The reason we had to fix the event on those two dates was because we had no option but to work around the availabilty of musicians, the availability of venues, the need for sufficient preparation time and band concert rehearsals. There were no alternatives if a special anniversary 2-day Nelsonica with a full band concert was to be put together for you.
Staging Nelsonica in October was impossible because of the unavailabilty of key musicians needed for the band during that month. (Same goes for earlier in November.)
September was also out of the question for similar reasons, plus it would have been too soon in the year to allow us enough time to prepare properly for a big two-day event. You probably appreciate that the preparation and technical pre-production for these conventions takes up a big chunk of the year and puts a great deal of pressure on myself and the team to come up with bigger and better content each time. And this year's 10th anniversary Nelsonica will be more complex and expensive to stage as a result of the separate full concert evening with a band and a second day devoted to other interesting presentations.
Jon, Paul and myself have already spent a great deal of time checking out other venues, none of which, unfortunately, turned out to be either suitable, available or affordable.
After a great deal of consideration, The Park Inn seemed to provide the most practical solution, but, at that time of year, venue availability is always going to be problematic. November through to Xmas and New Year is a premium time for hotels and venues and even at this early point in the year, they get booked up.
The only dates available to us happened to coincide with York's St. Nicholas Fayre. This means that most hotels in York will be busy and not discounting rooms. (The St. Nicholas Fayre is a very popular visitor attraction which will draw people from all over the country and abroad. )
However, the Fayre will be as an added event for those Nelsonica attendees making a weekend of it, especially those of you travelling from abroad, so in many ways it's a bonus, an extra experience for you to enjoy. Especially good for those of you travelling with your families.
We considered the alternatives to these two dates but the only options available to us would be not to stage the event at all, or to hold it in October as a one day affair but without the band concert and without Orchestra Futura too. This wouldn't really have been in the spirit of a 10th anniversary special. And if this year's Nelsonica does end up being the final one, I think it should be something a little more ambitious, don't you?
We're all looking forward to putting on a memorable show for you...a weekend that you'll really enjoy. I hope you'll appreciate the work and care that we're putting into it and come and join in the party!
