Event Planning and Scheduling

The lack of foresight by generally intelligent people never ceases to surprise me. Monica and I spent a couple of years working on a large dinner and fundraising auction and likely will again for a different organization. So I always pay attention to how other people plan their events and take mental notes on things they do and don't think about.

And one thing people don't think about is scheduling. Monica found a charity auction for a Jewish organization she wanted to attend. But when she told me the date, I realized it was Super Bowl Sunday. I realize not everyone cares about the Super Bowl at the level I do, but on average 1/3 of the country was watching and nearly 50% of all people in the United States watched part of the game. Why schedule any event opposite that, unless it's a direct appeal to the non-football crowd?

A couple of days ago we got a "Save the Date" for Village Theatre's auction; that's the event where Monica won her walk on role in Hello Dolly and we were looking forward to going this year. They've moved the event from a March weeknight to a May weekend, where it conflicts with a couple things for us. (And they doubled the price to $200 and changed the venue from Issaquah to Seattle. Three strikes you're out.) The conflicts are somewhat specific to us, but when you pick the 3rd Saturday in May a number of people who are used to going to VT are going to have a conflicting event and you'll lose them. Not to say you can't do this, but I doubt there was much thought put into this.

And the kicker! This week I was emailed about two fun events. One is about Jews and chocolate with lots of chocolate samples (yum) and the other is a presentation at EMP about the music behind the Disney theme parks. I'd like to go to both and Monica would like the chocolate one. However both are the evening of February 14th. As my financial planner said "Remember, February 14...and don't think you can get away with doing something early and skipping the special notes, cards and flowers on the 14th." Personally Valentine's Day is my least favorite holiday, but even I recognize that most people are going to have plans that night.

With only 365 days and thousands of events, obviously there are going to be conflicts. But you think you'd think reasonable people would try to avoid major conflicts, whether "major" is the significance of the event or the sheer number of people impacted by it.