Post-EdCampSurfIA. What now?

Our first attempt at hosting an EdCamp was, by all account a success. We, Emily Hill, (@mle9903), Kay Schmalen, (@schma3) & Nicki Barragy, (@CLMSMusicRocks) weren't sure what to expect; especially given the date we chose. When we decided to ask the Surf Ballroom to host this event back in February, we knew we'd have to work around their schedule. The only option we really had was July 10th so we made the reservation and then counted the strikes agains us. Strike One? Summer vacation plans. Strike Two? The 4th of July "hangover"! Strike Three? A SUMMER Friday! In true "pirate" fashion, we pressed on and rolled the dice.

For six months I stressed about the turnout for this EdCamp. Why? Because of the success of the previous two I attended. Both had turnouts of 100+ participants. Many of the great ed rebels I follow were at one or both. Why would anyone come to our camp? We figured our best hook was the Surf itself and this historic venue did not disappoint! Not only did enrollment peak at 70, I was reunuited with the now clean shaven Darin Johnston (@AnIowaTeacher) and Kory Graham (@korytellers), I had a chance to catch up with a former teacher in Miranda Haugan (@MrsHaugan) and was introduced to Jen Houlette (@jhoulette) who I recently began following. What an experience!

When leaving EdCamptc this spring, I thought about a comment Kim Hurdhorst (@khurdhorst) made regarding child care and how it would make attending EdCamps so much easier for her and others. I didn't have a plan for hosting an EdCamp as of yet but I couldn't disagree with the need. When our group did meet for the first time we agreed to give it a shot. It was a hit! Not just

with the parents but the kids as well. Culvers of Clear Lake had provided me some free kid's meal coupons which we were able to give to each child and our day care workers.

Knowing that having this optioon in our back pocket as well as an attractive tourist location in Clear Lake and the Surfballroom as our venue, it was now a waiting game. A waiting game that entailed numerous emails and Tweets for the next six months. There wasn't a whole lot we could add to make this camp experience as attractive as possible to potential educators. It was a loooong six months.

Now if anyone reading this really knows me, I can't sit still and there's always "one more thing" we can add to any project or work ahead. I've never created a Meme before

but after seeing a few advertising other camps I did what any self-respecting, off the chart ADHD person would do! I downloaded a few apps on my Galaxy S5 (That's just for you Emily!) and MacBook and started creating Memes. Naturally they were funny and eye-catching in my head. What other's thought...I didn't really care. I wasn't going to leave anything to chance!

Finally June 10th arrived. I slept pretty well until exactly 3:13 AM. As I lay in bed thinking about camp theh squirrel in my head hit overdrive. I started doubting our efforts. What if people didn't show? What if we only had 10 show up, would we continue anyway? People ditch free events all the time; who would drop out? Would Sips and The Anchor Inn be able to handle things? Would the Surf's network handle all of the devices? How many of our day care providers would bail? What if it rained on our kids? Was our inside back-up plan sufficient? Not only did we have a beautiful day, all of our workers showed, both Sips and The Anchor Inn hit it out of the park in both menu choices and devlivery, 60% of our registrants showed up and aside from a sluggish start, the network held up.

So what now? The vibe at the Surf that day was amazing! My co-planners had done a masterful job with all of the tasks assigned to them and spent a good portion of their day was spent meeting the needs of campers and reassuring me it would all work out. And it did! In fact we felt so good about the feedback we had received BEFORE the actual camp satisfaction survey was completed, we walked back to Lori (Leitz) and asked her if we could book it again for next year! As Nicki's final act as the Surf's Director of Education, she clicked Thursday, July 14th for the 2016 #EdCampSurfIA. Mark your calendars now and tell your friends. We're moving the day to a Thursday to take advantage of the Thursday's on Main live music and food vendors downtown. Just one more reason why you should attend next year's event. Until then...Rock on!