Hi everyone, I have had a few e-mails about what the schedule during Kazapalooza will be. I am posting a rough draft. It will change I am sure but below is what we have right now. Please also remember the following:
1. If you have not already, send me the registration form that is in a post a few down
2. Send Michelle aproximately 5 photos of your kids at speduc8er@aol.com
3. Book your hotel room
4. Get excited!!!!!!!!
Here is what we have so far:
Friday: 5pm-8pm meet and greet and pizza party. This will be at the hotel and will be a great chance for everyone to get to know eachother and say hello. The cost for this is covered by your registration fee.
Saturday: 9:30ish breakfast with everyone. Most likely a raffle, entertainment for the kids and a few speakers. Group photo with kids in Kazakh outfits if they have them. The Charity will be announced at this time as well. Fun to be had for sure!
There will be an additional cost for this event but we are trying to keep it reasonable.
2:30ish Group photo in Kazapalooza Tees on the Aquarium steps and then the Aquarium.
There is an additional cost for the Aquarium tickets and we will be letting you know how much shortly but we are able to get a group rate.
5:00-7:00 everyone is free to break into groups and go to dinner. There will be a list of places within walking distance given to you.
7:00ish Pool Party. There is a large pool with a huge deck area perfect for a great time!
8:15ish cookies and milk. The cost of this is covered with your registration fee.
Sunday: 10:00-? farewell and playing in Grant Park across from the hotel.
We tried to leave plenty of time in the schedule so everyone could accomodate naps and explore on their own as well. Chicago has so much to offer and I know you all will love my home city! I will be getting there Thursday night and will be glad to meet anyone when they check in. You all will be provided with a detailed schedule and contact numbers. Also, we are working on a meeting space so whenever you all have down time you can congregate there with your kids and just hang. The meeting space was awesome when I attended Guatoberfest. it is also very expensive but we are working on it!
Hope this helps with your planning.
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
A few concerns
Hello everyone. I wanted to address a few e-mails I have gotten regarding registration. Registration is closed. Please believe me when I say that we are not trying to exclude people in any way.
After the checks that came in a little late through the mail, we have 42 families coming and we are so excited. With the number of children and parents in these familes we have well over 120 people registered to attend. We advertised this event on all the Yahoo groups we were a part of and on all of our blogs. We were honestly hoping that 20 families would come and up until the last week of registration we only had 13 familes registered. We are all humbled and thrilled that all of you want to be a part of the weekend we are planning and we hope it will be a yearly event. Having said that, all four of us planning this event have already put in countless hours of planning to make sure this event is a success. As I mentioned before, we are all doing the best we can to plan this while balancing our families and jobs. We all have a deep love and respect for adoption and Kazakhstan which is why we created Kazapalooza.
The hotel we voted on is a smaller hotel and the meeting space we have reserved for our event can't accomodate any more people. We are pushing it a little as it is.
I have given my personal credit card to the hotel to guarantee that we will use our room block and they will not block off any more rooms at the price I was able to obtain. Again, we are pushing it here as it is as well.
We want to be able to spend time with everyone and have personal touches that will make the weekend awesome and it would be way too over whelming for the four of us to handle a larger crowd.
We had to cut off registration at some point so we could start planning (which we have) and get discounts for the Shedd Aquarium and other activities. The holidays are approaching and it will be spring before we know it. We need this time to accomplish all we need to make the weekend a success.
For all the above reasons, we are sorry we can't accomodate any more families. If there are cancellations, we will post any openings. Again, we are sorry and do not mean to exclude anyone. We hope this will be a yearly event and next year, after we have had the experience under our belts, we hope to have many more families.
For those of you who live in the area and want to join us for some of the events, I will be posting an iteniary when it is firmed up and hopefully you can join us for some of the events. I hope this explains our reasons.
IF YOU ARE REGISTERED PLEASE READ THE PREVIOUS POST!
After the checks that came in a little late through the mail, we have 42 families coming and we are so excited. With the number of children and parents in these familes we have well over 120 people registered to attend. We advertised this event on all the Yahoo groups we were a part of and on all of our blogs. We were honestly hoping that 20 families would come and up until the last week of registration we only had 13 familes registered. We are all humbled and thrilled that all of you want to be a part of the weekend we are planning and we hope it will be a yearly event. Having said that, all four of us planning this event have already put in countless hours of planning to make sure this event is a success. As I mentioned before, we are all doing the best we can to plan this while balancing our families and jobs. We all have a deep love and respect for adoption and Kazakhstan which is why we created Kazapalooza.
The hotel we voted on is a smaller hotel and the meeting space we have reserved for our event can't accomodate any more people. We are pushing it a little as it is.
I have given my personal credit card to the hotel to guarantee that we will use our room block and they will not block off any more rooms at the price I was able to obtain. Again, we are pushing it here as it is as well.
