|
WWC
Bryson Gym Update |
|
|
WWC
Bryson Gym Update |
|
|
|||
|
DANCE |
|
||
|
taken by WWC photographer Arlin Geyer
a few minutes before the building was totally closed |
|||
|
|
|||
|
Posted by: "Diane Silver" president@oldfarmersball.com Sat Oct 18, 2008 Change of OFB Dance Venue Beginning Nov 6, 2008 During Cold Weather Season: As reported on page 3 of the OFB Sept./ Oct. newsletter, the Board has been considering options for the dance for the winter months, in light of the continuing unavailability of Bryson Hall due to the ceiling collapse last May. We have enjoyed dancing in the Pavilion through the summer, but we feel that it will not be a feasible venue once the weather turns cold. Folks will not want to sit out on the grass when it’s cold and maybe snowy, and there simply is not space on the floor for everyone who attends to be dancing at the same time. Therefore, we have been researching alternative venues for November through March, and perhaps into April, depending on the weather. The result is that for these months, we will be moving the dance to the Fairview Community Center, on US 74 heading toward Lake Lure. It is about 12 miles (about 20 minutes drive) from WWC, and for many folks, it will be the same distance or only a tiny bit farther than Warren Wilson. For others, it may even be closer. We will maintain our admission policy of admitting WWC students, faculty and staff with ID for just $1. Rachel Anne Scarano, a WWC student who serves on the Student Activities Board, has been leading an effort to coordinate transportation from campus to the FCC. We certainly hope that will be successful. The Fairview Community Center is a terrific space —almost twice the square footage of Bryson, with a good floor, bleacher seating, and easy and ample parking. It is easy to get to, right on US 74 — see map on back. Being a gym, we may have some acoustical challenges, but the building owner has indicated a willingness to work with us to make sound improvements. We may be calling on the community to help out with a work day to install some sound attenuation hardware, once we determine a strategy, so please listen for that in future announcements — we’ll need lots of folks to step up and help. We value our partnership with Warren Wilson College, and we have every intention of returning to the Pavilion once the weather is warm again, and ultimately returning to Bryson when repairs are complete. In the meantime, we hope this will be a good solution to keep the dance going! With plenty of space, we hope everyone will come on out and dance. See you out there. <Click HERE For Map and Directions On PRINTABLE PAGE> |
|||
|
Posted by: "Diane Silver" president@oldfarmersball.com Mon Aug 11, 2008 The latest word from Warren Wilson College is that they plan to repair Bryson Gym. However, insurance will only pay to restore the building to the condition it was in. It will not pay for any improvements. The administration is currently considering the various suggestions that were made in July to improve the building. It is likely the most cost-efficient time to do such improvements, as long as construction is being done, even if the insurance won't pay for the betterment. We do not know at this time whether the college will budget for these improvements, or launch a capital campaign to raise the money, or decline to do them at all. We also do not yet have a timeline for completion of the repair. We will continue to dance at the Pavilion as long as the weather allows. The Board is considering options for the dance for Oct. - March, in the event Bryson will not be available for some time yet. We definitely plan to continue to hold our weekly dances; we just are not sure yet whether we will change venues, or tough it out in the cold (it's warm once you start dancing!). As always, we will keep everyone informed as new information develops. Diane Silver - OFB President |
|||
|
-------- Original Message -------- Subject: Bryson Gym update Date: Wed, 02 Jul 2008 13:44:24 -0400 From: Diane Silver <president@oldfarmersball.com> To: OFB ListServe Whole Community Dear OFB Community -- The latest word from Warren Wilson College is that they are leaning in the direction of repairs rather than any major rebuilds or renovation of Bryson Gym. Before they start that process, they have graciously solicited feedback from various users of the space about any improvements that the college should consider investing in as they undertake those repairs. OFB Board members are working hard to represent the OFB's interests in this process. If you have any suggestions you'd like us to add to our list of recommendations, please