2012 Leonard Cohen Event

The Madison Event - before and after
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Maarten
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Re: 2012 Leonard Cohen Event

Post by Maarten »

With the dates being set from June 28 to July 1, I'm afraid I won't make it... Summer holidays here in Belgium start on July 1 (which is a Sunday in 2012) so my last day at work will be Friday June 29... Leaving for the States Friday evening would be the earliest possible option for me. Shifting the dates would be better for me too (to somewhere in July), but I'm afraid the dates are final already, no?!

Maarten

2008 Manchester | Bruges | Amsterdam | London | 2x Brussels | Rotterdam |2x London
2009 New York | Cologne | Antwerp | Venice | Colmar | Barcelona | Las Vegas | San José
2010 Salzburg | 2x Sligo | Helsinki | 3x Ghent | Lille | 2x Las Vegas
2012 5x Ghent | 2x A'dam | Helsinki | Dublin | Verona | 3x Paris | Lisboa
2013 Paris | Antwerp | Oberhausen | Brussels | Pula | Rotterdam | Amsterdam | 2x Wellington | Auckland
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lizzytysh
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Re: 2012 Leonard Cohen Event

Post by lizzytysh »

Oh, criminy, Maarten... what's an Event without YOU!?!
"Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken."
~ Oscar Wilde
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Joe Way
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Re: 2012 Leonard Cohen Event

Post by Joe Way »

Dear friends,
I will certainly look into the possibility of changing the dates. I had done a small survey (mostly from the folks who attended the concerts in Las Vegas) about when to hold the event. The weekend before July 4th seemed to have a certain concensus-as you know it will be impossible to accommodate everyone. It would be difficult to block the necessary rooms later in July and most likely would need to be moved to August which I am told generally means increased airfares. I will look into it and I wish to have more feedback about the dates-we will withhold the official announcement until we get some more feedback.

Thank you for your patience.

Joe
"Say a prayer for the cowboy..."
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bridger15
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Re: 2012 Leonard Cohen Event

Post by bridger15 »

Joe Way wrote:would need to be moved to August which I am told generally means increased airfares.
Joe
I don't agree that August "generally means increased airfares".

For the wonderful Krakow Event, which took place August 6-8, I was advised by travel mavens to wait, watch the internet sites and book an international flight closer to the date. The air fares drop. This was good advice. I got a good fare on Lufthansa outbound and inbound with their associate Air Canada (connecting in Montreal. :D ).

I just checked return flights LA-Chicago on Southwest Airlines. The fare is identical for the last weekend in June/July and the last weekend in July/August.

I am neutral about the 2012 dates. However, if I were asked to vote, I would prefer the end of July/beginning of August.

---Arlene
2009-San Diego|Los Ang|Nashville|St Louis|Kansas City|LVegas|San Jose
2010-Gothenburg|Berlin|Ghentx2|Oaklandx2|Portland|LVegasx2
2012-Austinx2|Denver|Los Ang|Seattle|Portland

Arlene's Leonard Cohen Scrapbook http://onboogiestreet.blogspot.com
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lizzytysh
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Re: 2012 Leonard Cohen Event

Post by lizzytysh »

That's very cool of you, Joe. Just out of curiousity, Maarten, what time frame would work best for you... not that Joe will sculpt the Event around you, of course, but I'm still wondering.

My understanding on airfares is that the increase in them during August relates to their being higher during August for Europeans... perhaps, I heard or am remembering wrong. I can't think of any particular reason that they would be higher for us here.
"Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken."
~ Oscar Wilde
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Joe Way
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Re: 2012 Leonard Cohen Event

Post by Joe Way »

Hi Lizzy,
Just to be clear, we are looking into a possible date change not simply for Maarten (though after all Maarten has done for the LC community, he would warrant special consideration :D ) but some of our other regular members are teachers or students as well. This, plus the Canada Day conflict certainly merits taking a look. Madison is busier in July and August than the end of June so some of the venues that I had intended to use may be more difficult to book.

I obviously didn't wait long enough until closer to the Krakow event as our air fare was the highest that I've paid. Some Europeans had mentioned this to me, if this isn't the case, would the European community be agreeable to August?

It may not be possible, but I would appreciate more feedback from the different locations i.e. U.S., Canada, Europe, Asia, Australia.

Thanks in advance,

Joe
"Say a prayer for the cowboy..."
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Maarten
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Re: 2012 Leonard Cohen Event

Post by Maarten »

lizzytysh wrote:Just out of curiousity, Maarten, what time frame would work best for you...
I've got summer holidays, starting July 1st and ending at the end of August. I have to work some days in between, but can arrange them a bit. The last week of August I have to be at work and a couple of days in mid August (15-17th). So best for me would be somewhere in July or early August. But like Joe mentioned: it's impossible to accomodate everyone, so we'll just have to wait and see...

Still hoping to make it, no matter which dates are set!

Take care,
Maarten

2008 Manchester | Bruges | Amsterdam | London | 2x Brussels | Rotterdam |2x London
2009 New York | Cologne | Antwerp | Venice | Colmar | Barcelona | Las Vegas | San José
2010 Salzburg | 2x Sligo | Helsinki | 3x Ghent | Lille | 2x Las Vegas
2012 5x Ghent | 2x A'dam | Helsinki | Dublin | Verona | 3x Paris | Lisboa
2013 Paris | Antwerp | Oberhausen | Brussels | Pula | Rotterdam | Amsterdam | 2x Wellington | Auckland
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lizzytysh
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Re: 2012 Leonard Cohen Event

Post by lizzytysh »

Yeah, I knew that, Joe... thought that came through in my post, but maybe not... and it never hurts to clarify :) .

