Boomsday, September 6, 2015

Post date: Aug 30, 2015 4:3:31 AM

Our first Knoxville event, and by all accounts so far, this will be Knoxville's biggest, best and ...final... Boomsday. :( We're setting up shop in the Kid's Zone and anticipate this to be very similar to NormalPalooza, just with a much bigger crowd. This is the first event where we've been required to obtain insurance and we owe a special thanks to Chris Bolton's employer, Mesa Associates, for sponsoring us!

There are lot's of road closures associated with this event, and there are active road construction projects in and around the UT campus, so plan ahead! What's posted here is thought to be fairly accurate, but check the following sites prior to making any travel plans:

Official Boomsday Site

Boomsday Road Closings & Parking Info

Road Closures & Detours for Cumberland Avenue (Hwy 70) Corridor Project

Due to the logistics of entering the site, anyone who wishes to display a MOC or provide cumbersome items such as folding chairs should drop these items off at Pete's house no later than Saturday, September 5th. If you don't have Pete's contact info, send an e-mail to the club's group account and Pete will reply with the necessary information.

Schedule

Saturday, September 5

Last day to drop items off at Pete's house!

9PM: Neyland Drive closes

10PM: Henley Street Bridge closes

Sunday, September 6

8AM - noon: Load in, must have permit to access Neyland Drive

10AM: Pete, Brian & Chis depart Pete's house

10:30AM: Pete, Brian & Chris arrive on site

Noon: Neyland drive closes to ALL vehicles!

1PM: Setup complete

3PM: Event opens to public!

5PM - 8PM: Peak crowd

8PM: Teardown begins

9PM: Teardown complete

9:30PM: Fireworks!

Monday, September 7

2:00AM: All vendors must be off premesis

6:00AM: Neyland Drive reopens to all traffic

Setup

The Kid's Zone is in lot C15 on the north side of Neyland Drive and just to the west of the railroad trestle. Our general location within the Kid's Zone is as shown here:

We will have MOC tables under tent and play brick out in the open. The center section of the MOC display will be a town and train layout with side tables for individual MOCs.

Supplies

Visit Knoxville:

10' x 30' tent

3 Folding tables

20 Folding chairs

Bill:

Robotic MOCs

1 folding chair

Chris:

Playbrick

Business Cards

MOC

Clay & Judy:

Drink cooler

2 folding chairs

Frosty:

Mosaic MOC

Michael:

ETCH MOC

Pete:

Transportation for all supplies

7 tables & table skirt

Banners (club and sponsor)

Stanchions & chain

Town & train MOCs

3 folding chairs

Participants

Anyone is welcome to help setup, but Pete only has room for 4. Everyone else will need to find parking elsewhere. Be prepared for a very long walk, lots of traffic and a large crowd! Setup should occur between 10:30AM and 1PM, with finishing touches up until 3PM when the event opens to the public. We don't need many people for setup, but anyone is welcome to come. Peak crowd begins around 5PM and this is when we'll need the most people to supervise the display. Teardown begins around 8PM and should take about an hour. Fireworks begin at 9:30 and typically last 25 minutes. Again, expect heavy traffic after the event, and there's really no telling when Pete's truck will be able to leave, though all vendors have to be cleared out by 2AM...

Bill

Brian (10:30)

Chris (10:30)

Clay & Judy (baby permitting... :)

Frosty & Michelle

Jon, Jenni & Becca (before 3PM)

Marty & Katie (3PM)

Michael & Jeannette

Pete (10:30)

Shannon & Shannon

Other notes

There will be food vendors everywhere! Dinner should not be an issue, but make sure you bring adequate cash. For those setting up, lunch could be a problem as most vendors may not open until 3PM. Plan accordingly.

Noise: There will be several large, loud "sound towers" positioned along Neyland Drive broadcasting the choreographed soundtrack during the fireworks display. These will active throughout the day as well. One is positioned very close to the Kid's Zone. It would be wise to bring ear protection, just in case it's an issue.

Also consider sunscreen, headache medication, comfortable shoes, etc...