e-mail them to me. You can reply to the whole list if you think everyone would be interested in the suggestions, or you can reply to me offlist at: president@oldfarmersball.com. Suggestions we already have down (so you don't have to repeat them) are: · Good acoustics! + some sound system amenities (brackets to install speakers, wiring run through the ceiling, etc.) · Dance space—floor should be at least as big as it was before, bigger if possible · Storage—continued use of the sound closet, same size, or bigger; maybe addition of hooks, shelving etc. for bags, shoes, coats. · Modern bathrooms - and replace the water fountain with a multi-spigot sink for hand-washing and water-bottle-filling; and look at traffic flow between bathrooms, water fountains, etc and entry area · Ventilation system – improve air flow, to vent warm air out the top, and pull cool air in at floor level, during the summer. (Heating system for winter. We don’t use it much during dances, but we do when we have meetings or potlucks in the winter). · New front doors that open and close easily, so in winter we have less draft at the entrance for people staffing the door. · Updated wiring · Address floor harmonics that may be impacting ceiling · Build a raised stage · Renovate the upstairs balcony for spectator use If you have other ideas, now is the time! Dream big. Doesn't hurt to brainstorm -- the worst that can happen is they say no. Thanks! Diane Silver - OFB President |
|||
|
Posted by: "Diane Silver" president@oldfarmersball.com
Tue May 27, 2008 7:47 am (PDT) Dear OFB Dancers -- We have received confirmation that we can have our dance at the Pavilion again this week. The weather is looking good, so plan to come on out and dance. We are still working with WWC to identify some alternative indoor spaces to use in the event of rain, so it's still a good idea to check the hotline (828 258-4809) just before you drive to make sure there's no last-minute change of plans, but for now, the plan is to dance at the Pavilion. We recommend bringing a picnic blanket or something similar for sitting on the grass when not dancing, as there will be no chairs for on-lookers. Also, as with our regular dance, we do ask that everyone pay admission -- it enables us to pay the band, cover our insurance, etc. So even if you come just to listen and not dance, please pitch in your $5 or $6 to support the dance and the performers. If you're not sure where Morris' Pavilion is, you can view a campus map at http://www.warren-wilson.edu/info/campus_map.php Basically, from the front of Bryson (which is now taped off with police tape), head downhill into the garden. Best parking is still at the Kittredge parking lot, just north of the north entrance. WE NEED YOUR HELP: Thanks to folks who have asked what they can do to help. Here are a few items for which we need someone to step up to the plate: 1) The sound equipment that we managed to get out of Bryson is currently residing in my basement. I need someone with a truck or van and a strong back to make arrangements with me to come by and pick it up and bring it to the dance this week, either Thursday around 5:00, or sometime before. It includes a heavy cart of equipment that is too big to fit in my car, and too heavy for me to lift alone. I live in the Haw Creek neighborhood, so my hope is that someone will be passing by on Tunnel Road on the way to the dance anyway, so it won't be much extra driving (and gas!) for someone. 2) I need someone (perhaps the same someone, perhaps someone different) with a similar truck or van and some storage space to be the keeper of the sound equipment for the next couple weeks (take it home and then bring it back the next week), so we don't have to go through this each week. It would be great to have a set plan for the next, say, six weeks. 3) If someone has a folding card table or two or three that we could use for the admission table, and for flyers, please let me know. Same story -- we would need you to bring it each week, as we have nowhere to store anything at the moment. You can reply to the list, or reach me off-list at president@oldfarmersball.com. No word yet on the long-term outlook for Bryson, or new plans for the Swannanoa Gathering. Stay tuned. Come dance on Thursday. Diane Silver OFB President |
|||
|
Posted by: "Weogo" weogoreed@isp.com
weogo |
|||
|
|
|||
|
Posted by:
