Florida Mini at Lori's Lighted D'lites on September 19th!

[Donald Puryear]

All adults.

[Michael B]

Thanks Donald, it will be good to meet you.

[Michael B]

FYI several of the attendees who are coming in on Friday are planning on getting together for dinner, probably in Stark. If you need iformation, let me know or search the thread on PC.

I'll see everyone in ten days!

[Michael B]

Florida Mini coming in 6 days! Update:

The Florida Mini
10 am until ?
Lori's Lighted D'Lites
21535 US Highway 301 North
Lawtey, Florida 32058

(904) 782-3701 or toll-free (877) 647-4906

Food:Coffee, danish, juice, etc... for morning
Hamburgers, hot dogs, bake beans, etc... for lunch
(If you need to have a special diet, please bring it with you. )

This event is free. The space and food is provided by Gene and Lori the owners of Lori's Lighted D'Lites.

Presentations:
Wireframe making by Gene, the owner of Lori's
Wireframe lighting by the other owner and wife Lori
DIY, DMX, and much more by RJ
LED's, Cosmic Color Ribbon, RGB rope light by Bill Vanderslice
LOR2 by Doug
Several decorators will be sharing what they have been working on.

Buy/Sale/Trade: You are encouraged to bring items to sale, buy items from each other, or trade.

Lori and Gene will have high quality, made in their shop wireframes to purchase. Check their website: http://www.lorislighteddlites.com/ for an extensive list with pictures.

Lori and Gene are offering discounts for the Mini:

http://forums.planetchristmas.com/sh...ad.php?t=34268

Attendees are encouraged to bring something they are working on or have completed to share, bring a photo album of your display, your lap top with photos and/or videos, etc...

If you need help or have a question about decorating, make sure you ask. There is going to be some incredible talent at this Mini. Introduce yourself and get to know your fellow decorators.

Lori, Gene, Bill, and I want this Mini to be for to meet and get to know other decorators, ask questions, share what you are doing, get help, network, shop, help someone else, sale something, etc. What we don't want is for you to feel you have to sit through every presentation and not meet anyone. We hope to see many of you chatting off to the side exchanging ideas.

As of 9-13 we have 66 people attending.

For those that are overnighting Fri or Sat nights, Bill made arrangements for special rate at the Days Inn in Stark. The normal rate is $80/night but we are getting $63 rate/night. This is for advanced reservation only and must be booked by the 14th under the Planet Christmas name. The dinner for Fri night now has 11 people who are joining us. We all will meet at Cowboy Steak House on RT301 2 1/2 miles NE of Stark, south side of 301 at 7:30PM.

Drive the speed limit in Waldo and Lawtey, they are known speed traps.

[Michael B]

5 days to go! I can't wait to meet everyone!

[Michael B]

Four days to go! :dude:

Tips:

Make sure you don't just sit and let everything happen around you. Talk to others and find someone you can talk to about their display and you about yours. Ask questions.

If you happen to find a group of people who are talking about a certain subject you are interested in, join that group. If we start a presentation that doesn't interest you, stay with your group and skip the presentation.

This is a day for you to learn, meet others, form bonds of mutual interest, eat, laugh, buy some stuff/sell stuff/trade stuff.

If you have a special diet, please bring it with you.

I have been to 4 Minis. One thing I have learned is to bring a captain's chair that is comfortable. I leave it in the car, but if I need it, I get it out.

Please come up to me and introduce yourself.

See you on Saturday!

[Michael B]

Update and tips:

Attendees: 67 confirmed

I have sent out PMs to everyone who showed any interest in attending, please respond if you haven't already.

E-mail me: rbeason728@embarqmail.com and I will send you the agenda.

Drive the speed limit in Waldo and Lawtey, they are known speed traps.

Check the calendar on PC for constant updates.

Prepare yourself to meet some amazing people.

Come up and introduce yourself to me. Meeting all of you is my favorite part of a Mini.

See you all in 3 days!

[Michael B]

Update and tips:

71 signed up to attend.

Two days to go.

Several people are meeting at Cowboy Steak House, at 7:30 pm, on Friday. Let Bill Vanderslice know if you plan on going by posting in the PC thread.

