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

They are under your sink.

Welcome to the Annual Halloween Party Wiki: Your one stop shop for photos/videos from previous parties, recipes of some foods served, tee shirt designs, and upcoming plans as well as a FAQ for folks that can't seem to figure out what exactly a multi-day party encompasses.

This page is publicly viewable, but not everything it links to is Public. Pages which begin with the name Public: are world-readable. If you click on a link and it asks you for a login, and feel like you should be able to get to that content, please contact an Administrator, like Grahams and request an account.

Also, remember the public nature of this page when editing it. Only add content which you are comfortable with the whole world seeing.

If there's something you'd like to know about or see here, let the host and hostess know.

-The Hosts Emeriti.

First Timers

There are a lot of things going on at various times: food preparation, food consumption, drinking, dancing, music playing, activities, cards, crokinole, excursions into town, chatting, reading, etc. Don't try to take it all in, surf the tide as you are able to, and recharge when you need to. Contribute what you can, if anything, and consume what you'd like. Nobody wants anything from you when you attend except that you have an enjoyable experience. The group's interests and curiosity are many and varied, so if you offer up a contribution, it is likely someone will be interested. For many of the attendees, this is the one time of the year that they get to see so many of their friends in one place so having a pleasant experience is paramount.

Words of Wisdom

Little did they know that the punch had already been jammed full of caffeine and modafinil.

'And ye harm none do what thou wilt'

Keep in mind, however, that there might be small children around some of the time. Along those lines:

There are various signs up helping with behavior choices.
No slipping minors candy, alcohol, drugs or even juice (without clearing it with their parents).
When in doubt, ask the Hosts or a representative of the Hosts (Morlocks)

Three bowls do I mix for the Temperate:

One to health--which they empty first--the second to love and pleasure, the third to sleep. When this bowl is drunk up, wise guests go home.
The fourth bowl is ours no longer, but belongs to violence,
the fifth to uproar,
the sixth to drunken revel,
the seventh to black eyes,
the eighth is the policeman's,
the ninth belongs to biliousness,
and the tenth to madness and the hurling of furniture.

-Eubulus, 375BCE, writing on wine.

Dates and Location

2024 - Wednesday 30 October through Sunday 3 November.

The address is:

 2106 River Rd, Manchester, VT

Accommodations

Please visit https://www.wilburtoninn.com/battenkill-mansion to get a sense for what the rental location is like.

All overnight guests will be given complimentary earplugs in case they wish to try to sleep through revelry.

The house opens at 5pm on Wednesday, and they kick us out at 11am on Sunday.

All USPS deliveries should be sent c/o General Delivery 300 Seminary Ave, Manchester, VT 05254-9998.

RSVP - (Please give projected arrival time and sleeping arrangements)

Please RSVP via email as soon as possible as much planning has to occur to pull this party off.

Halloween Party RSVP List 2024

COVID precautions should encompass being fully updated on vaccinations if possible and if you are in a situation that puts you at a high risk of infection beforehand consider testing before arrival.

Needful Things for 2024

Food ideas:
- Dumplings
- Doughnuts
- Pizza(GF option available) on Saturday is great, but someone needs to be put in charge of ordering
- Move tacos to Friday? (Leftover Garbage Plate meat sauce to use for Taco Friday worked well)
- Grits bar / buffet: grits (vegetarian but not vegan unless requested) + various toppings (flexible for dietary restrictions)
Things to remind people of:
- Roll up a D&D character before hand, or DMs come with a set of pre-rolls (co-ordinate via slack?)
- Clean up crew sign up list (this wasn't a problem, but would be nice to do)
- When we arrive, run both dishwashers on the self-clean cycle along with a cup of white vinegar in the top rack
Things to bring:

Mom's Attic
Can opener
Pots. Things for soups, sauces, rice, etc
Kitty wine
Oven mitts
Sheet pans
A bunch of dish towels
A sharp bread knife
Power squids/strips (4x cheapo strips in Mom's Attic)
Voice Assistant Device (for setting timers in the kitchen)
Cutting surface

Things to buy from the supermarket the day we arrive (shit we always end up using):

