[MR] Event Monopolies

["Ed Hopkins" <Ed.Hopkins@MCI.Com>]

Poster: "Ed Hopkins" <Ed.Hopkins@MCI.Com>

Ld. Jonathan Blackbow observes:
 
> They thought that having two wars within a few hours of each other
> would be a Bad Thing, too, and yet GWW and Estrella were both well
> attended, from what I heard.
> 
> What's the fascination/obsession that events have with making sure
> that they have no competition?  I think our population has reached
> a level where if there are two events on the same day and they're
> both equally popular, they'll both have decent attendance.  There
> is, IMO, such a thing as Too Many People.  
> 
> Maybe the obsession/fascination/paranoia/whatever is a relic of not
> having many people and not being sure that the event would break
> even.

Hear, hear!
I'm not yet very familiar with the big events in Fair Atlantia,
but in my old stomping grounds there were a couple of events
(The Feast of the Passing of the Ice Dragon and the Pennsic War,
to name two) that were crying out to have competing events draw
away some of the attendees.

But the days of events that might not break even are not gone.
It's just that few people hear about the events that don't break
even.

Under the current system, the very "must-see" events that would
benefit (or at least not suffer from some competion are the ones
who get the most protection from a state-sponsered monopoly.
This system should be turned on its head.

I suggest that any group be allowed to schedule an event opposite
Kingdom level events, if they dare.  If the Shire of Keep Dexter
can convince enough people to go to their new Feast of the Seven
Diddly Sins instead of Coronation in the neighboring Barony of Huge
Size, good for them!  And if it turns out nobody showed up because
everyone _did_ go to Coronation, well, what did they expect?
But a better time for Keep Dexter to schedule their event would
be on a weekend set aside just for them, when no other group
within 150 miles may compete with them.  My proposal is that the
Crown should reserve such monopolies for _small_ groups that do
_not_ yet have any well-entrenced, well-attended events.  Then
they would have an opportunity to show their stuff to a large
group of people who are showing up not because the event is a
"must-see" event, but because there's no place else to go.

Fast Fourier Transform,

-- Alfredo el Bufon

=======================================================================
List Archives, FAQ, FTP:  http://sca.wayfarer.org/merryrose/
            Submissions:  atlantia@atlantia.sca.org
        Admin. requests:  majordomo@atlantia.sca.org