry's Place. This is the
'official' get-together of network people, and should prove to be a lot
of fun. Larry is looking to get together the first ever Net Band- if you
play an instrument (of any sort) or think you can play, write to Larry
directly (his address is below). Net People will be met, Friends will be
made, Food will be consumed and Spirits will be imbibed (no doubt about
that last one :). In other words, a good time should be had by all. For
the desperate, we're even going to try to get a network link up, in case
you need a 'fix' :) And, of course being good hosts, if anything interesting
occurs, we'll set up a convienent payment plan for the negatives :) (they
put a banana where???? :) :) :)

Sunday- In the morning on Sunday is another Mass Ascension for those brave
(or not hung over) enough to attend. We're not making plans on attending
the Fiesta grounds- if you're interested, there are a number of places in
the city where one can park and watch the balloons from a distance. We
figure a lot of people will be departing on Sunday afternoon/evening, so
again, there is nothing planned- we'll wing something if there is enough
interest :). Sunday night is the Balloon Glow- a special event at the
Fiesta where the balloons light up the night sky- it really is nifty-
and is something fun to see either right at the field or from a good
vantage point. Its from 4:30 to about 9- so its really more for those
who are planning on staying over Sunday and leaving Monday (or later).


That takes care of the schedule. Now the more important thing- where to 
stay.

As you can probably guess, the Balloon Fiesta is a >very< popular event,
and a lot of people will be coming to town. In short, if you are planning
on coming to this event, and want to stay in a hotel room, you had better
decide quickly- it is my best guess that the >entire< Albuquerque area will
be sold totally out of hotel rooms by no later than the middle of September
(yes, in a scant two weeks from now). In fact, most of the major hotels are
already sold out of rooms, or are very low on rooms. I'm going to do some
serious calling around town tomorrow looking for rooms for people. 
A couple of suggestions- get on the mailing list- I will be posting lists
of people interested in sharing rooms, and updates and stuff like that.

The other option will be crash-space. Larry and I both have room at our
respective domiciles for people who cannot afford or can't find a hotel 
room- mail either Larry or I if you are in need of such a thing.

Well- thats about it (finally! they cry :). 
If you are even remotly interested in attending, please mail me and get on
the mailing list- its not an obligation to attend, just a good way of
getting important information that might not get out in posts...

r. (blowfish@carina.unm.edu)
Newsgroups: soc.singles