Just an absolute shitload of cans of seltzer - plain, raspberry-lime, lemon, lime. I mean like a total of twenty 12-packs
Unsalted butter, at least 16 10 sticks
Paper towels - 12 rolls
Sponges - 3 pack
Whole milk - 1 gallon (preferably Organic Valley)
Eggs - 36
Bacon - 5 pounds
Dish soap
Dishwashing detergent pods, something high strength
12 pack of dove sensitive skin soap bars (for the rooms' showers
King Aurthor all-purpose flour

Sugar
Half and Half
Trash bags
Steel wool
Active dry yeast (1 strip of 3 envelopes)
Kosher salt (1 box)
Dark brown sugar
Candy
Cape Cod potato chips (plain)
20 lbs of ice

Kitchen inventory photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/xv29RNhGYMuNVRGy6

Shirts Swag

https://coldvoid.tpopsite.com/

Please note all of the items in the above shop are priced at cost, this is just if you want something. Historically we used this as a fundraiser to help folks get here if needed, but we do that through other channels now.

If you're going to order a whole bunch of stuff ($500+) please let @crim know: tpop charges for the production and then reimburses him a week later. Also, be advised that orders can take about 10 business days to arrive due to international shipping and production on demand.

Fundraising (a.k.a. How the heck are we paying for this venue?)

2% (as of 20240506)

At 2013's party, the Hosts announced that, given the inability of everyone to stay at the same house for the length of the party, that it was time for us to move the party to a larger venue.

FYI: while dogs are welcome, the venue has a dog fee of $125/per dog.

This does mean that we are asking for donations to help cover the rental cost. Based on some back-of-the-envelope calculations on what people have been paying to rent hotel rooms, rooms at bed-and-breakfasts, and houses, we think renting this location will end up being cheaper overall, AND allow us to all be under one roof for the duration of the party.

Please don’t think this is a pay-to-play situation. The Hosts have been very concerned about that idea for years because we acknowledge financial realities. If you can contribute to this cause, please do, but even if you can't, you should still come! If we have the same number of people attend this year’s party, and if people pay what they paid for hotels at previous H-Parties, we should be able to hit our financial goal.

20231030 Update: We aren't technically at zero, 2023 ran a surplus (that is still waiting on a few pledged stragglers) and the easiest thing is to roll the overage into 2024. I'll update the thermometer once the dust settles.

One-time Payments

grahams has volunteered to be in charge of the financials, and you can donate funds using paypal, cash, or check:

Venmo: @grahams
Paypal: paypal.me/grahams
Apple Cash: 617-642-5787

Slack Backchannel

There is a Slack channel available for communications leading up to and during the party. If you have an ice-nine.org email address, you can sign yourself up for the Imaginary Bridges Slack group here. Otherwise, email grahams and he'll send an invite to whichever email address you prefer.

List of Activities and Things to Expect

Halloween Party Music

If you play an instrument that is roughly portable, people will want to make music with you. For song ideas and suggestions you should see at:

The HParty Music Page
The Noble Rot Songbook (PDF) (also available on github, ping AdamF for access)

Food

Important note: Sophus is on a special diet. If you want him to be able to eat something, foods must comply with what is found on dropbox.

Public: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.

Recipes We Liked

Good Eats Fried Chicken
Cook's Country Ultimate Cinnamon Buns; note we use King Arthur All Purpose Flour at 120g to the cup (conversion per their chart)
Kaddo (Afghan pumpkin dish)
Roast Pork and Fennel Salad

Pack Lists

Mom's Attic Inventory

We have a box of supplies for hParty, affectionately and accidentally dubbed "Mom's Attic", which is currently possessed by Grahams. The inventory of it can be found at Mom's Attic Inventory.

Past is Prologue

Post Party Wrap up

What worked? What didn't? Help plan for the next one!

We need to make sure cleaning crew is locked down BEFORE a meal
Nothing ambitious Saturday Night/Sunday Morning. Congee was good but left too much to clean up on Sunday

Previous Parties

Shirts from previous parties

All the shirt designs from previous parties

Media from previous parties

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

unTEDs: wat?

Public:Halloween Party

Contents