Thanks for getting your preferences out there, Maarten. I'm open, since I'll finally be retired and, hopefully, not committed to anything that can't be rearranged. One way or another, I'll be there... it's only a matter of what level of difficulty.


~ Lizzy
"Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken."
~ Oscar Wilde
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bridger15
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Re: 2012 Leonard Cohen Event

Post by bridger15 »

lizzytysh wrote:My understanding on airfares is that the increase in them during August relates to their being higher during August for Europeans...
That was not my experience last year when arranging European flights to and from the Krakow Event.

I got an excellent rate for August.

I was advised by someone closely connected to the airline industry to watch the websites but wait because the fares drop closer to the date.

That is exactly what I experienced. I used cheapoair.com because the other internet sites offered too many "multiple airlines".

With the volcano scare in mind, I wanted one European based umbrella airline for both of my flights, to Europe (Frankfurt) and return from Europe (Brussels). The airline I selected was Lufhansa. And at an excellent fare.

---Arlene
2009-San Diego|Los Ang|Nashville|St Louis|Kansas City|LVegas|San Jose
2010-Gothenburg|Berlin|Ghentx2|Oaklandx2|Portland|LVegasx2
2012-Austinx2|Denver|Los Ang|Seattle|Portland

Arlene's Leonard Cohen Scrapbook http://onboogiestreet.blogspot.com
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mutti
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Re: 2012 Leonard Cohen Event

Post by mutti »

Thanks Joe for considering changing the dates from the July 1st weekend.
That is kind of you.
More from me closer to the date when I know if I am coming or not.
But as one friend has said to me...
how can you not go!
Cheers!
Leslie ;-)
1988 Vancouver
2009 Victoria/Seattle/Almost Red Rocks/Las Vegas/San Jose.
2010 Sligo x 2/Victoria/Vancouver/Portland/Las Vegas x 2.
2012 Austin x 2/Seattle/Vancouver/Montreal x 2.
2013 Oakland x 2/New York City x 2/Winnipeg...
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Joe Way
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Re: 2012 Leonard Cohen Event

Post by Joe Way »

Hi All,

If we move the date, it would need to be Thursday, August 2nd through Sunday, August 5th. Now that we have only two possible choices, perhaps more people can give their reasoning for a general preference of one or the other. I don't want to do a poll because it could be too skewed with a small sample.

To review, the original dates of June 28-July 1 were chosen because it is a rather quiet weekend in Madison with greater flexibility of venues and lower room rates. Some Europeans had told me that air fare would be lower, as Arlene has pointed out this may not be the case. Changing to August 2-August 5 would allow those in Europe whose schedules are tied to the school year more flexibility to travel during their holiday period. In Canada, it would avoid the conflict with Canada Day and Vern Silver let me know that August 4 & 5 are also a Canadian holiday weekend that would allow people to get more time off, but could also affect those driving to the event with longer border crossing times. The U.S. July 4th holiday could possibly affect those traveling within the U.S.

I think that we can still find great venues in August and we have plenty of reasonably priced rooms that weekend as well so August could certainly work. We'll probably get feedback through this weekend and then make a final decision.

Joe
"Say a prayer for the cowboy..."
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Joe Way
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Re: 2012 Leonard Cohen Event

Post by Joe Way »

Dear friends,

It seems that everyone would be happier with the August dates so this is part of the official announcement that the dates have been moved to Thursday, August 2, 2012 through Sunday, August 5, 2012.

Jarkko is preparing the pages now for the event and we will update the Facebook page to reflect the correct dates.

Thank you everyone for your feedback!

Joe
"Say a prayer for the cowboy..."
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Maarten
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Re: 2012 Leonard Cohen Event

Post by Maarten »

Joe Way wrote:Say a prayer for the cowboy...
Thanks for hearing my prayers, cowboy!

Looking forward to the Great Event,
Maarten

2008 Manchester | Bruges | Amsterdam | London | 2x Brussels | Rotterdam |2x London
2009 New York | Cologne | Antwerp | Venice | Colmar | Barcelona | Las Vegas | San José
2010 Salzburg | 2x Sligo | Helsinki | 3x Ghent | Lille | 2x Las Vegas
2012 5x Ghent | 2x A'dam | Helsinki | Dublin | Verona | 3x Paris | Lisboa
2013 Paris | Antwerp | Oberhausen | Brussels | Pula | Rotterdam | Amsterdam | 2x Wellington | Auckland
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jarkko
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Re: 2012 Leonard Cohen Event

Post by jarkko »

Here we go:
http://www.leonardcohenfiles.com/madison-index.html

Now, in the beginning, we have posted Joe's invitation to Madison. More details, the Event logo etc. will be posted soon!
1988, 1993: Helsinki||2008: Manchester|Oslo|London O2|Berlin|Helsinki|London RAH|| 2009: New York Beacon|Berlin|Venice|Barcelona|Las Vegas|San José||2010: Salzburg|Helsinki|Gent|Bratislava|Las Vegas|| 2012: Gent|Helsinki|Verona|| 2013: New York|Pula|Oslo|||
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LisaLCFan
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Re: 2012 Leonard Cohen Event

Post by LisaLCFan »

Good news about August! Thanks, Joe!

Lisa
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