With the success of the UMD Meetup both in the US and UK... I was wondering how many would support an annual event?

This is also a semi-serious question, as if we are planning to have it in Apr-May timeframe like the last UMD meetup in Vegas, it would probably be a good idea to have a discussion now, so that people can make plans.

Most pertinent discussion points would be:
- Which dates?
- Which location?
- Who's running/organizing the event?

Hi!

Great post and question.

I attended the UMD Meet up this spring. It was a fantastic weekend, and huge thanks to Messmaster for making it happen!!! It was great meeting everyone, lots if fun and I thought great for our community.

I totally think we should do it again. Vegas was perfect for it, the hotel was the perfect location, lots to do, fun and completely chill about the messy fun times that went on in the rooms. May was great, it was warm without being to hot, which made the pool part a blast. Maybe the weekend after Mothers day... the 16-19th?

I'd be happy to help organize the weekend with others. The pool party was a blast, and I'd be willing to help sponsor it by renting one of the lounges like we had last year.

We should definitely include MM in the conversation and plans, since it was his creation last year.

Maybe we get a group of willing helpers together for a group chat to work on details?

Just my two cents.

Jeff

Move it around. Vegas is not convenient for many. How bought east coast this time....Florida or Boston.

Keep in mind this happened, and in Vegas particularly because this was originally just Messmaster and Mistress' vacation. They just decided to open it up and invite us later on. Aside from the meet and greet and pool party there was no "organized UMD" event. A number of producers and models used the time to network and shoot their own footage. There were no announced parties, etc. Everyone did their own things with the time.

The Moomin Affair was quite different from what I gathered. This was a well planned event explicitly for the purposes of getting messy etc. It was ticketed, documented, even had security, etc.

No one has a monopoly on meetups, and anyone can organize one. The reason they don't happen more often is because of how split up we all are, and how much money it costs to do them. Models and producers can often mitigate that by producing at the events, the rest of us have to just suck it up and take out a secured loan.

And to address the original post I quoted, if Vegas is inconvenient, so is literally everywhere else...for SOMEBODY. Anywhere in the US is inconvenient for anyone in the UK or EU, and vice versa.

When is the best time of year? Winter has the holidays, unless you're in the southern hemisphere like the Aussies, where Christmas is in the middle of summer.

I think this was the entire purpose and idea in creating the "Meetups" forum. So that everyone could plan their own, and those who are local enough to it can attend.

Hotel open mindedness and rates are very good in Florida, that's why http://fetishcon.com/ has its show there every year (St Petersburg) Weather is mostly good all year round and its a lot cheaper than Vegas or Cali.

Phil

P.S. Plus I live in Miami Beach, so I would visit

Warmer months, and somewhere near natural mud would always be good!

Florida? Ugh! Hate to break it to you guys, but Regis would never attend this event if it was held in Florida!

my advice for planning meet ups

1. You can never please everyone or make is accessible for everyone

2. Choose a date and venue, advertise it and be around regularly to answer questions

3. If your date is on a weekend, and in an area where people like to vacation, or timed to run alongside another event like a fetish con, etc etc then you have the best chance of people making a special trip there, otherwise probably only people who live in the city or very close will consider going (though that will likely still be enough!)

4. failing that, make it a big city with great transport links

5. Don't fanny about trying to come up with the best date or saying you'll only organise it if enough people reply and say they are interested... just plan it. Someone take charge and do it - IF YOU BUILD IT THEY WILL COME (well, if you build it and advertise it and make sure people know, anyway)

good luck peoples

Well said!

I am willing to work with anyone, preferable a small group, to brain storm and bounce some ideas around and see what we come up with.

Next steps?

Maybe let's keep it open discussion for a bit longer... would love to hear back from more people.

Location wise, Candy is correct, you can't make everyone happy, but you can make many people happy. So that means the event should overlap to weekends, and ideally be in a location where the costs of flying/driving in are reasonable (so not some obscure location in the middle of nowhere). Also, hotel prices should be cheap, so Vegas for example would fit the bill. I think Florida too...

If I could move the discussion a little, what would people like to see at a UMD meetup? Something like this year, which is unstructured and "free-for-all"? Or something more organized like Leon/Lisa's party?

I seriously doubt the posts in the "meetups" forum led to anything.... but this meant to be an annual thing for the community, similar to the various fetish-cons out there.

In Vegas you won't have to worry about the weather and there are a lot of available flights from anywhere.

Duncan Edwards - where can I buy the photoset that you shared form mudpuddlevisuals 2010 - I can't find it on their site... Looks like a great set!

Forgot to quote when I replied. Where can I obtain this set?

Let's do one in the philly/south Jersey area! It's in messmasters backyard and there are cheap places to stay just across the river in NJ!!!

Exactly

Last year worked because of the following reasons

1. The creator/owner of the site started it (big name)
2. No obligation (this was their vacay, no one had to show up, no rentals, no deposits etc.)
3. It was a BIG round number (20 years!)
4. Advertising isn't hard when you own the site everyone comes to
5. Plenty of advance time was given (upwards of a full year)

IF you want a sausage fest, you will get it. The male community is generally willing to go anywhere usually at the drop of a hat if they can.

If you want women (models and producers in particular) You're probably going to have a harder time. Honestly, at that point, you're pretty much looking at Vegas, SoCal, or Miami exclusively.

Vegas typically has the cheapest flights because the state of Nevada subsidizes them. People coming to Vegas is most of their GDP.

Miami is where most of the cruise ships set sail from for the Caribbean, so it's a pretty bustling port.

Sadly, if you read about UK meetups, you'll see a lot of people that say "it's too far" or "something came up". Now the US is like 6x bigger. It's a logistics nightmare.

A con would be great, but you'd need MASSIVE amounts of money on deposit to make it happen. Then, if no one shows up...poof massive debt. But like Candy said, you need to set a time, a place, and stick to it. Advertise like your life depends on it...and if you're in charge of it, your financial life may very well. Then, hope people show up, and you at least make the money back.

Ooooh how about Rhode Island? There are almost like.... 3 people from this site here.

Ok, probably not very convenient for people, but I can dream