Grand opening party
I’ve thought long and hard about this, and I have no idea what to do.
For our grand opening, I want to have a big party, but we can only handle about 20-30 cars at a time. I think if we do an “open house” affair, not everyone will come at once, but that means a lot more organization and preparation. Having a 90 minute tour is one thing; having a two-day open house is quite another.
With two staircases, we can direct traffic so people aren’t walking into each other, but I’ll need to staff each room, plus have a parking attendant, so that’s 13 people! And of course we’ll need tour guides for the wolf sanctuary. I have no idea where I can find that many people, though I’m hoping I can press some of the contractors into service so they can talk about what was done.
Plus there should be some food. What do you serve a couple hundred people arriving over the course of two days that will get them to refer their friends to your B&B? I do a mean Belgian waffle, but that’s a lot of work, and I’m not sure it’s legal. (Serving hot food, for some reason, is always treated differently than serving cold food.) Maybe Dawn can whip together twenty bundt cakes?
For entertainment, I tried to get a Revolutionary War reenactment troupe, but they were booked until 2008! (I will try again in 2010, when Speedwell Forge turns 250.) So then I contacted Landis Valley Museum about having people do forge-related demonstrations, but so far nobody has contacted me. Maybe I’ll just set up some folding chairs and do a slide show in the barn.
I’ve also got to find out if we need a permit, but unfortunately I’m only there for the Memorial Day weekend, which means Dawn has to do it, and she’s got so much on her plate right now, plus she caught a cold. Today she had a fever and was out stripping a door. I think she’s crazy.
We still haven’t picked a date, but I’m shooting for July 1 and 2, which is only six weeks away!