Public:Public Halloween Party Page

One of the hosts, off to buy supplies.

Some of the most dangerous drugs aren't on the streets....

They're under your sink.

Welcome to the public wiki for the annual Halloween Party in [Dryden, New York]. Here, you can find information on this year's tee shirt designs, travel info, tips on where to stay (if you elect to stay overnight and do not want to sleep at the Gunter-Hammond home), a short list of proposed happenings and a general FAQ helping to explain the logistics of a multiday party.

Come raise Cthulu, learn about science stuff, cook and eat creatively designed food and drink items, learn at least 6 new uses for a fake mustache, imbibe liquor liquor buzz buzz buzz, try to win sophus's love (or just his pardon), vie for floor space in the library, climb through abandoned warehouses, dress funny, be famous on youtube, learn how to breathe fire, how not to get arrested by the police, win the most 1000 blank cards' points, break a clavicle playing wink 'em, and hang out with lots of people you like (or soon will).

Woooooohoooooo! Are you excited, yet?

- Basho (Kelly), the Honest Madman (Sean) and Stuff-n-Junk (Sophus Alexander).

Dates

There is a rumor that Thursday is the new Friday.

• Wednesday, October 28: Special dinner for people flying in early.
• Thursday, October 29 to Sunday, November 1: Hparty

Tee Shirts

T-shirts are in!

Mockup of the 2009 tee shirt design. The individuals in the shirt are those that attended the first HParty(2003), and have continued to attend.

There are some years when someone would like to attend the party, but their finances just do not allow for it. To help overcome this, we ask people to consider buying some tee shirts. After paying for the costs of the tees, the remaining money goes to help subsidize someone's travel. In the event no one needs the financial aid, the money from tees will help pay for food and drink at the party.

We've somehow convinced the professional illustrator Casey Girard that the party is worth attending, and she's even started volunteering to make the designs to the tees.

The Tee Shirt Committee decided to go take into account the time of year and chose long sleeve shirts for this year's design. The cost for tees is 20$. Pre-ordering has ended for 2009, but a limited number of unclaimed shirts will be available at the party.

Food

Hparty Meal Prep Signups

The management would like to better arrange the food situation for the party. The set up will be the following. If you are interested in fixing a particular dish or even a whole meal, you sign up for a particular time slot. We will need main chefs for meals and helper bees. No one person will be allowed to be a main chef for more than one full day of cooking, or more than three meals. When you sign up for service, you can declare a bunch of dishes you choose to cook, or you can wing it with local produce you find and choose to use. So sign up and give as much info or as little as you choose. If you plan to cook certain dishes, food may be purchased ahead of time if you tell us what you'll need.

Getting There

The address is:
38 West Main Street
Dryden, New York
Phone:607.844.3676

If you are planning on flying in, the tiny [Ithaca-Tompkins Regional Airport] is closest, but is probably expensive. The next closest is the[Greater Binghamton Airport] with [Syracuse Hancock International Airport] after that. Please let the hosts know ASAP what your flight plans might be so we can discuss how to get you to/from the airport.

Mailing materials

Some people have expressed interest in mailing things to the party so they have less to travel with. Because we live in the Village of Dryden, we do not have a mail box at the house. Instead, we have a PO box. This has the unfortunate side effect that most shippers (like UPS and FedEx) do not think our physical house address exists.

To ship with USPS (you must send it to one of our names, or the post office will just send it back):

  Sean T. Hammond
  PO Box 853
  38 West Main Street
  Dryden, New York

To ship with UPS/FedEx*, etc (you can use any name you want):

  The Kelly and the G. Spots
  38 West Main Street**
  Dryden, New York	

  *FedEx has a better track record than UPS when it comes to landing 
  things on our doorstep versus 38 East Main Street.

  **Some forms on the internet automatically replace "west" with "east", 
  so you end up with an address of "38 East Main Street". To get around 
  that, spell out "W E S T", "W.E.S.T", " W-E-S-T" or some variation like 
  that. If the shipper allows you to provide explicit instructions, just 
  emphasize that 38 West Main really does exist.

Accommodations

Guests of the Gunter/Hammond family are invited to sleep at their house. All overnight guests will be given complimentary earplugs in case they wish to try to sleep through revelry. Bed/futon space is very limited, however, so individuals are encouraged to bring sleeping bags for indoor camping.

If you are interested in booking a hotel/motel room or want to stay at a bed and breakfast, here are some resources:

• A google map showing our house and nearby [hotels and motels].
• If a bed and breakfast is more your style, check out [these]. Please note that the hosts have removed incorrect/confusing hits.
  • [The Candlelight Inn Bed & Breakfast], which is only a few yards from our house, comes very highly recommended, though revelers tend to fill it very quickly.

Events and Activities

Each year the hosts and previous year's guests try to come up with things to do at the parties. If you have an idea for an activity, let us know.

• Going trick-or-treating with Sophus et al. This year Sophus will be going as Ghengis Khan. If you would like to be a member of his horde I have made some quick costume designs for invading Mongol forces
• Project Balloon: construction of a weather balloon+camera to take pictures from the edge of space.
• unTED Talks: inspired by TED Talks. Share ideas "important" to you.
• Children's Toy Build Off: work with others to build fun/amazing things using children's toys.
• Iron Chef: Dryden: Adam and Josh! East Coast vs West Coast!
• Another live installment of Grahams' Completely Normal Radio Programme.
• DJ equipment for people to spin some records.
• Yoga exercise advise.
• PET Project: If you have an old, working laptop or celphone, consider bringing it to Hparty and donating it for a good cause.
• Various Hiking and Trips (to be determined)
• Live music. Play an instrument? Consider bringing it.

Media from previous parties

Each year, the party generates an a diverse array of images, music and video. You can look at previous year's media here.

FAQ

• Q: The party is over several days? What does that mean?
• A: Think of it as more of a camping trip than a party. Things take place over several days because many people attending the party have not seen one another for months, sometimes years. The extended time period lets people have fun, talk with friends, etc. It also lets people that live closer more easily arrange their schedules so they can attend at least some of the time.

• Q: It sounds like <event> is going to be fun. When will it be?
• A: Unfortunately, most things that happen at the party are pretty fluid. An example was the firebreathing lessons that took place in 2007. Most people at the party didn't even know there were lessons taking place until after the police had a few comments for those taking part.