MV Chess Club Opportunity - Feedback needed
MV Chess Club
Hi everyone,
Our chess club has an opportunity to have a free booth at the Maker Faire event in September at the OC Fairgrounds. You can see more about the event here: https://oc.makerfaire.com/
They’ve contacted me to see if we’d be interested in a booth where we offer demonstrations and/or free chess lessons, possibly in partnership with the Orange County Chess Club.
The logistics would look like this:
- Setup: Friday, Sept. 11 (minimal time, mainly travel and basic setup)
- Event hours:
- Saturday, Sept. 12: 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
- Sunday, Sept. 13: 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
To cover the booth, we’d probably need two people per shift, with shifts of about 2–3 hours. That works out to roughly four volunteers on Saturday and four on Sunday. Plus someone on Friday to help with set-up.
This seems like it could be a nice service to the community. I’m not sure that it would significantly benefit our club—maybe a little—but it would mainly be something we do as an outreach/service opportunity.
I told the organizer I’d check with our members and get back to him. Some of his comments are below.
Please email me at in...@mvchess.com with your thoughts on this, and let me know if you’d be willing to volunteer for a shift. If there’s enough interest, we’ll move forward; if not, no problem at all.
Thanks,
Bill
Info from organizer below....
“…thought your group could be a great fit for Maker Faire Orange County — a celebration of making, innovation, and hands-on creativity held at the OC Fair & Event Center in Costa Mesa…
…A welcoming chess club open to all ages and skill levels in South OC — pairing them with the Orange County Chess Club at Maker Faire could offer simultaneous exhibitions and beginner lessons in a high-traffic environment….
…The booth comes with a 10x10 space, a table, and 2 chairs. Our event has a setup day from 12–8 on Sept. 11, and our event runs 10–5 on Sept. 12 and 10–4 on Sept. 13. We request that you man your booth for those full periods. If a split with other chess clubs can be arranged, that's great…”
MV Chess Club
MV Chess Players,
Happy Memorial Day!
I’m following up to see if there’s interest in our chess club hosting a booth for two days at the OC Maker Faire. We would offer free chess lessons, promote the game, and play anyone who wants a match. Details are in the email below.
So far, I’ve heard from Dave, Mark, Leah, and Lucas — all interested. Including me, that’s five volunteers. To comfortably cover four shifts plus setup and takedown, we’ll need about 10 total volunteers. That allows two people per shift (2–3 hours each) and gives us a buffer in case someone gets sick or has a schedule change.
Before I commit to the event, I’d like to know if we can reach that number.
Please reply to this email if you’re interested. Thank you!
Bill
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