Reminders:

1) Bring a lawn chair or something comfy to sit on. We have some lawn chairs but maybe not enough to go around.

2) Bring a sweater for the evening. It can be quite cool in the woods, especially when the sun goes down - usually 2-5 degrees less than town, and up to 10 degrees cooler than the city. Conditions pending, we will have a small bon fire in our center fire ring Saturday evening after the sun goes down, if enough folks are interested. There is plenty of room around the fire, with benches, but lawn chairs will also be needed.

3) We will provide pulled pork, burgers and brats (grilled and cooked on a hickory wood fire), along with diet and regular soft drinks for supper on Saturday. If you would like to bring a side dish, including a desert please do so. (We had some fantastic deserts last year!) Bring anything else you would like to eat or drink.

4) Bring some insect repellant. Bugs are not really a problem, and the mosquitoes are vitually nil due to the abundance of insect eating birds and bats. What insects that do become bothersome are very sensitive to insect repellant, because they are not used to humans. A little goes a long way. We make our own repellant by adding 1 tablespoon of 100% Deet to enough isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol to make 7 ounces of liquid. We use a 7-8 ounce plastic spray bottle available from Walmart, Walgreens, etc. This makes a light duty insect repellant and will require reapplication periodically, but it is not at all oily. It is roughly equivalent to Off Skintastic.

A note about the bugs: Avoid wearing clothing that has large flower prints on it, or wearing perfume or cologne. When working on some plantings one day, Elizabeth got buzzed by some carpenter bees while wearing a large floral print skirt (they had never seen a human and they thought she was a flower). They rarely sting (the males can't sting), but they are kind of scary.

5) If anyone would like to bring a small sound system (amp, microphone, couple of small speakers), feel free to do so. The pavilion, the pickin' porch, and the fire ring area are all electrified, and will support a small system.

6) As some of you remember, we have had less than perfect weather in the past. It can be windy, cool, and/or raining. May can be very pleasant, or kind of nasty. All of our locations where we will gather are covered against the rain, but they are not fully enclosed. We will hold this event regardless of the weather, but be prepared by dressing appropriately for the anticipated conditions. Hopefully we will have a nice sunny and warm day this year.

7) Alcoholic beverages: We will not be serving any alcholic beverages during the event, but if you wish to bring your own beer, wine, etc., feel free to do so.

8) Bring your mountain dulcimer, hammered dulcimer, or other instrument and prepare to HAVE FUN!