BerettaFest 2012 Traverse City Michigan
Click picture to view Traverse City Guide!
REGISTRATION OPEN!!!
bfest.beretta.net
June 21-24 2012
Get your swimming trunks and your sand castle tools… We are hitting the beaches!!
Welcome to Traverse City Michigan! There are literally hundreds of places to visit, things to do, and sights to see! Not to mention dozens of public beaches, beautiful lake sights, plenty of opportunities to get out and about!
Thursday, June 21st
12PM‐4PM check in at the hotel. This hotel includes the following (and many other things): (All Hotel information will be provided once registration is completed and payment is approved)
1: A HUGE indoor water park This is included with your room.
2: MANY in hotel activities for people of any age again, some features are included with room.
3: 4 styles of dining IN the hotel. Even comes with their own pizzeria
I’ll be on hand starting Thursday morning to help provide the welcome packet, local information, as well as any last minute updates or changes that could occur to the itinerary. The staff at the front desk will have my room number on hand to give to members once they arrive to locate me as needed. I will most likely be on hand for the entire day, either at the hotel or a short phone call away. But check‐in time is not till after 12 noon. We will have a roped off section of the parking lot JUST for us! So bring some shelters and the like if you all want. Our nightly activities are fine, but excessive noise is not. No overly loud stereos or yelling. Have fun but be smart about it.
5PM to 10PM – I have selected for those that are interested a nearby adventure park that we can visit for our yearly dose of carting! It’s called Pirates Cove, located a few minutes east of the hotel: http://www.piratescove.com/location/11
You have the choice to do any or all of the following there:
Zipline Thrill Ride
Ropes Challenge Course
World Class Adventure Golf
Billy Bones Race Track Go‐Carts
Bumper Boats
Pirate’s Plunge Water Coaster
Kiddy Go‐Carts
Blackbeard’s Den Game Room
They use Tokens to pay for the features; you just have to buy enough of them. Here is a break‐down of the pricing:
Pirate Token Price Breaks 1 Pirate Token = $1.60, 20 Pirate Tokens = $28.80 (10% discount), 50 Pirate Tokens = $63.95 (20% discount)
Attraction Pricing (in Pirate Tokens) Go‐Carts=4, Ropes Course=5, Zipline=6, Bumper Boats=3, Kiddie Cars= 2, Watercoaster=1
Adventure Golf + Attractions: Value Packages 18 Holes Golf+5 Pirate Tokens=$14.50, 18 Holes Golf+10 Pirate Tokens=$21.95, 18 Holes Golf+15 Pirate Tokens=$28.50
So basically, if several of you banded together and bought a lot of tokens at once, it’s cheaper for all of you to play. I have talked with their staff, they run a heat for like ~10 minutes, and while we can’t run back to back, we can at least run a heat with a batch of us together. But we would have to take turns with other patrons. Since the heats aren’t that long, it shouldn’t be bad. If they aren’t overly busy, they might be more flexible if we’re nice to them. They do have their own food, but I think there is a Hooters nearby if anyone is interested. lol
10PM – We should be working on leaving, as they close at 10:30PM Rest of the night is yours to do whatever, however if you want to get up and participate with Friday’s events, I suggest a good night’s sleep! Also make sure you have topped off your gas tank!
Friday, June 22nd
9:30AM ‐ 12PM – I have been reworking the start of our day on Friday. Currently I’m planning something different this year. A scavenger hunt! Don’t worry; it’s not going to be complicated or long. But you will need some sort of camera! Phone, actual camera, I don’t care as long as we are able to download the pictures from it.
Step 1: We meet in the lodge main visitor area. Here we can put together teams if you like, but only one team to a car. Each team (or individual) will have to draw a number out of a hat. That number gives you a small stuffed animal and a map. On the map will be a few locations marked, each one will have a simple clue that you need to use to find the object. They will be spread out within say a 5 mile radius of the hotel, so don’t worry. Once found, you just need to take a picture (only a picture, no videos) of it along with your stuffed animal. No two teams/people will have the same exact map, but many may share some of the same locations. So following someone won’t work! You can search in any order you wish though.
Step 2: You will then proceed to your vehicle and start finding those objects. You are NOT TO BREAK ANY TRAFFIC LAWS. Speeding is NOT required as this is not a timed hunt, but there is a deadline. Anyone that gets a ticket for any violation during the hunt is disqualified. Completeness counts, so do try to get them all. There won’t be too many, but enough to keep you busy for at most 2 hours.
Step 3: For each object you find once you figure the clue, you need to setup a picture with your stuffed animal. You do not need to be in the picture however, unless you want to. Creativity counts a lot here!
Step 4: The hunt ends at Noon. We will be meeting back at either the hotel or possibly a restaurant for lunch, but I will have that decided by then. During lunch, I will be gathering from those that participated, the pictures and your map. You get to keep the stuffed animal. Since I’m going to be planning this I can’t in fairness participate, however I may be driving around and capturing photos of you all doing the hunt!
Winner will be decided and announced during the picnic on Saturday. I still have to come up with an appropriate team prize for this, but there will be one. I’ll also be using a panel of the children that come to our events each year, as our judges. So yes, the kids get to choose who wins! Please keep your photos kid friendly, but otherwise be creative and try to get as many solved as you can.
After lunch ~1PM – We will be driving out to the Pierce Stocking Scenic drive. This particular 7.4 mile trip goes through beautiful scenery, beaches, even a tunnel bridge. LOTS of opportunity for pictures! Yes, the Beretta’s will be seen all over town! Those that didn’t want to join in on the scavenger hunt may decide to join us after lunch and take the drive out. This will take us I think, an hour out and an hour back, but will still give us an hour or more to enjoy the views, take our time, etc on the Scenic.
There are beaches, plenty of places to stop and just enjoy. Actually you all can take your time or just take the drive and head back if you like, but it can be fun to drive the highway in a long group. The goggling is unreal when we do that. None of the roads we will be on go over 55MPH.
~5:00PM – 10PM ‐ Drag racing available (1/8th mile) at nearby (~45 min) Northern Michigan Dragway. (See Drag Racing Article for More Information) I hear from Kyle that this is a nice, while short, drag strip. There is something to be said here. It is entirely possible that we could have a more varied interest and result. For one thing, results require more than just speed, reaction time is also a factor. Someone with a fast car could do badly if their reaction time is slow, vs someone with a not as fast a car and a very quick response. So I think we should consider more of us participating. Fee is cheap, it isn’t terribly far, and who knows we could have some interesting winners. Besides, it would be cool to have an actual slip time in your facebook profile! lol
5PM – Whenever ‐ For those not interested in drag racing, there are casino’s in the area. Those who might want to take a small gamble and try their luck, we can check them out. There are also plenty of things to go do and see as well, and since this is pretty much YOUR free time, do what you want to do! I will have a full list of places/activities/restaurants available in your packet at the hotel.
Saturday, June 23rd
~10AM – 4PM – We will be going to the picnic. I hope to clear it with the hotel, but we might be able to do the morning car wash prior to the picnic, but no promises. The picnic is approximately 15 minutes from the hotel.
4PM‐5PM ‐ Group picture time. I will be organizing the location for this so we can hopefully have a smooth and short time of it. Going to pre‐design the layout and hopefully we may be able to squeeze this in at the park, or possibly attempt it on Friday if everyone goes on the Scenic drive. Rest of the day is yours to spend however you want!
Sunday, June 24th
We say our goodbyes and farewells. Lets make BerettaFest 2012 a great event!