BosKos - Fixing a Point In Space & Time

It's time to start planning for the next meeting of BosKos, the Boston Kossacks "meatspace" community group, and that means touching base briefly on the first meet-up, casting a net for some feedback on what we came up with, and asking for suggestions for a venue. Our first meetup happened on 16 March 2013, at 2 pm. We had a small group - there were only 4 of us, but that worked out well: the venue was a tetch cramped and packed. In attendance were gmoke and bjedward, HawkWife and myself.

The food was fantastic. The company even better.

From my original belated update:

We chatted about a few topics, including when to try to do regular meetups, and one of the items we all agreed on was that it made sense to loosely plan a meetup about every other month unless we're "up to something"...

Sounds ominously fun, doesn't it?

Here's some of the thinking behind the initial decisions: meeting up monthly, particularly when attempting to coordinate with and not unintentionally overlap the New England Kossacks planned meetups, could quickly lead to burnout. Additionally, as we're focused in and around Boston (tho open to all NE Kossacks and any random folks who might wander in), we should see if we could incorporate the benefit of a "meatspace" meetup with some sort of event or occasion that could enable folks to stay on top of, or learn about, some of the current relevant events happening in our state capitol and political scene.

The primary reason for the meetup is, of course, socially connecting with other Kossacks in a relaxed, face-to-face environment to help facilitate community building. While I'd like to think that any planned activity would hopefully start shortly after the initial meetup so folks can get together to touch base and say hi first, perhaps discussing some of the planned event's pros, cons and relevance, I know that's not always possible. Time, and life, moves a little differently as key moments & events draw closer. "Life Happens."

What are your thoughts about a suggested format? Any? Should we have a default, one that would be subject to change based on the circumstances of the target event? Make a note in the comments - we'd love the feedback.

As for events themselves: there are many potential ones. Aside from and in addition to the multitude of Boston-based "things to do" there are always meetings, seminars, special events and unique opportunities presenting themselves in the Hub.

For example, gmoke regularly publishes a list of events primarily relating to solar and energy happenings. Some of them might make great venues for an upcoming meetup and give BosKos & NEKos attendees interesting overviews & perspectives on the fast-changing fields of alternative energy.

There are sometimes other types of event - like concerts - that go on in and around the Hub. One, in particular, is happening too soon to be a planned venue in terms of our official "next meetup" but should be considered fair game for anyone who wants to do an ad-hoc gathering of Kossacks (and anyone else) - it's Singing for the Planet, happening on 19 April (just 9 days from now!). Kossack WarrenS is one of the three headline performers, and the concert is to help bring more awareness to the problem of Climate Change.

The music begins at 7:00 pm, at Emmanuel Church, 15 Newbury Street, Boston, MA. Tickets are $20; $15 students/seniors. All proceeds will go to 350ma.org, the Massachusetts chapter of the environmental advocacy organization 350.org.

For information, please call 781-396-0734, visit "œSinging For The Planet" on Facebook; for online ticket purchases, try the event website, or the Eventbrite page.

If you can attend, please do. It should be a real treat. Anywho - back to the first meetup, from March 16: we have few pictures, none of the group or the food, but HawkWife did take this image of one of the walls within The Border Cafe. I'll be sure that the next time we meet, we'll get some better photos of the group, the food (tho it'll likely not compete with navajo's food pr0n) and the venue.

Floor's open. Please chime in on venues, meeting schedules, Boston events and anything else.

Many thanks, and see you on the flipside...

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