Rather than involve Be and Drew in an international legal nightmare (just the paperwork is staggering!), I'm taking full responsibility for the purchase and operation of the North American version of the Art Bus. However, anyone else in North America (USA, Canada, Mexico) who wishes to donate to the realization of this idea may do so by contacting me at " rdehwyll (at) yahoo (dot) com". At heart, this is still Be's dream, and full credit goes to her -- I'm just shouldering the legal responsibilities. With luck, I'll be able to drive the renovated bus to the EF Wordmeet in Pipestone, MN next September...

After much research, dozens of phone calls, hours combing the internet, and a manic weekend of negotiations -- I've got a line on a Bus! It's used, but in very good condition, and the price is within budgetary concerns. The current owner has agreed to withhold from selling it for six months, to allow us to raise the capital needed for the purchase and renovation. That'w where all of you come in -- please, please, PLEASE consider donating towards making Be's third wish of an Art Bus to tour around displaying member art come true! I have a start towards it, and have invested $250 of my own money as a down payment on the bus -- the reason the owner has agreed to hold it during fund raising. Now I need to raise another $4500 dollars for the purchase, and about $1000 for the retrofitting. I've already agreed to cover the cost of insurance and licensing, but any extra we can come up with will be set aside for the operation of the vehicle.

I've been combing the net for ideas and suggestions on remodeling the bus for use as the EF Art Bus, and came across this site that details a lot of what we will need to do to get the bus ready -- when we get it. Hop on over and take a look, and consider donating to this worthwhile project...

www.vonslatt.com/index.shtml

Be asked the EF Fairy Godmother:

"EF Tour Bus & EF Art Exhibition – FAEspace all over the place!!

The Saturday November 7th Merry Meet at FaerieCon 2009 in Baltimore, MD will occur from 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM in the Cinnamon Tree Bar and Grill on site in the Marriott Hunt Valley Hotel during FaerieCon! Every Enchanted Folk Member attending FaerieCon is invited to participate! Mark your Calendars, Schedules, Programs, Sticky Notes, etc...

I've been reaching out to the EF membership, trying to get some interest in these three wish-fulfillment projects, and to build our membership base -- "Many hands make light work", as the saying goes.

So to get things really set into motion, let's set some priorities, and see what we can do to make things happen!

Be's second wish -- for a huge group meet -- is the most difficult, especially since we're such a far-flung organization. However, I have a proposal that makes this a bit more 'doable' for a majority of the membership. To wit, a 'traveling' convention -- one convention, every year, but held in a different location each year; The first year, East Coast USA; the second year, West Coast USA; the third year, Australia;, the fourth year, Europe, and then repeat the cycle for the next four years. Set up the meet at a large hotel with meeting space, get room discounts, have guest speakers, an art show, merchants, even different classes available like mask-making, or doll crafting...

Of course, something like that takes volunteers to make it happen, people willing to make the contacts necessary and act as hosts for the event. We could have a bid and vote process if different groups in different cities want to play host for a specific year, much like the World Science Fiction Convention does every year. (Yes, I 'borrowed' the entire plan from them -- why reinvent the wheel?)

So what does everyone think? Chime in with ideas, or to volunteer to act as a host/liason/eventplanner/'gofer' in reply to this blogpost, or start a thread in the forum.