OFB President Diane Silver 5/23/2008 Dear OFB Community -- I just wanted to touch base with everyone myself regarding the damage to Bryson Gym. (See Weogo's previous post). 1) First, huge thanks to Weogo for his initiative in rescuing some of our sound equipment so we were able to continue our dance. Let me emphasize that in general we do not condone entering dangerous buildings, and I would say, don't do this yourself. I'm glad Weogo was not hurt in the process. His dedication to the dance is appreciated. He also did a fantastic job working on the fly to set things up in the pavilion and the dance was lovely. We were extremely lucky in many ways: a) that no one was in the building at the time. If the roof collapse had happened a few hours later it could have been a terrible tragedy. b) That the weather was nice and the pavilion was a workable alternative. c) That WWC allowed us to carry on with the dance in the face of this circumstance. 2) I want to repeat and emphasize both Weogo's message and the recent message from the College: DON'T GO ANYWHERE NEAR BRYSON!!! They can and will arrest trespassers. The last thing they or we need is for someone to get hurt after the fact and create an insurance or legal issue to deal with. 3) PLEASE DO NOT CALL THE COLLEGE. We want to be supportive, helpful, and NOT bothersome. I will work with our liaison and with the appropriate college administrators and I will keep you all informed of any new developments. As Weogo said in his message, there are several ways to stay informed: this list, the OFB website (www.oldfarmersball.com), and the telephone hotline: 258 4809. Please tell your friends. Also, let's try to control the great rumor mill. I am amazed at how word of mouth works, but within hours of Weogo's discovery of the situation, somehow a rumor had gotten started that the dance was canceled. It was not -- we had a great evening. So, please, get your information from the official sources -- the board, via this list and the website. 4) The future! I know everyone wants to know what's going to happen. What's going to happen for next week's dance, for Summer Soiree, and for the long term? We will let you know as we get the information. There are several possibilities for our weekly dance: If WWC is agreeable, perhaps we will continue to use the pavilion in good weather. If it's rainy, the dance could be canceled, so you'll want to check the hotline before you drive. We'll work hard to keep things updated as up-to-the-minute as we can. Perhaps WWC will have another space we can use. Perhaps we will need to find an alternative space for the time being. A lot hinges on the college's decisions. They have a lot on their hands today, and probably don't have enough information yet to even make such decisions. So, we are going to give them some breathing room. They need to assess the building over the next few days and have their own meetings to discuss the situation. Also, it's a holiday weekend, and it's unlikely we would be able to get in touch with the proper folks until next week anyway. The OFB Board will be meeting on Monday to discuss our options and preferences. If you have suggestions, we certainly welcome them. Please feel free to contact me at president@oldfarmersball.com Also, just FYI -- at this time, I don't believe that the sound equipment that was not "rescued" has been damaged (although I don't know for sure). It's simply inaccessible at the moment, as no one is permitted to enter the building. We will be working with the college to determine when and how we can get our equipment out for use elsewhere. Ditto for the sound attenuation panels, which I know were planned to be used at the whipperstomper weekend. We'll let you know... 5) Just a little acknowledgment: Several years ago, Bruce Black, former OFB President, started the Board thinking about planning for sometime in the future when Bryson might not be available, either due to changes in the college's continuing support, or due to building issues. His leadership set us on the path of budgeting for alternatives in the face of just this kind of scenario, and our treasurers over the years, especially Jonathan Gilbert, have done a great job of keeping us not only fiscally responsible, but prudently frugal. Thanks to this past leadership, we are in a pretty good financial position, which gives us some options for responding to this situation. We probably don't have all the money we need for some possible solutions, so some fundraisers may be in the future, but we're healthy and stable. So thanks to past leaders for setting us up so well! And thanks to everyone for your flexibility and good spirit! In the big picture, we are very lucky, so let's keep this all in perspective. When the time comes to pitch in and help, we'll let you know and look forward to your assistance. More to come as more develops ... Diane Silver OFB President |
|||