Dress for comfort. We will be in a 10,000' warehouse/showroom. There is no air conditioning, however it has high ceiling and the ventilation is good. I have check the temps for Saturday and the seem reasonable.

Waldo and Lawtey are know speed traps, please drive the speed limit.

Bring a camera. You will want to photograph some display items, so you can see it later.

My daughter Katie and I will see everyone in two days!

Michael

[Michael B]

Good morning to all! Many of you are traveling to Lawtey today. I'll pray that you have a safe drive. My daughter and I will be arriving tomorrow morning.

Tonight, Bill Vanderslice will be greeting many of you at Cowboy Steak House at 7:30 pm. It looks like there will be aroud 20 people tonight.

We still had decorators signing up last night.

Remember to drive the speed limit in Waldo and Lawtey. They are known speed traps. :cool:

Our goal of The Florida Mini is to bring together Christmas decorators so they can meet each other, share ideas, help each with their unique and common challenges, learn, to have fun, and finally:

To realize they are not the only crazy light nut around!

[Santa]

Kudo's and a great big thank you go out to Lori and Gene of Lori's Lighted D'Lites for hosting the Florida Mini. What a great Saturday it was. The presentations were informative and the atmosphere was great to get you in the mood for the holiday spirit. In addition to Lori and Gene, I know they had others there helping as well I would like to extend my thanks to them also. I also took home some wire frames and can't wait to go back and buy more.

A thank you also goes out to Michael B. and Bill V. for pulling it together. I know that their efforts are appreciated and you guys chose the perfect spot to host the get together. Your efforts are greatly appreciated. Your going to have a hard time planning the 2010 Mini and having any better meeting place. Lets go back to Lori's!

Again thanks to all that helped to put it together.

Chuck V.
Central Florida

[Michael B]

I would like to thank Lori and Gene for being terrific host. They had everything ready: The building (Yes it was hot, but I needed to lose a few pounds anyway), the great food, the free Mini Moose wireframe, the tables, chairs, etc... I know all the work it took for them to host the Mini. Thank you! You both were awesome!

Next, would be Bill Vanderslice. Bill you did an outstanding job coordinating and planning. Your LED knowledge and LED presentation was right-on. Bill was all over the place making sure everything was going right. Bill you are super to work with.

Patti and her husband Richard were great at registration. Thanks for making the name tags and everthing else you did.

I need to thank Gene for his presentation on making wireframes. He gave us some practical hints and ways to save money while making wireframes.

RJ's DIY presentation had many crowded around wanting to know more. He took his crowd outside to finish answering questions. If you are interested in saving money while animating your display, you need to talk to RJ.

Doug's LOR workshop was fun. He led a question and answer session that led to lively interaction among us all. I want to thank Doug for bringing the cooker, helping any way possible, and helping get everything ready.

Thank Lori for showing us how to put lights on Mini Moose. You really make it look easy.

Thank you to Lee for bringing the PA system. With that many people the presenters would have not been heard past the first few rows.

Thank you to Darren for helping out and sharing. He is always there to help where needed.

Thank you to Debra for working with the kids. My Katie had a blast making crafts.

There where to others that helped Gene and Lori, but I can't recall there names. One, a kind gentleman who got the food ready, parked cars, helped in many ways. The other, the nice lady who showed us how to make wireframe, helped us with buying wireframes, and assisted in many other ways. Thank you both.

At last, thank you to all who came. We had an un believable number of 76 attending! Wow! You who decorate for Christmas are a special nice kind of crazy people. I really enjoyed meeting you and listening to you. You really are passionate about this wonderful hobby.

Now get out and hang some lights soon. Ye-ha!

[bisquit476]

I would like to thank Michael B and Bill V for helping to set up this mini. To Gene and Lori, your gracious hospitality were overwhelming, Thank You. To all the presenters, thanks for taking the time to offer your words of knowledge and wisdom. As a first time mini attendee, this was an awesome experience. Hope to be at many more. And to all the folks I met there, thanks for being a part of this great experience. Hope to see everyone at the next mini, thanks again, Bill.

[Michael B]

Thank you Chuck and Bill for the kind words. I enjoyed seeing so many people come together and share a love for Christmas. Christmas decorating is about creating memories. It was great meeting you both.