A Birthday Present For Al

[KnottyEmily]

yeah, it would have to be like a mini-con or something. I won't be going (obviously)...someone is going to have to step up as the organiser of such an event, and will be a big job.

[Mashed Potato]

If it were up to me, i would go 100%
maybe if I pay my parents
I have plenty of time to raise money


1,558 km – about 15 hours 44 mins By car.
How much are plane tickets these days?
$1179.44- For this year ouch...
Not including the Hotel.
But the airport is SO close to Elk Grove 4 maybe 6 Miles

[WeirdMary0427]

My chances of going to the party are extremely slim. According to the poll, the party will most likely be in CA. My parents will absolutly not let me go if it is there. I just wish that we could plan it the same way AlCon was and have it in a place where it would be right in the middle of the country, so that the fans on the eastern part of the country could go without having to travel so far, as well as the fans on the western part. I think if this is a party that Al's fans can go to, we should have it in IL. Like Jessica said, we could always have it on the Friday after his actually birthday. And maybe so that Al doesn't get "swamped" with fans, we shouldn't advertise this too much. I think that we should send Suzanne a myspace email about this.

[Mashed Potato]

I like the Suzanne Idea... Run it over with the rest of them
Yes, don't make it open to the general public...
cause there are many people who would love to meet him, but aren't really hardcore. so they wouldn't leave him his space
I would Too bad Chicago is on the other side of the great lakes... cause NY is doable for me... I have an uncle who is there but the people who DO go have to take video and such for us!

[Animator55]

Anywhere works for me, I'll find some way to get there

[Diva]

I agree, something like the book, that will last forever. I'm tempted to do another book, the only problem is that it will just be more of the same....

What about a DVD? Everyone could record a message for Al, and they could all be edited together and authored on to a DVD?

One thing about the book idea [actually, a few things about it]...

1. I was there in Ottawa in 1999 when Al received that scrapbook that had all of those *AMAZING* pages that a few hundred or so fans had made, including a lot of fans who weren't active at the time on anything on-line but knew other fans who had contacted them about the project. The visual impact was STUNNING. Further, I will never forget the look on Al's face when he received it from Tera, or the amazement as he began to leaf through it backstage. I swore he was going to shed a tear. I have since been told by several individuals who have been to his home that this was [and perhaps still is?] kept on his coffee table for guests to see.

2. The CD/DVD is a wonderful thing, particularly for anyone who doesn't feel as though visual art or a 2-d visual expression would be in their comfort zone. Many more people don't have easy access to the equipment for the recording than some of us might suppose [me, for example, and I'm not the most broke person on this forum by a long shot].

3. There are ways of doing this that could incorporate the CD/DVD and incorporate the book/art submission ideas without mimicking his 40th birthday scrapbook. I have some irons in my cognitive fire about this and will post more in the next few weeks, probably by Columbus Day/Canadian Thanksgiving.

Cheers, Diva
charging up the Dremel and pulling out her goggles and face mask

[Kristine]

More on the DVD- there can be a photo slideshow in there, too. It doesn't have to all be video. It can also have scanned art in there along side other things.

[Squirrelygirl]

Well, time to liven up this topic again! After all, we have a mere 10 months to come up with something interesting, unique and mind-blowingly original.

Hmmm. Wonder if Dale Chiluly would consider making a li'l glass sculpture of Al. Worth a shot, don't you think?

Maybe a group quilt effort? I don't know the first thing about making quilts, but I'd be more than willing to learn a new skill.

Does my memory fail me, or was there a quilt made several years ago?

Nan do you remember?

[Diva]

Well, time to liven up this topic again! After all, we have a mere 10 months to come up with something interesting, unique and mind-blowingly original.

Hmmm. Wonder if Dale Chiluly would consider making a li'l glass sculpture of Al. Worth a shot, don't you think?

Maybe a group quilt effort? I don't know the first thing about making quilts, but I'd be more than willing to learn a new skill.

Does my memory fail me, or was there a quilt made several years ago?

Nan do you remember?

IIRC, a small group of midwest fans collaborated on a quilt for Al during the Scissors tour and gave it to him at one of his traditional venues there [Merrillville maybe?].

I quite agree that now is the time to hoist the 50th birthday project flag again BTW.

Cheers, Diva
percolating ideas.....

[AlejandraDD]

Oh, nice, we could do a quilt-like thing of Al-related art. Like everyone doing a 4" x 4" (or another reasonable-sized) piece of embroidery (or a drawing in a piece of fabric with Sharpies, for the craft-challenged), and mail it to someone to stitch it all together.

Though, seriously, isn't ten months a little too much time to invest on a gift?

Edited to add: Oh, man, I call dibs on the chicken hat theme for my art!