We want to be able to spend time with everyone and have personal touches that will make the weekend awesome and it would be way too over whelming for the four of us to handle a larger crowd.
We had to cut off registration at some point so we could start planning (which we have) and get discounts for the Shedd Aquarium and other activities. The holidays are approaching and it will be spring before we know it. We need this time to accomplish all we need to make the weekend a success.
For all the above reasons, we are sorry we can't accomodate any more families. If there are cancellations, we will post any openings. Again, we are sorry and do not mean to exclude anyone. We hope this will be a yearly event and next year, after we have had the experience under our belts, we hope to have many more families.
For those of you who live in the area and want to join us for some of the events, I will be posting an iteniary when it is firmed up and hopefully you can join us for some of the events. I hope this explains our reasons.
IF YOU ARE REGISTERED PLEASE READ THE PREVIOUS POST!
Monday, November 5, 2007
Please read carefully
PLEASE-NO MORE REGISTRATIONS. I HAVE REMOVED THE PAY PAL LINK. WE HAVE 39 FAMILIES NOW! HOW EXCITING IS THAT!/?
Hi guys! Just a few things.
1. If you have not filled out the reservation form for your family please do so. It is in the previous post.
2. HOTEL RESERVATIONS! Reservations will be accepted until May 9th. To Reserve a room you must call 800-621-6909 and ask for the Kazapalooza block. The rates are as follows:
-booked and pre-paid by March 16th, $159 single/double, $169 triple. THIS RATE IS NON-REFUNDABLE!
-booked and pre-paid by May 9th, $169 single/double, $179 triple, $189 quad. (please note children are not counted as occupents so when making a reservation only state the adults staying in your room. YOU MUST CANCEL 72 HOURS IN ADVANCE TO GET A REFUND!
ROLL-A-WAY-$20 per bed, per night charge. I would bring a pack and play and/or air mattress if needed. You can ask for a crib when you book your room but those are first come, first serve.
As far as getting to the hotel, you can take the train from O'Hare or a cab. You can look online for prices and schedules.
3. e-mail Michelle 5 pictures of your children for our slide show. Her e-mail is speduc8er@aol.com.
BOOK AWAY! PLEASE LEAVE COMMENT WHEN YOU BOOK SO WE CAN MONITOR THE ROOM BOOKINGS.
Hi guys! Just a few things.
1. If you have not filled out the reservation form for your family please do so. It is in the previous post.
2. HOTEL RESERVATIONS! Reservations will be accepted until May 9th. To Reserve a room you must call 800-621-6909 and ask for the Kazapalooza block. The rates are as follows:
-booked and pre-paid by March 16th, $159 single/double, $169 triple. THIS RATE IS NON-REFUNDABLE!
-booked and pre-paid by May 9th, $169 single/double, $179 triple, $189 quad. (please note children are not counted as occupents so when making a reservation only state the adults staying in your room. YOU MUST CANCEL 72 HOURS IN ADVANCE TO GET A REFUND!
ROLL-A-WAY-$20 per bed, per night charge. I would bring a pack and play and/or air mattress if needed. You can ask for a crib when you book your room but those are first come, first serve.
As far as getting to the hotel, you can take the train from O'Hare or a cab. You can look online for prices and schedules.
3. e-mail Michelle 5 pictures of your children for our slide show. Her e-mail is speduc8er@aol.com.
BOOK AWAY! PLEASE LEAVE COMMENT WHEN YOU BOOK SO WE CAN MONITOR THE ROOM BOOKINGS.
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Registration Closed
We know have 36 families and registration is officially closed. We are so excited! Below is a form I would like you to all e-mail to me. Please copy it and paste it into an e-mail and send it to me at murielcollison@hotmail.com. Thanks!
KAZAPALOOZA REGISTRATION FORM
FAMILY NAME:_______________________________________________________________________
CHILDREN’S NAMES AND AGES:______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
ADDRESS:__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
PHONE:_______________________________________________________________________________
REGION ADOPTED FROM:_____________________________________________________________
FOOD ALLERGIES:____________________________________________________________________
PLANNING ON GOING TO THE SHEDD AQARIUM: _____YES _____NO
BLOG ADDRESS:______________________________________________________________________
EMAIL:_______________________________________________________________________________
KAZAPALOOZA REGISTRATION FORM
FAMILY NAME:_______________________________________________________________________
CHILDREN’S NAMES AND AGES:______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
ADDRESS:__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
PHONE:_______________________________________________________________________________
REGION ADOPTED FROM:_____________________________________________________________
FOOD ALLERGIES:____________________________________________________________________
PLANNING ON GOING TO THE SHEDD AQARIUM: _____YES _____NO
BLOG ADDRESS:______________________________________________________________________
EMAIL:_______________________________________________________________________________
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